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Backdoor placements are often an "invisible" pipeline killer. Yet they are also a great opportunity to recover lost revenue. Silver linings!
Are you missing out on smashing target by not actively managing backdoor placements?
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20 Years Ago, in a Land Far Away...
In Lisa and my younger days (20 years ago), we created a report to track theoretical backdoors, and had a team calling candidates at the employer they'd recently had an interview with. If they answered, they were put through to the recruiter to begin recouping the lost fee.
Surely time has moved on and there are more effective and tech-driven ways of doing this? Plus, surely recruiters are better at sales admin and relationship management now, so back doors are less common? I'm not so sure... If anything more data and tech has actually created a less robust process in many firms.
Let’s explore why tracking backdoor placements is critical and how to implement best practices and technology for spotting and reducing them.
The Financial Impact of Backdoor Placements
When a candidate you’ve introduced to a client is hired without your knowledge or agreement on fees, you lose the fee. This often happens when terms of business aren’t adhered to, or when a client chooses to go behind your back.
Consider this: one recruiter we’ve worked with reported uncovering at least one lost fee per consultant annually. For a team of 30 recruiters, that’s a staggering £150,000 in potential net revenue. In one instance, a single backdoor placement resulted in a recovered fee of £32,000. These numbers are too significant to ignore.
Additionally, recruiters often spend resources sourcing candidates from external platforms instead of leveraging their databases. Tracking and addressing backdoor placements encourages better use of internal resources while ensuring you recapture fees rightfully owed to your business.
Building Trust and Strengthening Your Recruitment Process
Clients: Actively managing backdoor placements helps you optimise your client relationships. Clients who circumvent your terms of business do not value your partnership. Using Bullhorn to flag these incidents creates transparency and helps you spend time on clients who value you.
Candidates: Additionally, having a proactive backdoor placement management process complements your silver medalist strategy. Silver medalists are candidates who reached advanced stages of the recruitment process but were not placed. By regularly engaging these high-potential candidates through your tracking systems, you keep them warm for future opportunities while minimising your reliance on external sourcing.
Best Practices for Managing Backdoor Placements
Track Every Interaction: Ensure your CRM system captures interview stages and outcomes, even for candidates rejected at early stages. Use detailed note types like “Rejected at Interview” or “Rejected at CV Send” to maintain a clear record.
Standardise Your Terms: Attach your terms and conditions to every client communication. This ensures clients can’t dispute fees later and provides you with a reliable audit trail.
Monitor Data Ownership: Many lost placements are tied to inactive users or former consultants. Assign ownership of these candidates to managers to maintain visibility and accountability.
Automate to Remove Human Error: Implement automation to consistently track candidate progress and flag potential backdoor placements. This minimises manual errors and improves data integrity.
Automation - The Antidote to Backdoor Placements
During a recent Bullhorn Automation User Group, I was asked about my top 3 ways to use automation. Backdoor placement management is one of those 3 ways. These 2 automations are a must of you are set on prevention and pipeline maximisation:
Interview Confirmation automation: If you already use these automations, add a notification step, x months after the interview date. Choose a timeframe which suits your sector the best.
Check Past Interviews (Backdoor): If you don't use Interview Confirmation automation, create a stand alone automation that tracks the interview date and does not have placement. Add a wait step x months later to send a notification to your recruiter to check-in with the candidate and check they don't have a new job. You could even do what Lisa and I set up in a previous life and call the employer and ask to speak to the candidate. If they answer... bingo!
Process and Tech Is Key
Use tech to prevent them.
Use tech to spot them.
The bottom line is that backdoor placements aren’t just about recovering lost revenue; they’re an opportunity to refine your recruitment strategy, strengthen client and candidate relationships, and ensure your systems are robust enough to thrive in a competitive market. Take control, and turn these challenges into wins for your recruitment / staffing agency.
And if you need help on your processes, your data, and your Bullhorn adoption / ROI - call us - we can help.
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