There are a lot of benefits to using the ‘right’ recruitment agency, we have chosen the top 10 that may be beneficial to you.
1. Knowledge of the market
The best recruiters will have their finger on the pulse of their specialist markets, and can give the hiring team insight in to what is happening. They should know the available talent, where they are and how to reach out to them, salary rates, career expectations, available skill-sets and current hiring complexities. The best will act as partners and collaborators, and should still be your eyes and ears in the market.
2. Extended reach
Some candidates are hard to find. They may be passive or they may be selective. If they aren’t responding to job advertisements, don’t see themselves as part of your ‘talent pool’ and are too busy to search full time then the chances are that they may have relationships with trusted specialist recruiters in your sector. Even if they aren’t currently ‘active’ I use this term loosely as everyone is active if presented with the right opportunity, there’s a strong chance that a good recruiter will know who they are and how to reach them. Agencies have many networks – each consultant, candidate, client or collaborator has the potential to leverage their networks to help connect you to people with a range of skills and experiences, many of who would be off the radar of an in-house team or hiring manager.
3. Time saved
In business, time is money and using a Recruitment Agency is a time saver. They will save you time because they take care of the beginning steps of the hiring process. If you post a job opening on traditional job boards, there is a strong chance you will receive hundreds of CV’s and applications for any single position. Out of the hundreds of applicants, a significant amount will not be qualified or will simply not be right for the job. Finding the right applicants to interview will take a great amount of time and effort.
4. Candidates not applicants
A lot of talent attraction is aimed at attracting applicants, whether they are responding to an advert, applying on spec, or through your website. A lot of these people may not be good matches for the role hence a lot of time will be invested in filtering, assessing, matching and communicating with them. Using a recruitment agency should mean that you see only candidates – job seekers who have been pre-selected to match the criteria that you are looking for and who are worthy of consideration and interview.
5. Access to the best
In addition to sorting through submitted applications, a Recruitment Agency will also have access to the best talent available. This includes access to talent that is currently employed elsewhere. These qualified individuals can work discreetly with a recruitment agency when they are looking for a new challenge and opportunity. Recruitment Agencies have their own database of qualified applicants that they can pull directly from.
6. Cost
Cost needs to be proportioned to two things, price associated with advertising your vacancy and the time spent by you and your employees trying to find that correct match. If you are looking for a person with a specific skill set or in a specific niche many hiring managers in house maybe out of there depth when trying to understand what it ‘actually’ is you need from that person. Through no fault of their own they are maybe not specialists in that particular market place, although get it ‘wrong’ and it will end up costing your business more than just money. A Recruitment Agency is also there to help negotiate the best salary, giving you guidance and advice on what is fair and appropriate, but also what you might need to do to guarantee that top candidate that everyone else is after too!
7. Help with employer brand
Large companies invest a lot of time and money in developing and marketing their employer brand, but many SME’s and smaller businesses don’t have the same resources. If you choose your agency wisely then they can give potential candidates a real insight in to your business – what it’s like to work there, benefits and career openings available, and a feel for the culture. If you partner closely with right agency they will act as an extension of you and your team and also be an advocate of your brand.
8. Access to key strategic skills
The number one reason that companies gave for using a recruitment agency was to gain short term access to key strategic skills, a reason that has been growing in importance over the last 3 years, now overtaking covering leave and peaks in demand. With talent shortages now potentially hindering growth it’s not surprising that this is the case. Whilst some of the reasons I’ve already given may refer more to permanent recruiters, many also offer the opportunity to bring in qualified, experienced help at short notice. These flexible solutions are particularly crucial for a long term project or initiative.
9. Peace of mind
A good Recruitment Agency is going to have a proven track record of finding the right employees for the job and be specialist in their field. When you meet with their selection of shortlisted candidates, you can feel more confident with your final hiring decision. Working with a Recruitment Agency will help you make a more assured decision.
10. Relationship
Once you have developed a relationship with a Recruitment Agency that you trust, your future hiring’s will go even more smoothly. The Agency will be aware of the qualities that it takes to make the right fit within your company and what you expect from them. The next time you have an available position, you can fill it quickly and satisfactorily. Your recruitment partner is an advocate, a specialist soundboard and an extension of you and your company’s brand.