Recruitment is one of the critical business processes, important to be aligned to the company’s vision, values and business objectives. Hiring the Right person at Right Job at Right time is paramount to the organisation for achieving its business objectives.
In light of these challenges, the selection of recruitment agency plays an important role.
Here are some pointers which may help you to decide in case you need a recruitment agency in the first place.
- Immediate need of people but time is short
- Quality and relevant experience is the foremost requirement
- Don’t have a higher budget for expensive agencies
If you need an agency, then let’s refer the following questions to select the Right Hiring Partner.
- Have you ever worked with recruitment agencies and understood why their process and Goals benefits your business needs?
- Do you trust them to the point of not worrying about their timelines and quality of candidates?
If you can’t say “yes” to the above questions then you need to think about whether they are the right agency for your company. To have the right partnership in place, you need to know that they will be looking out for you, not forcing their people through the process that are not the right fit.
This is a guide to help you see what you should be looking for in an agency as a partner to your business needs:
1. Understands your business needs:
Good: Understands where your business needs lay and is a true partner with what you are trying to accomplish.
Bad: Doesn’t take the time to know what your business goals are and worries more about what they will receive in revenue than finding the right candidate.
2. Knows your Organisation:
Good: Knows the industry and size of your company and will target the right candidate – to make sure they will be the right fit they’ll vet the candidate appropriately.
Bad: Hasn’t taken the time to meet with managers or get to know you or the company; they are too focused on getting the next candidate or client to partner with.
3. Always trying to learn & improve:
Good: Takes time to meet with you to go over your needs and seeks feedback after interviews to ensure they are targeting the right pool of candidates.
Bad: Puts the same type of candidate in front of you after you have said no and doesn’t understand why you continue to say no plus continuously has excuses on why things are not a success.
4. They listen:
Good: Takes time to hear what you want and need, doesn’t put pressure on you to make rash decisions but sets up timetables to get adequate feedback.
Bad: Asks the same questions and will find short cuts on getting you the right candidate because they are pushing too many candidates to you that does not fit your needs.
5. They’re a subject matter expert in their field:
Good: Can speak about what you need by knowing the industry you are in and can break down a position to find you the right candidate.
Bad: Works across all skill sets and doesn’t understand what they are recruiting on which in return will give you the wrong types of candidates.
6. You can rely solely on them:
Good: They will deliver the candidates in the time frame they committed to and they know what you need as a business.
Bad: They will waver in their commitments, they have erratic success with you and they rarely keep you up to date with their progress and results.
7. They will follow the process that was promised to you:
Good: They will stick to their vetting process and will not skip steps which would lower the bar on the quality of candidate for you.
Bad: They don’t meet with their candidates, they do not perform reference checks and they just send you a high volume amount of candidates so you can do the screening instead of them.
8. They separate themselves by supplying a higher calibre of candidates:
Good: Always exceed your expectations on the candidates they supply.
Bad: They are delivering the same candidates that have applied on their own or they supply candidates that you have already seen through recycling of candidates or other agencies.
9. They’re an ethical company:
Good: The candidate that is supplied has the same experience as the resume advertises and they educate the candidate about your company to make sure they are walking into a role they are excited about.
Bad: They will misrepresent candidates by adding experience that is not accurate and they will coach the candidate to say things that are not accurate to their experience.
10. Persistence:
Good: Is in contact with you the right amount of time but not disrespectful and annoying.
Bad: Is too aggressive at the point of calling your managers 7 to 9 times a day to try to get more business or feedback.