According to the statistics, almost 80% of employers are planning to hire more staff in the next 3 months. For those that recruit in house, that means more CV’s to rifle through, more candidates to interview, and more time spent taken away from your job. That’s where the appeal of using a recruitment agency comes in.
Recruitment agencies may have lost out over the last few years, as job opportunities became fewer and trying to place a candidate into a role became harder than ever. But, all of that has turned a corner in the last few years, and employers are really starting to appreciate the benefits that hiring through an agency has to offer.
What advantages does hiring through an agency offer?
- Market Knowledge
Recruiters know their markets, they know the candidates and they are able to offer you on-point advice about what you should be looking for in your next recruit and whether that type of candidate is actually available. If you are a manager hiring for a skilled role which may be a new area to you, the an agency can help you sift through to find the candidates which are best suited to what you are looking for, and can help identify the blaggers from the star candidates.
- Extended Reach
Agencies have hundreds of potential new employees on their books, each having been through a stage of initial testing and interviewing, and they really offer a valuable resource when it comes to hiring a new member of your team.
The important thing to realise is that not all potential candidates will be actively looking for a job when your advert goes out, and therefore when you advertise a role you may not necessarily be getting the exposure that you’d like to the people you’d like. This is where having a recruiter on the case can really serve you well; they will already have trusted relationships with many potential interviewees but also they have a network of contacts that they can connect you with.
- The Right Fit
One of the (often overlooked) aspects of the interview process, is establishing whether or not a candidate is not only right in terms of the skills that they can bring, but also in terms of how they will fit into the company culture. If you advertise a role independently, a lot of your time will be spent filtering and assessing candidate cvs, without even having spoken to them and established whether they would be a good fit in your team. A recruiter has experience of dealing with all sizes of business, from small family run to large enterprises and so they will easily be able to identify whether or not the candidate they are speaking to will be suitable for the role and for the cultural criteria.
Whilst a recruitment agencies services do come at a cost, by time personal/HR time and resource is factored in, many businesses will agree that it is often easier to interview from an agency shortlist. Not only will the list of candidates to choose from be already narrowed down to a much shorter list than you’d otherwise be facing, but you know that the candidate will definitely have the skills and experience that you are looking for.