Hi
,
Today, I read about a rumour circulating online that claims retail giant Walmart fired an executive for allegedly taking $30,000 in daily kickbacks from an Indian staffing agency.
Essentially, the alleged scheme involved funnelling jobs to Indian nationals while shutting out American workers and abruptly locking out 1,200 contractors shipping U.S.
jobs to India.
I wonder what one World Leader had to say about that?
But I won't go there.
It reminded me of when I was working for a leading high street recruitment agency.
The owner had purchased a highly profitable recruitment agency to add to his
portfolio; the only problem was that nearly all the business's revenue was tied to one industrial client.
Not clever.
Well, everything was going well for several months.
Then the CEO of this industrial company called my boss and said that every Christmas, the previous recruitment agency would take him to a casino in
London for a bit of gambling and then for a meal at the Langham's restaurant in Mayfair.
My boss was pleased to oblige, so they met up at the casino.
The client went straight to the roulette table, placed his bet, and then turned around and said, 'This is where you put down £2,000 on the table.'
The owner of
the recruitment agency said, But I don't gamble.
He replied, No, it's not for you, it's for me.
The previous agency would cover all my bets for the evening.
Yikes…
The agency owner said, Well, that is something he was not willing to do.
The contract ended shortly thereafter, and the recruitment agency struggled for many years afterwards.
What do they say about eggs and baskets!
However, the recruitment agency owner was so incensed that he wrote to the company's owner, and shortly thereafter, the CEO was fired.
He would likely struggle to ever secure a job at the executive level.
Sadly, although illegal, so-called backhanders within the recruitment industry occur all the time, perhaps not as overtly as this one, but nevertheless, they still do.
However, you might be able to ride the crest of a wave for a while, but I guarantee you one thing:
sooner or later, it will come crashing down around your head.
So, my advice to the recruitment agencies I deal with daily is this: if such an opportunity comes your way…
Run for the hills, as it will cost you your future.
In business, trust is worth more than any shortcut.
