If you’re thinking of working with recruitment agencies, there are some things you should be aware of, so that you have a better chance of selecting just the right agency to work with. If you make the wrong choice and align yourself with an agency that is unable to provide you with qualified candidates, you can end up doing more harm than good for your company, and it might then be necessary to extricate yourself from an unpleasant situation.
To be sure that you hit on just the right recruiting agency from the start, there are some steps you can take which will increase your chances of success. Here are some of the most important things you should keep in mind and be on the lookout for when you’re considering recruiting agencies to work with.
Do the Necessary Research
When you’re looking for a recruiting agency to work with, you should do all the same kind of research that you might if you were trying to find viable employee candidates for your company. While a staffing agency is not exactly an employee of your company, it should be treated that way in terms of the research that you do into its background, so that you can have the same level of confidence you might about a good employee.
One of the first places you should check is on LinkedIn, so that you can be aware of their company profile, and have a good feel for the level of experience they have. You’ll also find out by looking at the LinkedIn profile if any specific recruiting agency has been active in finding employees of the type which your company needs.
It will be very helpful to be associated with an agency that has already been successful in your industry and knows how to locate good candidates in your particular niche. You might also want to verify that any experience level listed on LinkedIn is the same level of experience the company expressed to you when you talked with them on the phone.
Conduct a Good Interview
Again like the process for interviewing an employee, you should conduct the same kind of exhaustive interview with any recruitment agencies you’re considering. One of the things you might want to ask them is whether or not they already have some qualified candidates on hand which might be suitable for open positions you have.
You’ll also want to have some idea of how long it might take for them to come up with viable candidates for your openings, and how many candidates they might be able to supply. It will also be important to establish some way of maintaining good contact with them so that you can be kept informed about the status of any candidates under consideration. Pay attention to the engagement you get from any agency representatives during an interview, and whether or not you feel comfortable with doing business with these individuals.
Assess their Terms
Some recruitment agencies can be fairly rigid in terms of their methods for procuring talent and for creating contract agreements. Ideally, you would want to have a flexible arrangement with any recruiting agency, and you’d want them to have a nimble operation that can quickly deliver talent for your consideration. When you find that any particular recruiting agency tends to be inflexible and relatively rigid in their terms of operation, it’s probably best that you avoid associating with them.
Evaluate Experience Level
Any company which has turned to a recruiting agency in the first place is generally trying to fill a position which requires specific and probably difficult skill sets. A really experienced recruiting agency will probably have several years of valuable experience in having identified qualified candidates, and should even have some on hand at the moment.
One of the reasons which you would probably want to work with a specific recruiting agency in the first place is that they already have a network of qualified candidates which you can tap into. This all works to your benefit, because it will take far less time to go through all the processes necessary to eventually hire an individual, and you’ll probably end up with a better candidate to boot.
This is the real value of working with an experienced recruiter because it will take less time to fill the job and you’ll end up with a better person as well.
Make your Needs Clear to the Agency
For recruitment agencies to be successful in finding high-quality candidates for you to consider, you’ll need to accurately convey the skill sets and qualities you’re looking for in candidates. If you aren’t clear about the kind of qualities you’re looking for in a candidate, you can go through an awful lot of trial and error that simply wastes time, and results in hiring no one.
To avoid this, compile a list of all the skills and qualifications that you want your ideal candidate to have. Then also provide your recruiting agency with a rundown of your company policies, so that anyone they might offer as a candidate is aware of how you conduct your business, and has no problem with your company policies.
Consider the Agency’s Track Record
Any recruiting agency that you’re thinking of working with should be carefully reviewed in terms of their track record. By this, it is meant that they should be able to demonstrate that they have regularly supplied candidates to other clients and that these candidates have proven to be adequate and have enjoyed success with their new employers.
You might also want to find out about how expansive the reach is of any recruiting agency you’re considering, as well as the extent of its database. If the agency frequently updates its candidate records and is constantly searching for newly qualified candidates, that’s a good sign. If they’ve also tapped into a good many candidate networks that can tell you that they’re very active in the business and are always seeking good personnel.
Lastly, you should inquire about the types of strategies that are used by a recruiting agency to identify new talent and to be sure that all the most modern methods are incorporated in their general approach.
