Now we all know how essential collaborating with recruitment agencies is when you’re looking for an effective and efficient way to bring new talent into your team. Their day to day focuses on sourcing and selecting highly desirable candidates, ideal for your roles.
The easy decision is knowing that you need the support, the challenge is selecting an agency from a heavily saturated marketplace. As soon as you display any form of interest in requiring an agency, the calls will flood in – How would you differentiate them and filter out the higher quality consultants? Here’s some advice on how to select and work with them effectively….
Selecting a recruitment agency
Quality over cost
The strategy of selection that the majority of companies use while choosing their recruiter is normally focused around financial benefits. Now I understand that saving every penny counts, however, bringing in your next new hire is a serious ongoing cost and quality is a point to look out for over price. Click here to see what cost related questions to ask.
Similar values
A further factor to take into consideration while filtering through the requests is to ensure that there is a strong fit based on values. Ultimately, the agency is representing your company, therefore, you need to ensure that you’re happy to be associated with them and their activity.
We all know how important your virtual store front is, as more and more people are concerned with what their name is linked with.
Additionally, the recruitment agency you do go with will be first point of contact within your hiring process. Now this can be extremely risky and if selected incorrectly, can reduce your desirability to potential hires.
Their reputation effects yours
Although very self-explanatory, a significant area to investigate is their reputation in the market. Like the above, having any form of negative association can risk your potential to attract and engage with top talent. For example, if an agency is known to fill spaces for their own fulfilment, rather than your business requirements, they aren’t the right option for you.
“So much depends on reputation. Guard it with your life….”
Their skill and knowledge
A recruiter’s skill and understanding of your industry is something that is highly important when you are in the decision process. Every industry’s requirements vary, along with what your company is looking for, therefore, you need to work with a recruiter who comes across as a credible leader in their patch.
There’s many ways to differentiate quality by just using online tools such as social media and marketing platforms.
How to work with a recruitment agency
Once you have selected the most appropriate agency for you, the next step is to ensure that both parties fully understand each other’s expectations. Now I’m not going to go into the ins and outs of a contract (that would be a blog in itself), however, I do want to emphasise how important having a clear process to follow is.
As stated above, you want to work with an agency who reflects your ideas and values, therefore, ensuring that they are putting into place the processes you desire, such as candidate experience and the application procedure, is vital to a positive working relationship.
Now we know how using an agency is, especially if you’re advertising challenging roles, however do not rely too much on their presence, as you can do more than you think yourself through your employer branding.
Employer Branding in Recruitment
Employer branding (EB) in a nutshell is the process in which a company promotes their culture and ultimately their whole offering to potential hires, with the goal to attract, engage and retain talent. Click here to discover more on how this can benefit your business.
Now every company has an EB. Your decision is whether you want to utilise this added level of marketing or not….
There are many different elements you can plug in to advance your image, including sharing behind the scenes snippets of your workplace, employee advocates, content creation and improving your candidate experience. Click here for an in-depth read on how to implement the above.
Now this process won’t happen overnight…. However, by drip-feeding content, you will begin to build up your visibility and start to naturally attract candidates over to your careers page directly, without the support of a recruiter.
Wouldn’t that save so much unnecessary time and money?!
An example of a company who have used this to their advantage is Social Chain! They’ve devised creative concepts to increase their visibility and show people exactly what it is like to be a part of their team. They’ve expressed their authenticity and added a human touch that shows the good and the bad (very little of it) and the reality of the company…. Which is exactly what job seekers want to see!
Ultimately, you will need to work alongside a recruitment agency at some point of your hiring process. The important take-away from this blog is to select appropriately – The collaboration needs to work for your company.
However, do not rely too heavily on their ability as you have all the tools to hand to increase your desirability. Now all you need to do is decide who you are as a company and how to translate this into your employer brand!
If you are looking for any employer brand inspiration or support, feel free to contact us on [email protected] and we will help you bring out your authentic message!
