Greythorn

Melbourne IT companies – Greythorn Review

Pros:

• Excellent customer service
• IT recruitment specialists, deep industry knowledge

Cons:

• Will only replace an employee once under guarantee period
• Push hard for exclusivity
• Don’t hire employees earning <$50k, and don’t do graduate hire

Fees

The graph below depicts the fee models for our top 5 IT recruitment agencies in Melbourne.

	$0 - 50K	$50 - 80K	$80 - 150K	$150 - 250K	$250K +
	10%	10%	10%	10%	10%
	16%	16%	16% (up to 100k) 18% (more than 100k)	18%	18%
	15%	17%	19%	21%	21%
	17%	17%	17%	17%	17%
	15% ($0 - 30k) 16.5% ($30 -50k)	18.50%	21%	25%	25%

Greythorn’s fees incrementally increase, as the candidate’s salary increases. In other words, the more senior the employee, the higher the fee. Greythorn charge 15% of the employee’s total annual salary packed, for employees on a salary of less than $50,000. The percentage increases to 17% for an employee on a salary of $50,000 – $80,000. They charge a fee of 19% for employees with a salary of between $80000 to $150,000. Their fee is 21% for employees earning between $150,000 – $250,000, and for employees earning above $250,000 per annum, the fee is negotiable.

They generally do not hire anyone with a salary of less than $50,000. They also don’t tend to hire graduates, as this requires a different recruitment method.

The graph below shows that Greythorn has a spread of fees as high as 21% and as low as 15%, depending on the annual salary of the employee. If the employee you’re looking for will earn between $50,000 to $80,000, Greythorn has very competitive pricing. It is less so, for the employees earning $150,000+, they are the second most expensive IT recruitment agency out of our top 5.

Greythorn strongly prefer exclusive arrangements. They are open to negotiating discounts rates, if the client hires multiple roles. However, they note that the likelihood of a discounted rate being negotiated is lower if the role is rare, or a difficult role to fill, because this increases the workload required to fill such roles. They also note that if discounted rated are offered, exclusivity may be a condition of the discount, to ensure the fee is earned, justifying the discount.

With respect to Greythorn’s payment model, payment is required at different times depending on whether it is a contingent assignment (also known as a non-exclusive assignment) compared to a retained assignment (also know an an exclusive assignment.

Contingent assignments are invoiced on the candidate’s start date and Greythorn require that this be paid within 14 days.

According to Greythorn’s standard terms and conditions, retained assignments are invoiced in 3 instalments each due payable within 14 days of invoice date. The first instalment amounts to 1/3 of the total estimated fee invoiced upon engagement of Greythorn’s services and acceptance of the retained assignment. The second instalment is 1/3 of the total estimated fee invoiced upon confirmation of interview(s) by the Client. The final instalment, is the final fee, minus instalments 1 and 2, invoiced upon confirmation of the successful applicant’s acceptance of the role.

If the final total salary package which is offered to the candidate is different to the one agreed with Greythorn at the start of the process the fee will be recalculated and the balance of fees less first two instalments will be invoiced at the final instalment.

For all assignments interest may be charged on any amount outstanding after 14 days from the invoice due date at a rate of 12% per annum, and accrues daily until the outstanding balance is paid.

Customer Service

The graph below indicates the rankings given to each of our top 5 IT recruitment agencies in Melbourne, based on their customer service performance by email and over the phone. Our Greythorn review team rated this company 8 out of 10 for customer service when dealing with a client by email. Our Greythorn review team were even more impressed by Greythorn’s customer service when handling client phone requests, and gave them an excellent rating of 10 out of 10. These scores for customer service satisfaction to both email and phone enquiries rank Greythorn as having strong results when compared to the customer service performance of the other top 5 Melbourne-based IT recruitment agencies.

Their strong customer service was demonstrated in a number of ways:

• The first person you speak to is a receptionist, who generally transfers clients to a senior recruiter, or even the State director
• The State director is knowledgeable, and capable of answering any client queries, and demonstrates deep industry knowledge
• Our Greythorn review team found that the State director is patient, friendly and professional, and able to develop a good rapport with clients from an early stage
• Greythorn will ask appropriate and probing questions about your business and the relevant role to find out how best to provide their service

The graph below reveals how fast our top 5 IT recruitment agencies Melbourne wide sent through their standard terms and conditions when our Greythorn review team requested them over the phone. Greythorn were very quick to respond, sending through their terms and conditions within an hour.

The rows in the image below, taken from our larger Melbourne IT comparison table, reflect how our top 5 IT recruitment agencies in the Melbourne region were ranked for their overall customer service performance, as well as the overall speed of their replies to requests for terms and conditions. Our Greythorn review team rated Greythorn 4.5 out of 5 for customer service overall and found its response to customer enquiries was given at a “fastest” rating.

The image below shows the online request form provided on the Greythorn website. With its clear formatting and easy to follow layout, is a quick and effective form of communication between Greythorn and their potential customers. This form is similar to the online of other IT recruitment agencies Melbourne wide.

Guarantee Period

Guarantee Period is the period in which the recruitment agency will replace a candidate should they demonstrate poor performance or leave the company within the guarantee period. All recruitment companies offer different guarantee periods, Greythorn’s guarantee period is 12 weeks.

The guarantee period will apply if the permanent candidate terminates his or her engagement and/or the client lawfully terminates the engagement within 12 weeks of commencement. 12 weeks is relatively standard for IT recruitment agencies Melbourne wide.

It is worth noting that Greythorn will only offer one replacement for each placement, and if that replacement leaves the client or is terminated, then Greythorn will not re-fill the role. The free replacement will only apply to a like-for-like role and only when Greythorn is engaged exclusively to find a replacement.

Greythorn has some standard exclusions for when the guarantee period does not apply. For example, the guarantee period will only apply if the client has notified Greythorn in writing within 7 days of the termination of the relevant engagement and has paid Greythorn all sums due to Greythorn in respect of any permanent worker within 14 days of each invoice date. Greythorn also has standard terms which exclude a situation where a client engages staff with a prior intention of dispensing with their services during the first 12 weeks of employment.

The graph below shows that Greythorn’s guarantee period is 12 weeks.

Greythorn’s guarantee period of 12 weeks is relatively standard in the industry.

Methodology

Greythorn recruiters specialises in various parts of the IT industry. This compare to other IT recruitment agencies Melbourne wide, which tend to recruit beyond IT.

They find candidates for their clients primary through their networks. They also use job boards, primarily Seek, for which they have a premium subscription and have access to data bases. They sometimes use social media platforms, such as LinkedIn and Twitter.

There are 2 primary phases of the recruitment process. A phone screening interview, following by a face to face meeting. A third phase of the process is available, as Greythorn can offer technical testing, and can do any type of specialised testing as required by the client.

They will screen as many as 50 – 100 candidates per role, but will only do face-to-face interview with 3 – 5, most clients prefer only 3 shortlisted candidates. Sometimes Greythorn won’t need to do a phone screening or face-to-face interview if the candidate is from their talent pool, because in these circumstances they would have been previously interviewed.

Expertise

Greythorn were established originally as a UK company in 1977. They opened their first Australian office in Mebourne in 1998. Greythorn are IT recruitment specialists, and so have very deep industry knowledge of IT and technology, but if you’re seeking different roles (eg, legal or admin or accounting etc) they may not be the preferred agency for you.

The image below is a snip from the Greythorn website, and lists the various sub-industries within IT they recruit in. For example, they can recruit for Information Management, Digital and Marketing roles, IT sales, cyber security, IT executive roles and other IT and technology relates roles.

The graph below indicates that Greythorn offices in Melbourne, Sydney, Canberra, Adelaide, Brisbane, Perth.

	Melbourne	Sydney	Adelaide	Perth	Brisbane

I note that Greythorn can hire candidates outside of cities where they have physical offices, such as Darwin, Hobart, Regional parts of Australia. In the cities they don’t have offices in they do all the hiring through skype.

The image below is a snip from the Greythorn website, includes various relevant and interesting pieces of research undertaken by the Greythorn team, and available for download for free on their website. Some of the content may be useful for small to medium size businesses.

Overall, our Greythorn review team rated Greythorn 4 stars, which ranked them third out of our top 5 IT recruitment agencies Melbourne wide.