REFERRAL PARTNERSHIPS
Partnering with Clevry Can Start Small
No legal work. No integration. No exclusivity required. Some of our best partnerships started with nothing more than two teams getting to know each other’s world.
You don't need a big partnership to get real value
Most conversations about partnership jump straight to contracts, commission structures, and technical integration. That’s not always the right place to start — and in many cases, it can bog things down.
Almost any organisation that talks to the same people we do — talent acquisition leads, HR directors, people development managers — has something to gain from knowing us better, and us knowing them. That doesn’t require becoming a formal reseller or building an integration. It can be as simple as a conversation.
We’re building an ecosystem of vendors and service providers we trust — people who are leading in their own field or niche, the way we aim to be in ours. This page is where that starts.
It’s also worth saying plainly: this is much more than lead sharing. Referral commissions are the most visible layer of collaboration, but they’re the tip of the iceberg. There are two other layers underneath that matter just as much — and cost nothing to start.
Three ways to collaborate, long before any money changes hands
We think about light collaboration as three levers. Most relationships move through them in order — and plenty create real value long before reaching the third.
Intel
Sharing business insight that helps you close deals
Influence
Lend each other credibility
Introduction
Turn trust into action
Have you noticed that many of your sales processes stagnate? They don't move forward and you don't really know the reason why. There might be other priorities, other vendors, organisational changes that cause delays — and knowing the reason helps you navigate those challenges. Once we understand each other's ideal client profiles and offerings, we can share this information in a neutral way that allows both teams to lead sales processes more effectively. We can even do proactive account mapping of our mutual clients and prospects, and keep each other informed as new things come up. There's nothing to build or configure — just a simple NDA (you can download here) and an ongoing awareness that keeps both sides ahead of the conversation.
We only partner with organisations we trust and rate highly. Over time, that trust means our clients listen when we make a recommendation — and it means the same for you. It's earned, and we take it seriously, which is exactly why it's valuable. When it's genuinely a good fit, it's easy for us to point our clients toward you, and vice versa.
This is where Intel and Influence start to pay off directly. Two formats work particularly well:
Direct lead sharing. When we have the opportunity to share a proper lead, we work to a simple, standard incentive: typically 20% of the first year's deal value, though we're flexible depending on the situation. Our Referral Partner Agreement lays out the ground rules in plain language — it's risk-free, non-exclusive, and doesn't obligate you to do anything. Just the upside.
Joint events. Exclusive dinners, breakfast seminars, webinars — the idea is to offer real value to our respective audiences and give each other a platform to showcase expertise, without a hard sell. Typically we each invite a mix of happy customers and prospects, split the cost, and both sides walk away with warmer relationships and access to a network they didn't have before.
A note worth repeating: commercial collaboration doesn't need to involve referral commissions at all. There's a genuine amount we can do together without that element ever coming into play.
How this actually gets started
When we do it this way, there’s no lengthy onboarding process, no application to “become a partner,” no certification to complete. Usually it just takes buy-in between a couple of the right people on each side and a joint enablement session for the key teams or individuals.
On our end, our partnerships team — Heikki and Sian — are hands-on from the first conversation. We’ll help map out where the overlap is, follow up on any leads exchanged to make sure they’re properly developed and chased, and help organise joint events or webinars when it makes sense.
The typical order is Intel → Influence → Introduction, rather than jumping straight to referrals. In practice, that means we’re mostly operationalising information and relationships that already exist in our respective networks — so there’s very little to build from scratch. We just need to talk.
Is this the right starting point for you?
Almost any organisation whose clients overlap with ours is a candidate for this kind of collaboration — regardless of size, sector, or how far the relationship eventually goes. We already do this with a broad mix of organisations, including:
- ✓HR consultancies and organisational psychology practices
- ✓HR tech and software providers — ATS, performance, engagement, and HRIS platforms
- ✓RPOs and recruitment agencies
- ✓Executive search, coaching, and leadership development firms
- ✓Learning and development providers
- ✓Industry associations and membership bodies
- ✓Any other organisation whose clients care about hiring, developing, or understanding their people
If your organisation talks to the kind of people we do — talent acquisition, HR leadership, people development — there's a good chance something is worth exploring here, even if Intel is as far as it goes for now.
Already fairly sure you want to go further than this? Take a look at our HR Consultancy Partner Programme or our RPO Partner Programme. Not sure which fits? Get in touch and we'll help you work it out.
Why this is genuinely risk-free
- ✓Non-exclusive. You're free to work with other vendors and partners at the same time. There's no channel conflict and no lock-in.
- ✓No obligation. Nothing here commits you to anything more than the conversation you're having right now.
- ✓No cost. There's nothing to buy, license, or integrate to get started.
- ✓Simple paperwork, only if you want it. A short mutual NDA if you'd like to protect sensitive information early, and a short Referral Agreement if and when you want to formalise lead sharing. Neither is a legal negotiation.
- ✓A real team, not a self-serve portal. Our partnerships team is hands-on from day one — you're not left to figure this out alone.
This is also how we already work alongside our deeper HR Consultancy and HR Tech partnerships, across a network that spans more than a dozen countries — light collaboration and deeper partnership aren't mutually exclusive, and one often leads to the other.
Ready-to-go documents, if and when you need them
Neither of these is required to start talking. They're here for when you want them.
Referral Partner Agreement
Our standard agreement for sharing qualified leads: a 20% commission on the first year's revenue (ARR) for a referral that converts, non-exclusive, with no ongoing obligation on either side. One document, plain language, no back-and-forth needed to get started. If you're selling SaaS and enjoy recurring revenue, or sign multi-year contracts, you only pay commission on the first year. Consultancy work can be excluded altogether, or we only include consulting gross profit — so if your margins are low, you're not making a loss.
Download the referral agreement →Mutual NDA Template
If you'd rather put a simple confidentiality agreement in place before discussing anything sensitive, this is our standard mutual NDA — covers both sides equally, runs for a year, and doesn't require legal back-and-forth to sign.
Download the NDA template →Frequently asked questions
Do we need to sign anything to start collaborating?
No. Most collaboration starts with a conversation, not paperwork. If you want to protect anything sensitive early on, we're happy to sign our standard mutual NDA; once you get to sharing leads for commission, our Referral Agreement covers that.
Is this exclusive?
No — none of our partnerships, light or otherwise, are exclusive. We're comfortable being one of several vendors or providers you work with, as long as trust and value flow in both directions.
What if we're not ready to share leads yet?
That's completely fine, and expected. Referrals are the last step of this model, not the first. A lot of valuable collaboration happens through account mapping (Intel) and mutual recommendation (Influence) alone.
How much does the referral commission actually pay?
Typically 20% of the first year's contract value (ARR) for a qualified referral that converts within 12 months, though we're flexible depending on the situation. Full detail is in the Referral Partner Agreement, which can be amended to fit your business and situation.
What counts as the right kind of organisation to collaborate with?
Broadly, any organisation that talks to the kind of people we do — talent acquisition, HR leadership, people development in organisations with more than 300 in headcount. Specific sectors matter far less than genuine overlap and trust.
Who manages this at Clevry?
Our partnerships team — Heikki and Sian — handle this personally, from the first conversation through to following up on any referred leads.
What if we want to go further than this eventually?
Many of our deepest partnerships started exactly this way. When you're ready, take a look at our HR Consultancy or HR Tech partner pages, or just tell us — we'll figure out the right next step together.
Let's start with a conversation
You don't need a strategy document or a business case to get started. Just tell us who you are, and we'll work out together whether there's something worth doing here — big or small.
