Working with a recruitment agency is a great way to get the best talent on-board quickly. That said, there are a couple of things you can do to help the staffing agency work more effectively for you.
Be clear about your goals and requirements. The very first step is to define the role in terms of responsibilities, skill set, years of experience, and availability in terms of the new employee’s start date. You should also pay attention to and consider the company culture and the type of person you are looking for to fit into your workplace. This is particularly important when hiring for leadership positions.
Share distinct and impactful job descriptions with the recruiting agency so they can use it for advertising across a wide range of job boards. A recent study found that 72 % of hiring managers feel they provide clear job descriptions, but interestingly, only 36% of candidates feel the same. The communication gap is quite evident in these numbers.
As a hiring manager, it is important to put yourself in the shoes of the candidates you want to target. If you’ve had a high turnover, then consider how your managers are treating staff. Read up on reasons why job seekers might leave and the sort of questions they might ask in an interview to avoid a situation like that happening again. See post for more info. Let your job description paint a clear picture of what the role entails, growth opportunities within the organization, and specific skills that you are looking for. Be distinct and friendly in your tone. You want your prospective candidates to be willing to work for you even before they come for the formal interview.
Have a one-on-one meeting with the recruiter assigned to handle your job posting. Give them a feel for your company culture and the kind of profiles you are looking at. If possible, show some sample candidate portfolios as a benchmark for hiring.
Recruitment agencies have a vast network of connections that allow them to connect with candidates that are not accessible via traditional job postings. This could include passive candidates who are not actively looking out for a job but open to exploring interesting opportunities.
Staffing firms study your target market and know the online and offline platforms they visit. With this information, they can put up your job post across the perfect channels that your ideal candidate is likely to visit. This drastically improves your chances of finding the right talent for your company.
Another step recruitment agencies can help with is the screening and preliminary interview process. As any hiring manger would know, filtering the non-relevant profiles and interviewing such candidates can burn a lot of productive hours. Expert recruiters at the agency complete this step for you and send only the most relevant, experienced, and closest matching profiles to you.
In some cases (e.g., IT/technology jobs), they can also conduct screening tests to determine the skills of the candidates.
Your employees are your companys greatest asset. When you have qualified, dedicated, and efficient professionals working for you, your organizational growth is bound to rise steeply. Therefore, engaging with top recruitment firms is a wise solution to find the top talent in the market so they can be a part of your organization.
Getting it right in the first place will also save you money. Employing and retaining quality staff will save you in the long term. Onboarding new staff is costly and time consuming. A good recruitment company will help you to find the most suitable candidates and give advice for onboarding and retaining the best talent for your business.