Blog
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5 SIMPLE TIPS FOR CHOOSING THE RIGHT RECRUITMENT AGENCY
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Introduction
- If you’re reading this article, you’ve most likely admitted the fact that your company needs additional help in filling job vacancies. Either it’s the HR team which is swamped managing multiple tasks at the same time or lack of IT expertise for hiring, but it is what it is: you need to fill in the positions for certain positions as soon as possible and you need external assistance.
- Time is essential for any business! When you lack a team member (or even whole teams), you can’t fully operate, after all. However, there’s no time to worry as recruitment agencies are your perfect companions for the talent acquisition process. They will provide you with dedicated recruiters to assist you in your hiring efforts from start to finish.
However, it can be tricky in the beginning to choose the agency that’s right for your business to partner with. There are thousands of agencies around the globe eager to provide your business with smart HR solutions, so with such a vast choice you should commit to the guidelines that will help to make the right choice.
- That is why we provide you with five simple tips for choosing the right recruitment agency that will cater for your business needs. Without further ado, here they are:
The key of a successful liaison with an agency is to provide as much information about the business as possible at the very start. In order to communicate clearly and thoroughly, before choosing a recruiter partner sit down with your team who is involved in the process and brainstorm:
- What is the scale of the project(s) you are hiring people for?
- What type of people do you want for the job?
- Is it entry or management level?
- How many employees are required?
- What are the basic responsibilities and required skills for the job?
What’s also critical to mention is your company background, its mission and vision, business policies which include dress code, working hours, breaks, etc and the big picture of your corporate culture. It may seem overwhelming to cover everything at first, but once you have it on paper and out loud, it will immensely help you to get the best of the best in the market tailor-picked for your needs.
- What is the scale of the project(s) you are hiring people for?
- What type of people do you want for the job?
- Is it entry or management level?
- How many employees are required?
- What are the basic responsibilities and required skills for the job?
What’s also critical to mention is your company background, its mission and vision, business policies which include dress code, working hours, breaks, etc and the big picture of your corporate culture. It may seem overwhelming to cover everything at first, but once you have it on paper and out loud, it will immensely help you to get the best of the best in the market tailor-picked for your needs.
As we mentioned before, there are thousands of agencies in the world but what you need to keep in mind while choosing your partner is the expertise they own, namely, in the IT sphere. Industry knowledge is the key to finding the right talent fast. IT recruiters from specialized IT agencies know exactly what skills are in demand for a specific area of expertise, they understand what candidates are looking for in an employer and they know the market salary rates. Possessing and using all this vital knowledge coupled with the information provided about the company and your goals will let the recruiters build an effective communication with the potential candidates and make such an offer that it will be accepted without any “but”.
The less industry knowledge the agency has, the more time-consuming it will be for you to clear all the objectives, to reject non-relevant candidates and, thus, to close the open positions.
The less industry knowledge the agency has, the more time-consuming it will be for you to clear all the objectives, to reject non-relevant candidates and, thus, to close the open positions.
We truly believe that a long-term relationship is always the best option as it can help both you and the agency with your future talent searches. To form such a strategic alliance, you should not only be sure about your needs and agency’s expertise, but also pay attention to the agency's corporate culture and their workstyle. In other words, how do they communicate with their clients? Are they flexible enough to meet your changing needs? Or, once you, for instance, decide to scale up the business and, instead of 10 positions, you urge to close 50, do you need to renegotiate every single change in the project? How do they communicate? Are they 24/7 available or work strictly from 9 to 5 without any exceptions?
Of course, they say you can truly ‘feel it' once you start working together. That’s also true, however, you can notice these moments at the stage of getting familiar with the agency or while negotiating. If some misunderstandings arise on these stages, you might think of looking for another partner.
Of course, they say you can truly ‘feel it' once you start working together. That’s also true, however, you can notice these moments at the stage of getting familiar with the agency or while negotiating. If some misunderstandings arise on these stages, you might think of looking for another partner.
Once you get around the recruitment agency which seems to fit by all your criteria, ask them if they can arrange a PoC project. In a nutshell, a Proof of Concept represents the evidence demonstrating that a project is worthy enough to justify the expenses needed to cooperate. In recruitment, it implies that an agency recruits for a couple of open positions in the client's company to show their expertise in action. You can call it some sort of a “test-drive” before commiting to a long-term relationship (Gitmax, by the way, is much in favour of this option).
If agencies immediately require a long-term commitment without a certain testing period, then you may want to reconsider and continue your search.
If agencies immediately require a long-term commitment without a certain testing period, then you may want to reconsider and continue your search.
As obvious as it is for the businesses, we still could not but mention this tip. Once you go through all the guidelines and find them matching your criteria, check whether an agency services are within your budget.
Fact: an average cost per hire in 2022 is approximately 4,500$.
The figure is variable, depending on the position level and recruitment process.
The pricing models of the agencies also vary, depending on the following factors:
- Number of positions to be filled
- Type of job position
- The expected salary of the job position
- and more.
Inquire about the pricing model the agency uses. Is it a fixed fee you are going to pay for each candidate or is it the percentage of the employee's annual salary? (The latter one is the most common practice in recruitment - on average, it varies from 15% to 35%).
This is a crucial step to take, however, once you’re already certain that they are able to provide you with top talents, it's just a matter of discussing numbers.
Fact: an average cost per hire in 2022 is approximately 4,500$.
The figure is variable, depending on the position level and recruitment process.
The pricing models of the agencies also vary, depending on the following factors:
- Number of positions to be filled
- Type of job position
- The expected salary of the job position
- and more.
Inquire about the pricing model the agency uses. Is it a fixed fee you are going to pay for each candidate or is it the percentage of the employee's annual salary? (The latter one is the most common practice in recruitment - on average, it varies from 15% to 35%).
This is a crucial step to take, however, once you’re already certain that they are able to provide you with top talents, it's just a matter of discussing numbers.
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Conclusion
Working with a recruitment agency will give you an external perspective on not only your potential new employees, but your hiring process as a whole - this places more of a focus on the candidate experience, which is incredibly important at the moment.
When selecting an agency to partner with, remember the following:
- Always clearly explain your hiring needs.
- Interview them as if you’re hiring a team member - pay attention to their customer relationship.
- Does their expertise and experience match your requirements?
- Do their fees match your budget for the hire?
When selecting an agency to partner with, remember the following:
- Always clearly explain your hiring needs.
- Interview them as if you’re hiring a team member - pay attention to their customer relationship.
- Does their expertise and experience match your requirements?
- Do their fees match your budget for the hire?
- What’s more, remember to see the bigger picture. While it may seem costly and time-consuming at first, think about the cooperation in the long run. As HR practitioners, we believe that each and every employee is an investment. You think about how they can contribute to the organization and you can base potential profit from there.
Let's work together!
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