How To Get The Most From Your Recruitment Agency

Our Top Tips!

When looking to get an agency to help your company recruit for a position, there’s a few things to start thinking about! Overall it’s important to make sure that you choose the right agency for you, don’t go for someone just because they offer you the best rate. Often you’ll find that the best way to narrow your options down is to meet with the agency and most importantly, the individual consultants. Usually there is one individual that you will be working with and it’s good to know they are the right fit. Remember the agency are not just representing you but are essentially an extension of your brand.

Commit to The Agency

When you’ve chosen your agency, it’s important to commit to them. Consider giving the agency exclusivity to recruit for your roles or maybe look at using a retainer.

Commiting to an agency will benefit you hugely! Agencies tend to prioritise their portfolio of work in terms of how likely they are to get a return on their investment of time. Working with an agency on an exclusive or retained basis usually puts you to the top of the pile. With your commitment, they will ensure they allocate much more time to filling your positions and finding the right candidates. They’ll also put more effort into completing a deeper search and making sure they find the best candidates for you to ensure you remain happy with their work.

I’ve heard clients say on many occasions, “I’m going to use lots of agencies as I need someone quickly” this approach will often achieve the opposite and mean that you could go to the bottom of the priority list. For many agencies this often means they will spend less time on your campaign and you’re likely to be presented with the same list of people.

There are of course exceptions to the above but by and large we believe this is the case.

Invest Time With Your Agency

At the beginning of the process, it’s important to spend a bit of time with your recruiter. This time will help them when looking for a candidate if they see the environment they are recruiting for and meet the personalities of the people they could be working with.This will also mean they will be much more passionate and comprehensive in selling the role to potential candidates. A well informed candidate will then know what to expect and any drop outs from the process either pre or post interview are much less likely.

Be Transparent

Before you begin to recruit for a position, make sure the role is signed off. As soon as your recruiter brings you the right candidate, you may need to move quickly. Not being prepared to offer them straight away could mean that you lose out.

Let an agency know if you are also using another agency or multiple. Are you exclusive to just the one or are there numerous people trying to fill the role?

Are there internal candidates that are going to be considered for the position? What guidelines have you set to them to apply? Will you be considering them before external?

Listen to Them

If you’ve chosen the right agency for your company then you should easily feel you can trust them when advising you on next steps. If for example they say that you should move quickly when securing a candidate due to a competitive market, then don’t ignore their advice. 

Equally if they believe you’re searching for something a bit more individual and your exact specification isn’t out there, take their advice on what is available or how you could adjust your role to engage more possible candidates. 

Communicate

Most importantly, make sure you clearly communicate your brief. Let your consultant know what your role specification is, but also what you’re looking for in the right candidate. What characteristics are important to you? What do you want to see from someone new?  

Communicating throughout the whole recruitment process is also important. Do you want something to be included in the interview process? Are you happy with how the files are being handled? Are the right type of candidates being presented to you?

Get in touch to see whether we are the right recruitment agency for you!