Yes, you could do it yourself, but can you afford to?
Maybe you’ve thought to use a recruitment agency, or maybe you’ve worked with one or two in varying capacities in the past. Or maybe you’ve never heard of recruitment agencies and are wondering what it is they even do.
When explaining what a recruitment agency is to potential clients, we like to use the analogy of real estate. Would you enlist a licensed real estate agent to sell your house? Usually, yes, unless you have a particular skill set in that industry. Could you sell your house yourself? Sure! But would you be getting the best price for it and be listing it to its full potential without accessing the industry tricks and tips and network connections? Probably not.
While you could hire new staff yourself, is it going to give you the best result? And can you afford to make any mistakes in the hiring process?
There are so many steps involved in the recruitment process, that it can become arduous and time-consuming, ultimately taking you away from your primary focus of actually running your business. Not allowing enough time or resources to complete the process thoroughly can lead to costly mistakes in not attracting the right applicants, hiring an unsuitable poorly-screened candidate or not being able to follow through with communication to all candidates, potentially damaging your brand reputation.
Here’s where using a recruitment agency can be invaluable:
1. Knowledge of the market
Good recruiters have insight into market trends across the industries they recruit for and will have an overall read on the labour market in general. They will be able to provide you with an accurate, current market rate for the role you are looking to fill, rather than just parroting the minimum award rate to you. In many instances, hiring managers and business owners run the risk of trying to recruit based on the minimum award and potentially deter quality candidates from applying as a result. At Best Match Recruitment , our consultants are continuously keeping informed of current market value across a wide range of industries, as well as movement and trends in talent-sourcing.
Our recruiters are also well-versed in identifying transferable skills across multiple industries. We will be able to give you an insight into the skill-sets and experience that you may not have even considered, which could be advantageous to your role or business.
2. Extended reach and networks
A good recruitment agency will have a pre-screened, comprehensive database that they are able to pull from when you list a job with them. Furthermore, long-built networks and connections aid in the sourcing of hard-to-find candidates for even the most specialist and niche positions. At Best Match Recruitment, our consultants are regularly tested on how and where they would be able to source expert candidates for lesser-known roles. With access to private networks, industry and regulatory bodies, specialist publications and job boards, as well as contacts at tertiary institutions across the country, our recruiters have got you covered.
Committed recruiters work hard to maintain relationships with their candidates as well as clients, as often a placed-candidate can become a client or trusted peer in the future, or the placed-candidate may be ready for a career-move at some point and are likely to keep their recruiter in the loop. With this insider knowledge, your recruiter will have a good idea of whether there is talent looking to move.
3. Submitting candidates rather than applicants
A recruiter’s database is the foundation for filling vacant jobs quickly and confidently. Anyone can read a cover letter and resume and sure, there are some impressive ones out there, but it’s the multitude of additional screening procedures that sets apart a candidate referred by a quality recruitment agency. With over 5000 pre-screened candidates on the Best Match Recruitment database, covering a swathe of industries and geographical locations, it certainly is a great place for us to start your search. Whether they are already part of the existing database, or new applicants interviewing for a role, our candidates have all been through a rigorous screening process which includes:
- Responding to a job advertisement where, if they have not been able to follow directions (ie. neglected to submit a cover letter or key selection criteria when it has been asked for), they are not progressed to an interview stage
- An interviewed in-person (or via video, if located remotely), responding to a set of questions tailored to the job brief, which is then transcribed into a document that the client (a removed party to the process) receives
- At least two reference checks are conducted, if they are short-listed
- If applicable, computer and/or psychometric testing (based on the role and industry)
When using Best Match Recruitment, you can be assured that you are receiving candidates, rather than applicants. Anyone can be an applicant, but a candidate is someone (or a group of someones) who your recruiter wholeheartedly believes can fill the vacancy in your organisation.
4. Manage the brand and reputation of the client
Every interaction an individual has with your company is an opportunity for you to enhance (or hinder) their experience with your brand, which can affect your business reputation! By the time you consider how long it takes to receive and process (potentially hundreds of) applications, screen applicants, shortlist, build interview questions, interview applicants, shortlist again, reference check, and negotiate a job offer, you may have forgotten about letting the other hundred or so applicants know that they were unsuccessful! No one likes that part, but again – every interaction has the potential to elevate or damage your brand. We’ve heard from countless candidates who have applied for numerous jobs and never heard a word back from any of the organisations. It certainly isn’t worth the risk of a damaging social media blast or negative word of mouth about your company culture. Let someone else do the dirty work for you and keep your brand reputation sensitively and professionally managed.
5. Time!
By now you may have grasped the amount of work, energy, resources and time that goes into the recruitment process. By skimming over crucial steps you risk hiring someone who may not be the best fit for the role, corporate culture, or team. By skipping out on keeping applicants informed in a timely manner throughout the process, you risk hurting your business reputation. And by dedicating yourself (or a member of your team) to seeing the end-to-end comprehensive recruitment process through – you are taking yourself away from doing what you do best – running your business.
At Best Match Recruitment we also offer tailored professional services to assist you in your quest for a new employee, beyond the recruitment process. Our consultants can prepare position descriptions, identify key selection criteria, draw up employment contracts (in addition to managing the negotiation process), conduct goal setting and key performance indicators (KPIs), and arrange performance management documentation and advice.
Best Match Recruitment has been giving business owners back their time for over 14 years, while providing a professional, tailored and comprehensive service to organisations across Gippsland and the South East suburbs of Melbourne. For an obligation-free quote on how we can help get you started in finding your next superstar, call us today on (03) 5622 0986.
References:
- Eloise Keating, August 10, 2018, “What’s the cost of hiring the wrong person for your company?”, Smart Company, https://www.smartcompany.com.au/people-human-resources/recruitment-hiring/small-business-cost-of-hiring-wrong-person/