Choosing a Recruitment Agency to handle employee recruitment for your business can be a daunting task. With so many options, a lot of people have a hard time selecting the right one and often end up picking one that is not suitable for their organization. When done incorrectly, it could cost your business both time and money – resources every business would prefer not to waste.
When looking for a recruitment agency to hire for your organization, cheap may seem appealing. It is this prospect of saving a few bucks here and there that leads most people to make the wrong decision. Cheap is not necessarily bad, but nine out of ten times… you get what you pay for. Price definitely comes a distant second to the importance of getting a recruitment agency that provides quality service.
So before affirming your signature on the dotted line, make sure that the recruitment firm has the following aspects covered:
Specific Industry Expertise – Unless you have very general recruitment needs, it’s crucial that you make sure the recruitment agency in question has the expertise to recruit for your specific business/industry. If they do not have the expertise, they will struggle – and most likely fail – to identify the most suitable candidates for you.
They Cast a Wide Net – Good candidates for any vacant positions are hard to find. Great recruiting firms are able to dig deeper to find the best and don’t limit themselves to one method of recruitment like online job boards. They should be able to apply a combination of recruitment strategies to find the best for your organisation.
Have an In-depth Screening Process – Screening is one of the most important steps in employee recruitment. You don’t want a recruitment agency that dumps 10 CVs on your desk and leaves you to figure out which ones will be the most suitable for your role. A diligent recruitment agency spends significant amounts of resources (including time) pre-screening candidates and will only introduce to you those that match your needs.
Registration and Qualification – The recruitment agency should be registered and licenced by the relevant government authority to carry out its operations. The agency should also be able to demonstrate an understanding of all current employment laws and ethical standards. You do not want to hire a recruitment agency that will tarnish your business’ reputation or get you into trouble with the law.
Offer a guarantee – A great recruitment firm provides a guarantee on their results. It shows they are confident in their ability to find the right candidate for you. If they fail, you will be able to hold them accountable.
Have a High Employee Retention Rate – Most agencies will boast of being able to fill 100% of their clients’ vacancies. This, however, does not matter if only a few of the candidates pushed to clients made it through 1 year of employment. Ask your prospect agency to provide hard numbers on the employee retention rate of their candidates.
Offer an After-Sales Service – The agency’s work does not end once the employee has been placed with the client. The recruitment agency needs to check in regularly for at least the first six months to ensure that their candidate is progressing well and help out with any teething problems.
Reliability – A good recruitment agent should be reliable. They should be able to deliver suitable candidates within agreed upon timeframes. Each day spent with an empty position costs the organisation in terms of productivity, so having a recruitment agent who can deliver on time could help reduce this loss.Ask around for recommendations to find reliable agencies.
Relationship building – When a recruitment agency builds a relationship with their client, they are able to get a better understanding of the client’s business, their culture and the kind of people that would fit well in the organisation. Candidates brought forward will therefore have a greater chance of succeeding.
Communication. For successful employee recruitment, there needs to be two-way communication between you – the client – and the recruitment agency. This will help both parties understand the role they have to play in the recruitment process. A great recruitment agency should have good communication systems in place.