Table of contents
Collaboration between you as an interim professional and Xentys
Xentys engages (in addition to search) in secondment and interim management within the procurement, logistics and operations disciplines. Functions from senior associate, project manager to director. We work from a dynamic pool of interim professionals whom we have spoken to and in whom we have confidence that they will successfully carry out the assignments that are right for them.
In this document we give you a brief description of our working method and the issues that play an important role in the cooperation. You can best think of this document as a “Code of Conduct” for how we as an agency and you as an interim manager ideally treat each other.
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How does Xentys work
The success of an assignment hinges on the “match” between the interim and the assignment, plus the careful execution of the assignment.
This includes a set of ground rules:
Our file
- we work exclusively on the basis of a carefully selected database of interim workers, all of whom we have spoken to and know, and whom we can quickly select based on a number of criteria;
- professional experiences with the interim are brought into our database.
Application & intake
- Each assignment is started with an Intake (Situation and Assignment Analysis), preferably at the client’s home, sometimes unfortunately by phone, where the client is interviewed so that we can get a good picture of the client and the assignment.
Recruitment
- Based on the mission statement and organizational outline, we prepare a requirements profile;
- Since this is a temporary position, the client expects you to settle in quickly and deliver output. This means that when selecting candidates, we will look for slightly overqualified individuals;
- every job posting is posted on our site and a number of job boards. Also, the professionals selected for this assignment from our database will receive a personal email with the assignment description. You can express your interest through one of these channels;
- for hard-to-fill positions, we also approach candidates directly;
- The interim staff we ultimately select are given extensive personal or telephone interviews, during which, of course, matters such as rates, lead time and deployment are also discussed.
Our offer
- the client then receives the offer with the interim’s CV and our report of the interview with the interim following the assignment;
- In one or more introductory meeting(s) between the client and the interim, it is determined whether there is a click between the parties and whether the substantive knowledge is at the desired level.
Project implementation
- If the parties come to an agreement, we enter into a contract with the interim worker and separately with the client;
- the interim will be assigned a “shadow manager” if necessary/desirable.
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No assignment yet…
As long as you are registered with us, but not “sitting” on an assignment through us, the collaboration is preferably as follows:
- You actively search for interesting assignments yourself, possibly through our expressions (see ‘Recruitment’);
- Xentys will approach you if we believe your background is a good fit for a current application;
- Change of name information or in your CV please submit as soon as possible.
Looking for a new assignment
The interplay between an agency and you as an interim professional has (at this stage) a number of characteristics, which you need to know and take into account thoroughly in order for three parties (you, the agency and the client) to be successful:
- An agency performs the acquisition of the assignment for you and receives compensation for it once you are working on the assignment;
- An agency has many interim professionals on file;
- You probably work with several agencies to ensure continuity of assignments;
- The barrier to entry into the agency market is small, which means that weaker parties (financially or morally) can sometimes be found among the agencies;
- This business is quite fast : applications must be filled quickly;
- Applications are almost always submitted to multiple agencies;
- An agency almost always introduces several candidates per application.
Trust and reliability of parties are very important to become successful together (three parties). However, there is a strong possibility of opportunism.
To avoid falling into that trap, we recommend that you (the interim professional) adopt a number of behaviors during this phase:
- Choose with care the agencies you want to work with;
- Ensure that your details and your resume are never submitted to a client by an agency without your knowledge;
- Make absolutely sure that your details and CV never reach the same client through multiple agencies;
- When starting a new “application” process, e.g., through Xentys, be open and transparent about your already pending “applications” and agree in advance on the time period you will remain available (exclusively or not) for that application;
- Proactively inform us (Xentys) if there are any changes in the status of pending applications. Please understand that the moment your information is submitted to a client, we have every interest in successfully completing that process with you. If you drop out early, you can expect a damaged relationship with us. It will be noted in our file !
- do not go around us (Xentys) directly to our client, this is not professional and will often lead to the end of your relationship with Xentys.
What can you expect from Xentys at this stage ?
- Honest and transparent communication about the application;
- we keep you proactively informed about the progress of the application and your interest in it;
- We make every effort to win the job for you;
- we charge a margin of about 20% of the sales rate and offer you an all-in rate (including commuting)
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During the assignment
An assignment revolves around a limited number of essentials :
- knowledge and experience
- communication/behavior.
On knowledge and experience, we can “match” you fairly objectively. For communication and behavior, this is already more difficult. In practice, the main reasons that some assignments are terminated early appear to be communication/behavioral. Often very trivial matters. Therefore, herewith some hints:
- you deliver a “quality product” for everything, you act as a professional;
- the interest of the client is always paramount;
- you avoid creating a “conflict of interest” in the performance of your duties;
- you comply with laws and regulations and socially accepted norms and values in the performance of your work;
- you prefer to ask too many questions of Xentys, rather than too few; where necessary you call for help;
- You exhibit diplomatic behavior (although there are conceivable situations where this behavior is precisely not appropriate);
- You communicate openly and without a hidden agenda;
- listening is much more important than speaking;
- You are polite and friendly in your dealings, regardless of rank or station;
- when the situation requires it you make yourself vulnerable, you increase acceptance by doing so;
- emotional behavior leads to misunderstanding, therefore always remain calm(controlled emotionality is sometimes appropriate);
- behavior where power is shown does not inspire authority, and it is precisely about authority;
- your clothing is adapted to the environment;
- A deal is a deal, commitments made are kept;
- you remain yourself and at the same time professional;
- in problem situations try to get into the other person’s skin, it increases the chance and prospect of (good) solutions.
Not to mention:
- We enter into a cooperation contract with you and adhere to the fiscal and legal rules (DBA law among others)
- If you, the client and/or we appreciate it, you will be supervised by a so-called shadow manager during the interim assignment;
- If an assignment does not go to plan, it usually reveals itself in the first month. During that period, you and we should have a lot of contact with each other. If things don’t go quite to your liking, we can and would like to help you, please take advantage of that. Any derailments can then be resolved quickly and appropriately. That no longer works when an irreversible situation has arisen!
- Make reports of your work and your results at regular intervals (usually weekly), especially for the client;
- Once you work through/for us, you will be invited to interim meetings organized by us;
- In order to bill, we need your timesheet for that month at the end of each calendar month. You have been emailed a template (Excel) from us for this purpose. Have those signed for approval by the client immediately after the end of the calendar month and then mail them to us;
- We will pay you immediately upon receipt of payment from the customer/client. We maintain a payment term between client and us of 30 days.
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