To provide security, clarity and protection for both SSG and our clients, we enter in to a contract with one another – which we call the ‘Working Agreement’.

The Working Agreement (WA) is a brief document designed to reflect the commercial nature of our relationship. Essentially, SSG will launch a new business (let’s call this fictitious new Company ABC Recruitment) & will then contract with ABC Recruitment to provide an expert ‘Launch’ of that business followed by the provision of ‘On-Going Support Services’.

In exchange for this 2-phase offering, ABC Recruitment will agree to pay a ‘Service Charge’ to SSG based on an agreed percentage of Company revenues (i.e. the much advertised ‘70% / 30%’ split of placement fees).

The WA is a three part document: i.e. the ‘Heads of Agreement’ a list of services provided by SSG (i.e. the SSG ‘Deliverables’ provided to the SSG Client) and a ‘Cessation Agreement’ (which outlines what would constitute a ‘deal buster’ for SSG).

In essence, Part 1 (the ‘Heads’) is a précis of the main points of the WA (e.g. the Service Charge level, the length of the agreement & confirmation that there are no hidden costs or surprises).

Part 2 is a physical list of the obligations of SSG (i.e. what we agree to do when we launch ABC Recruitment & what we will do to provide ABC Recruitment with the support & tools required to be successful).

Part 3 is confirmation that we recognise that SSG is potentially susceptible in that we request no payment other than a percentage of placement fees – which would make us vulnerable to dishonesty & the non-payment of the Service Charge. Part 3 provides SSG with an exit in the event of sustained client dishonesty.

In the unlikely event that the business does not ‘work out for you’ (i.e. you want to go back into the employment market or get out of recruitment etc) the WA also confirms that there are no ‘exit fees’ or financial penalties. Our view is that in such a circumstance, you will have enough on your plate without the additional worry about money!

You are of course invited to delve deeper into the WA (just click on the options within this section of our site – i.e. the ‘deal highlights’, the ‘3 Part Agreement’ & ‘the catch?’), but perhaps it is worth offering a brief list of observations now?

  • The WA is brief because we firmly believe that all parties entering into this relationship need to have faith in each other & the process.
  • SSG will present any potential client with the agreement in 3-parts and offer significant explanation & time before we would consider entering into anything binding.
  • Our core values reflect the WA – which is clear, transparent and direct.
  • There are no ‘up front’ fees, no additional charges, no ‘small print’, a total absence of ‘legal jargon’ & a genuine commitment to provide security and protection for our clients.
  • If required, we are always delighted to provide testimonials of clients who are currently at differing stages of their development (i.e. why not chat to some clients just starting out with SSG, a few who have been around for a year or so & then a couple of our old timers?).

Although we appreciate that entering into any WA (‘contract’) can be scary, intimidating and often stressful, I guess you ought to be able to take some comfort from the fact that we would be crazy to launch a business unless we felt confident of its potential and secure in the knowledge that SSG is a reputable organisation which will continue to earn the respect & custom of our clients.

We are content to take the financial risk to back our judgement when agreeing to launch a new business and equally happy to accept that if we are wrong, we can not whinge & moan.

However, is this ‘too good to be true?’ – Absolutely not! Let’s face it, we are asking you to walk away from a guaranteed salary, put yourself on-the-line and fundamentally alter the way in which you live.

That seems enough risk to us!