3 Tips About Third Party Recruitment Agency You Can't Afford To Miss

Hiring has changed a lot from just posting a job and waiting for resumes. To bring in the best talent, businesses need to act fast with accuracy and knowledge. In the right parts of the job market, using the help of a recruitment agency can give greater benefits to the business than just being another outsourcing partner.

Finding the right recruitment partner can bring many benefits to your business, like reducing the number of candidates stuck in the process and hiring better candidates. But, picking an agency without understanding the important things can cost you time, money, and get you the wrong candidates.

When a business is growing fast, moving to new markets, and hiring large numbers of new staff, picking the right recruitment partner is very important. For a recruitment partnership to be successful and avoid mistakes, the right Three Principles are essential.

The Importance of Using a Recruitment Agency Today

The recruitment and hiring process is not a simple case of matching up job descriptions with CVs. Proper recruitment needs a deep understanding of a business and its needs, as well as the long-term potential of an applicant and how they fit with the business culture.

When recruiting staff, a good, third party recruitment agency works as part of the recruitment team within the business and will search for candidates using many different techniques.

This can be especially useful for businesses that are expanding. Most HR teams have to juggle employee issues, payroll, compliance, performance, onboarding, and planning for the team. Outsourcing recruitment can help reduce some of the workload for HR.

On top of that, a recruitment agency tends to have a lot of useful information. They often have insight into the availability of candidates, salary information, and the ebb and flow of skills gaps and employment within various fields.

With the right information, recruitment can be much more than the reactive process of filling a role.

Recruitment Is a Process That is Much More Comprehensive Than Just Filling a Job

A role that is left unfilled can negatively impact many areas of a company, particularly financially and operationally. Filling that role with the wrong person is an even greater cost.

For this reason, businesses should analyze the recruitment agencies’ hiring methods rather than the volume of candidates that they can produce.

A robust recruitment process is one that involves sourcing candidates, screening, evaluating their profile, assessing their skills, interviewing, checking references, and offering assistance for the rest of the recruitment framework.

This process serves the purpose of matching employers to individuals who are suitably qualified and skilled to fulfill the role.

Tip 1: Pick an Agency With Real Knowledge of the Field

This one is pretty easy: agencies should have knowledge of the field.

A recruitment agency that has insight and knowledge to the field is more likely to differentiate between candidates who have the bare minimum, i.e. the necessary qualifications, and candidates who have the qualifications and the experience to fulfill the job.

For instance, hiring an engineer or finance executive requires a different way of thinking than hiring a healthcare professional or salesperson, an HR manager, or a supply-chain expert.

A one size fits all way of thinking will miss nuances.

A good third party recruitment agency should know the lingo as well as the roles and responsibilities, requirements, and levels of experience and the expectations of the given profession.

Don't Just Consider Experience

The agency should be looked at more than how long it has been around.

While that can be useful, other things should be looked at too, such as how well they know the industry, their methods of recruitment, their network of candidates, how they communicate, and how well they understand different employers.

Things to consider include:

• Do they know the industry?
• Can they find experts?
• Do they properly screen candidates?
• How do they check candidates?
• Do they know what the company needs?
• Can they deal with both one at a time and many at once?
• How fast do they work?

These things can help identify true knowledge of the field versus claims to know it.

The more specialized knowledge an agency has, the better the recruitment will be for that agency.

Think of a recruitment agency trying to fill a role needing a certain technical skill with a certain software, requiring a certification and experience with that specific kind of project and in that specific industry. The agency probably won't be able to fill that role if they don’t understand how to identify what candidates have that kind of experience. Instead, they will rely on the candidates’ résumés and how closely they match the job description.

Recruiters with knowledge of that profession will more likely look at candidates’ experience too.

The best recruitment relationships are based on knowledge and not just sending résumé.

Tip 2: Assess the Recruitment Process, Not Just the Shortlist

Recruitment agencies can send loads of candidates, but that doesn't really mean that they have good recruitment.

Too much of a good thing is an administrative headache.

A good recruitment agency should have steps to follow that help them screen and narrow candidates before they propose someone to an employer.

The recruitment process should aim to help the agency learn more about the opening and help them propose a more suitable candidate.

Provide a Solid Job Requirement

If the job description is not specific, neither will the results of recruitment.

Recruiters should be clear to the recruitment agency about:

• Where the job is in the company
• What the job title will be
• What education the employee will have
• What kind of experience the employee will have and what kind of skills the employee will have
• Where the job is located
• Salary and pay range
• What hours will the employee work

What will the employee be doing, and who will they be doing it with

How long will the employee have to leave their current job

What step of their career they will be at when they take this job

The more detailed a job description is, the more the recruitment agency will have a clear and narrow search.

Screening Candidates

Candidate screening is key to good recruitment.

A quality recruitment partner should consider if the candidate is actually a good fit for the position, as opposed to just forwarding candidates whose resumes contain job related words.

Screening can encompass several filters of experience, various qualifications, the type of skills the employee possesses, and even the employee's location.

This eliminates wasted time for prospective employers, as they can focus their time reviewing only quality candidate submissions as opposed to dozens of unrelated proposals.

Communication Always Wins

Since recruitment is a business that centers around people, a quality recruitment partner should embrace that mindset as well.

A good recruitment agency will give employers updates on candidate availability and status and set and manage expectations, and address concerns. Inconsistent communication creates delays and confusion, and impacts hiring decisions.

You should assess the responsiveness and professionalism of the agency before signing a recruitment contract, as early communication sets the tone for the type of service you're likely to receive.

Recruitment Cost vs. Long-Term Value

Cost is an important aspect, but should never be the primary concern.

It may seem like a good idea to go with a cheaper service, but the loss from a bad hire will far exceed the cost, considering how often you'll have to re-hire, re-train, and lose productivity and miss deadlines.

Ask yourself:

How will this agency bring value to our company?

Agencies that have the capability and know-how will bring value in improved effectiveness and enhanced quality of candidates.

Consider a Bad Hire's Cost

The impact of a bad hire is counterproductive and costly.

An employee that is not a good fit will require more oversight and will cause other employees to pick up the slack, and hiring other candidates will have to be done again.

Those costs are hidden and harder to quantify, but compare that to a candidate that was screened and chosen with care and is a good fit. In this case, that candidate will likely start contributing to the company faster, and that is why hiring should be viewed as an investment and not just a cost.

This brings us to the last point.

An Agency's Reach and Candidate Network

The sourcing reach of the partner you choose is critical to fulfilling your position.

A good candidate network includes professionals who might be interested in job openings, even if they aren’t actively looking for a new job. These passive candidates are great for hard-to-fill and high-level positions.

Agencies may access talent through the following means:

• Professional databases
• Industry networks
• Employee referrals
• Digital recruitment platforms
• Professional communities
• Candidate pools
• Direct sourcing
• Contacts in the field

An extensive and relevant talent ecosystem greatly increases chances of finding the best candidates.

Expect Transparency and Professionalism

A trustworthy recruitment partnership consists of open communication about recruitment processes, timelines, candidate expectations, and payment terms.

Employers should not fall prey to a beautiful promise.

Instead, look for consistency.

• Does the agency understand the requirement?
• Does it communicate realistically?
• Does it provide relevant profiles?
• Does it respect confidentiality?
• Does it maintain professional follow-up?

These minor details of the recruitment partnership can be the deciding factor in a long-term recruitment relationship.

Things to Consider to Find the Correct Recruitment Partner

Choosing a recruitment agency should be a deliberate decision.

Prior to formalizing the partnership, organizations can consider the following criteria.

1. Recruitment Experience

Does the agency have pertinent recruitment experience for the role and the industry?

2. Quality of Candidates

Focus on the relevance of profiles shared, not the quantity.

3. Candidate Evaluation

What methodologies are used to assess candidates prior to them being submitted to the employer?

4. Recruitment Process Timelines

How long is the agency’s recruitment process? This is especially important when business needs are being affected by open roles, but quality must be maintained.

5. Communication

Being able to communicate with other teams and stakeholders is important to keep everyone updated and to help complete the hiring process without unnecessary delays.

6. Flexibility

Most businesses know that requirements can change quickly, however good agencies know how to adapt to the varied needs and requirements of different positions.

7. Long-Term Support

Some recruitment connections can end as soon as candidates are found. However, helping agencies set up and manage the process for interviews and selection and even support the process for onboarding can help improve the experience for all stakeholders involved.

The Competitive Advantage of Outsourced Recruitment

Organizations are challenged having to compete for employees in a market where good people remain in demand, fully booked, and at the same time they cannot afford to have unfilled positions for any length of time. Outsourced recruitment agencies are a good solution to provide additional recruitment resources without increasing the internal recruitment structure for a single requirement. This is especially useful in sourcing for:

• Executive recruitment
• Technical recruitment
• Corporate recruitment
• Bulk recruitment
• Recruitment for specialized professionals
• Recruitment to meet staffing needs in specific industries
• Recruitment for business growth
• Replacement recruitment
• Recruitment needs that are time-sensitive

The agency becomes an additional recruitment channel and helps the organization extend recruitment reach, while internal teams focus on the strategic management of other HR functions.

Turn Recruitment Problems into Solutions

Recruitment problems can be pervasive.

Available candidates may be challenging to find, unfilled positions can remain empty for long periods of time, and unfit candidates may be given the opportunity to interview in the absence of a proper screening process. Recruitment, when lacking structure, becomes unpredictable.

The best external recruitment partner can help provide the missing structure, reach and required expertise that is focused on a specific operational need.

But you can't just think of the agency as a source of résumés. They're really good at understanding what you need, and then spotting the right specialists, and then filtering out the people you wouldn't want to hire. They’re also good at handling the hiring process so that it’s not hectic and disorganized.

The three principles are still the same: Choose expertise. Evaluate the process. Measure long-term value.

Organizations that follow these principles uncover the best recruitment partnerships that build the best development and recruitment offerings.

The new age of recruiting:

The risk to integration and recruitment of the right professionals for your organization is not as high as the potential rewards. Good recruitment agencies strike the best balance of the right professionals (candidates) using their recruitment systems while providing support and good service.

Be careful when choosing an agency.

Do not focus on just the numbers. Do not think low cost equals good value. Do not think that just any agency will do.

Instead, you want to see that the third party recruitment agency partner knows what they are talking about, understands the job, listens to the employer, uses clear and honest communication, and most important, cares about the recruitment of the right candidates.

For consistent recruitment and staffing services, Om Sai Group Consultancy provides support to organizations to find candidates for varied business needs.

Reach out: +91 729 102 4327

When you take a strategic view to recruitment, it gives you an opportunity to use hiring as a way to build a strong team, ready to face challenges ahead. Instead of just rushing to fill open roles.