Calling on a professional to recruit is a strategic business decision. Outsourcing recruitment reduces your need for HR expertise and saves you wasting time in the recruitment process.
But with over 7,000 recruitment and placement companies in Australia alone , how do you choose the right partner?
Here are our five tips for choosing the right partner for you.
Industry knowledge and expertise
Using a generalist recruitment partner can help you cover a wide range of positions. There are many agencies that can provide comprehensive solutions to businesses’ recruiting needs, but your business may need a specific type of talent and expertise.
To be a real asset to your organization, your partner must understand your needs at a technical level. For example, if you are looking for bioengineering specialists, you will need a recruiting partner with access to expert biomedical engineers. An agency with a pool of generalist candidates cannot help you properly. When you use specialist partners, you work with knowledgeable recruitment professionals who understand what you need in terms of experience, skills and team fit.
Hiring strategies and recruitment techniques
It takes approximately 82 days to recruit a new employee using your own HR department . The techniques and processes used by a recruiting organization are essential. Simply matching required skills to keywords is not enough to create a shortlist.
Good agencies will take the time to research the market, use pre-screening tests to ensure candidates are a good match for your organization in terms of career aspirations, skills and personality, and check candidates’ opinions on your company and the position offered, before sending information. They must also verify the authenticity of candidates, and understand their profiles to ensure that candidates have the skills and expertise they claim to have.
Check their reputation
As with any business, the status of an organization is critical to your hiring process. It’s easy for an agency to brag about their recruiting skills, but what really matters is what their past clients have to say about them. So do your research beforehand. If it has established itself as a provider of quality personnel, you are assured of receiving quality services.
A good agency must demonstrate passion, optimism and a high level of customer service. If you want to try out a new recruiter and you receive a resume from them as a suggestion, check out their recommendations on their LinkedIn profile or reach out to your network to check their reputation.
Research their prices and accessibility
An agency may offer excellent services, but if they are beyond your budget, it may not be cost-effective for your business to use them. Do a search on their website or request a direct quote to find out how much they charge for their services. Invest your time in a small number of specialized recruiters who have your best interests at heart.
Price does not always reflect quality. Some partners may charge lower fees while still providing exceptional services. When looking at fee breakdowns, you need to consider the following: warranty periods, payment terms, and candidate replacement. For example, what are your rights if your candidate does not complete the trial period?
Ask about their pool of candidates
A recruitment partner’s mission is to find relevant candidates who will use their skills and expertise to add value to your company.
Access to a large network and having a large candidate pool is key to connecting with the right candidate. Recruitment partners frequent job boards and social media networks to find the best candidates. LinkedIn is the most used, with 87% of recruiters using this platform as their primary source
Many recruitment partners rely on their own personal networks to find candidates for their clients. This limits their scope to candidates known to the agency. Look for a partner who has an extensive network of industry experts and professionals.
