9 tips to ensure HR Managers work with the best recruitment partner for your business.
EQ8 Recruit | Offering Innovative Talent Acquisition Services
Choosing the right recruitment agency can be a very tough decision. Too often it’s also done very quickly, when there is an urgent hiring need and you need a candidate “tomorrow”. If your talent acquisition plan relies on a third party recruiter giving you the very best talent available, then if you chose the wrong agency who doesn’t give you the very best of service then it’s difficult to calculate the costs of a wrong hire, or time wasted with an agency who isn’t genuinely interested in a long term business relationship. The true cost of a bad hire is probably much more than you think.
There are so many recruitment agencies out there of different sizes, specialising in different sectors, old and new. Once you have a solid working relationship with a good consultant it can completely change the way you recruit.
What’s the difference between a Recruitment Consultancy and a Recruitment Agency?
Have you ever wondered why recruitment service providers are very often referred to as a “recruitment agency” and not a “recruitment consultancy”? The fact is an agency and a consultancy are worlds apart in business model and approach.
An agency “sells” and a consultancy “consults”. Very different!
Nuts and bolts are sold. Talent can’t be sold. Talent acquisition requires consultancy services.
If you’re in HR and you’re responsible for talent acquisition and retention and need to engage a third party recruitment service provider, then why would you want to work with a sales representative at a recruitment agency? And more importantly when you’re an HR Manager responsible for your company’s talent acquisition why would you trust a recruiter who doesn’t understand your business and is simply submitting random CVs?
The clear distinction of what encapsulates the true essence of a recruitment consultant is that they are not a salesperson. Finished.
A consultant will want to partner with you, be effective, collaborative, and efficient. They will focus on your unique need and use their area of expertise as a recruitment consultant and then deliver what you need.
Human Resource and Hiring Managers should to start asking themselves whether the traditional model of working with recruiters who push for big fees, earn high commissions and bonuses is really the right business model for third party talent acquisition service providers.
Consider the traditional “recruitment agency” contingent business model.
Recruiters have KPI’s to meet. They are paid relatively low salaries and the more fees they bill, the higher their commissions and bonuses. It’s all about high risk and high reward. It is sales!
A hiring company signs terms with a recruiter, briefs in a new vacancy and the recruiter starts a recruitment campaign with no guarantee of any revenue.
In many cases several recruiters are working on the same vacancy at the same time. Do you really believe that each recruiter working on a vacancy is giving the recruitment campaign genuine consultative service, commitment and dedicated time? Heck no. They have KPI’s to meet, sales targets to reach and will focus working on the vacancy that the recruiter best believes can deliver a fee.
Only once a recruiter has introduced a successful candidate are they then able to invoice a fee on the candidates start date.
When one considers the roller coaster revenue model of many recruitment agents, it is no wonder fees are charged as high as possible.
On the flip side, recruiters need to charge as much as possible in order to counter the high risk factors of the existing business model, it’s actually costing hiring companies much more than recruitment actually really needs to.
There has to be a better model. A model that services your needs and ensures you have a dedicated recruiter on your side every step of the way. If you have an outstanding service provider, you’ll want to look after them and they’ll look after you.
Here are 9 key points to consider when you next have to select your third party recruitment service provider:-
Consider the firms expertise and track record.
What is their success rate in placing candidates with their clients? Anything below a 50% success rate should set off alarm bells.
Which recruitment consultant will actually service your business?
Is it the MD, GM or Principal Recruiter you meet whilst negotiating, or will it be a junior recruiter? Ensure you’ll be getting a personalised and comprehensive recruitment service to meet you unique requirements. What you’re looking for is results in finding the “right” candidate.
Carefully evaluate the terms you’ll be signing.
Select a company that will tailor-make terms to address your criteria regarding talent acquisition and the associated cost of the search. The cost structure should be a win-win for you and your service provider and should represent value for all parties concerned.
Consider moving away from fees based on a % of annual remuneration.
Consider a company whose recruiters aren’t “agents”, but rather work as consultants for the benefit of their clients and ultimately the company they work for. Be cautious of recruiters are who are happy to radically drop their fees. They will put less work and effort into finding you the right person. Remember – you get what you pay for!
Ensure the recruiter you work with acts as your brand ambassador, ensuring there is “one voice” in your talent acquisition market.
Consider not working with multiple recruiters for the same vacancy. A mixed up and confused voice in the market is not good for your brand. Too often there are hiring companies who advertise vacancies themselves and then engage 3 or more recruiters as well. Candidates will ask their recruiter why there are so many recruiters on this job. They are likely to be approached if they are visible in the market and wonder why is there so much urgency and why doesn't the company trust the recruiters they engage. Candidates would rather apply directly to be able to control the process themselves. The whole value of the process then goes lopsided and guess what, the recruiters then do not prioritise the vacancy and your brand comes across as desperate. Consultants should be your ally if you work effectively with them.
Do your homework and find out about their interview and selection methodology.
Find out what interview techniques they use and how they take references for the candidate. Ensure they are aligned to your needs and inform them of your process as well.
Ensure your recruiter takes a detailed and comprehensive job brief from you.
A job description is never enough for a recruitment consultant to deliver the best candidates. You should ideally be on the phone to your consultant for at least half an hour with an initial job brief. Anything less your recruiter doesn’t know enough to act as your brand ambassador when engaging with prospective talent on your behalf. They need to understand the context of why you are hiring so that they can engage with candidates effectively.
Once you’re working with your recruiter, keep regular communication.
The best recruitment consultants are continually in touch with their clients and thrive on customer service and satisfaction. They are your conduit for information on your talent market!
Once you sign up with an outstanding Recruitment Consultant is like striking gold.
Endeavour to work with someone has been with the same recruitment company and industry a long time as this is a sure sign they are excellent at what they do.