Recruiters and procurement professionals can work together to achieve their goals, says a senior figure from the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply (CIPS).

With a code of practice for the benefit of recruiters and purchasers in the early stages of development, Jeff Beal told Recruiter that the two groups should work closer together for greater effectiveness.

Beal is a co-director of CIPS-GPA, a specialist recruitment service for the purchasing and supply chain set up last year. He told Recruiter that the perception that purchasers try to do things 'on the cheap' was wrong.

He suggests it is born out of a "lack of understanding" of the role that purchasers can play in business.

Far from seeking to secure talent cheaply, Beal argues that procurers are looking to go about recruitment in a more effective way, as long as the two groups of people work together, by ensuring they find the right candidate for the right job.

The procurement of professional services has come a long way in recent years. "Procurers have a role to play, which is in managing the strategic relationships which are involved in recruitment," says Beal.

The Recruitment and Employment Confederation and CIPS have confirmed they are currently in the process of drawing up a proposed code of practice for the benefit of both recruiters and purchasers, although both organisations declined to discuss the code's potential provisions as the draft was still in its early stages.

"It's about each party understanding the requirements of each role. Recruiters need to understand the role of purchasers and purchasers need to understand what recruiters do," adds Beal.

CIPS-GPA was formed in September last year when CIPS joined forces with recruitment agency GPA, following demand from CIPS members for the service.