Trusted Intermediary is an advanced methodology for recruitment agencies expanding their operations into outsourcing and the professional services market. Its focus is on maintaining long-term professional relationships and on retention of knowledge for the client.

The methodology has been developed and practised by Paul Ingle & Associates for almost a decade. It is derived from a core ethical principle: that everyone we work with is a customer, and that every customer should be accorded the same attention and respect, whether they are a client, contractor or candidate. Our aim is always to work with each customer, not just for them, supporting their professional and personal aspirations over the long-term.

The methodology's central vision shows the agency as a trusted intermediary between two types of customers: clients, who need professional services; and service providers, who provide those services in person. The services provided are either long-term (permanent), shorter-term contract, or via task oriented consultancy or outsourced services. The agency acts as an intermediary to bring these customers together, for mutual benefit. That intermediary role in turn depends on deep trust built up and maintained over time by the agency.

This approach maps well with continuing and emerging trends in professional services:

	outsourcing succeeds when there is a clear focus on core competencies, and a clear purpose beyond short-term financial savings
	professionals change roles frequently, with the result that from a recruitment perspective, a previous candidate may well be a present client and a future contractor or consultant
	knowledge is becoming a core asset for all businesses, hence outsourcing of professional services needs to protect the knowledge derived from those services when service providers change roles

Trusted Intermediary provides a systematic framework for selection of service providers, communication with customers, management of professional placement, and knowledge retention for client and service provider alike. Knowledge developed during service provision is retained through structured reviews and other techniques, and long-term personal links ensure that access to tacit knowledge is maintained. This maximises the benefits of outsourcing and other upcoming developments in the provision of professional services.

Brief summary of the Trusted Intermediary methodology

Core principles

	our customers are our clients and prospective clients, our service providers such as permanent placements, contractors, candidates and others, and also our candidates' referees.
	our aim is to work with our customers, not merely to work for them.
	all our customers are equally important to us, because over time the same people may be in different customer roles.
	our role is to act as a trusted intermediary to bring our customers together, for mutual benefit.
	our customers' trust in our role develops through continued, personal attention to their needs and concerns.
	we support that trust by providing a quality, ethical service in every part of our work.
	we support that trust within our own organisation, and for our customers, by creating a culture of openness and shared responsibility.
	we seek always to improve our service through innovation and continual assessment of our customers' feedback.
	we seek out and maintain affiliations with similarly motivated organisations.
	we recognise that it is vital that our behaviour matches our intentions.

Role of intermediary

	our clients require the services of skilled professionals to provide knowledge and create relationships in support of the client organisation's business purpose.
	our service providers have the ability to provide such services as appropriate.
	our role as intermediary is to match clients' needs with suitable providers of skills and services, and to manage operational details such as interviews, placement, pay and conditions as appropriate.
	we assure our clients of our providers' performance by verifying their skills and experience.
	we understand that professional ability and cultural fit are equally important to satisfy all customers' needs.
	we seek cultural fit of client and service provider to ensure greater enjoyment of work, and hence improved motivation, productivity and knowledge transfer.
	for all customers, our aim is to free them to focus on their core activities, in their professional relationships with each other.

Knowledge sharing

	we seek to support all customers in their personal and professional aspirations.
	our service providers are professionals with relevant skills and experience in their chosen fields of expertise.
	our staff and service providers are proactive and take pride in seeking knowledge and experience relevant to their markets and fields of expertise.
	our service providers aim to share their knowledge and transfer their skills to clients wherever appropriate as part of their service responsibility.
	our end-of-contract reviews with contractors include specific questions to elicit knowledge retention on behalf of both the contractor and the client.
	we foster team unity and a culture of information sharing by structuring remuneration packages on company performance as well as on individual effort.

Selection of service providers

	we take the same approach for all types of service provision - permanent placement, contract placement or short-term service.
	sourcing of candidate providers begins by verifying clients' requirements, both professional and cultural.
	we search for an appropriate match of professional resume and personal history, using our database, distributed networks and personal contacts.
	where necessary, but only where necessary, we will place advertisements in appropriate online, print, network and other media.
	we conduct personal interviews, by teleconference where necessary, of appropriate candidates.
	we verify skills and work-history by appropriate skills-testing and by personal contact with candidates' referees.
	we will only put forward a candidate when all criteria have been satisfied.
	where several candidates match the required criteria, we will use our best judgement to select the most appropriate candidate.
	unless the client chooses otherwise, we will only submit a single selected candidate for each service provider role.
	for permanent placements, we seek to place a permanent person once and once only; our most satisfying result is when a person takes a position that they want to develop throughout their working life.
	we record all resumes, interviews, reference checks and other activities in the appropriate sections of our database, linked to both candidate and client records.

Continued communication

	for mutual benefit, and to build and support trusted relationships, we aim to keep in regular and, where practicable, personal contact with all our customers.
	we will contact permanent placements and their client managers frequently during the 'settling-in' period to ensure that all placement issues are fully resolved.
	we will contact contractors on placement at regular intervals, dependent on length of contract, to ensure that all placement and operational issues are appropriately addressed.
	we will contact client managers at regular intervals as appropriate for the respective contract or permanent placements, to ensure continuing satisfaction.

Ethics of service

	we seek always to ensure equity in recommending candidate service providers on the basis of appropriacy, independent of gender, ethnicity, religion, disability or other personal characteristics.
	we do not engage in 'headhunting' activities.
	with candidates' referees we will not discuss other business matters, such as potential future work, or record their details in our database, without their express permission.
	we seek always to protect and preserve our customers' privacy.