Bringing aboard new employees is time-consuming and expensive, and these costs increase if you make a bad hire. Engaging the services of a recruitment agency such as Robert Half may be just what you need to help achieve your goals. And you can increase your chances of finding a candidate who is the right match for the job and your organisation — on the first try — by choosing a reputable recruitment firm that specialises in the field where you’re looking for talent.
There are benefits of using a recruitment agency for companies of all sizes. Small firms, for example, can compete more effectively for top talent. These businesses often lack a human resources department or even an HR professional on staff, so they don’t have dedicated resources for finding and securing great hires.
Recruitment agencies help bigger companies save time and money by letting them tap into the broad networks of job candidates the specialised recruiters cultivate. Those connections are particularly important in today’s hiring environment, where skilled talent is in high demand and hard to find.
The potential to build a long-term relationship
So, what are other benefits of using a recruitment agency that your business might expect? A recruiting firm not only helps you find the best candidates but also advises you on recruitment strategies to support your company through inevitable ups and downs. By working with the right firm, you have the opportunity to gain a long-term partner for recruiting and hiring — one that truly understands your business. That’s true whether you’re looking for temporary or full-time employees.
A recruitment agency can also connect your business with temporary-to-full-time employees. The arrangement begins with a short-term assignment that has the potential to lead to longer-term employment. During this initial trial period, your company has a firsthand opportunity to evaluate a worker’s skills as they tackle your projects. And you also see just how well the person fits into your office culture. This approach is another way that a recruitment firm can help your business avoid making a costly bad hire.
Whatever your hiring needs might be today — or in the future — apply the following strategies to reap the most benefits of using a recruitment agency:
1. Be direct about your needs
Clearly communicate your company’s requirements and timetable for bringing someone on board. It’s also a good idea for your agency representatives to see your workplace firsthand. This experience gives them a better sense of your corporate culture, the work environment and, most importantly, the type of person who’s likely to excel with your organisation.
That knowledge also helps the recruiter advise you on whether temporary, part-time or full-time employees will best suit your needs. Some recruitment agencies are uniquely qualified to provide guidance about a flexible recruitment strategy. Not every job requires a full-time worker. Engaging interim professionals through a reputable recruitment firm allows you to address workload peaks and gain access to specialised expertise — and pay for it only as long as you need it.
2. Look for insider expertise
If you’re an accounting firm, you’ll get the most from an agency that focuses on placing accountants, bookkeepers and tax professionals. And if you work at a creative firm, you want to find designers, developers and marketers with industry experience. Often, a recruitment agency’s recruiters are people who worked in positions similar to those they now place. Their industry knowledge and expertise helps them find great matches between employers and candidates. A candidate from a specialised firm often does the job more quickly and accurately than a lower-cost candidate from a general recruitment firm.
3. Streamline your hiring process
It’s possible a great potential employee may never come across your job posting. That’s less of a worry when you work with recruiters. Among the key benefits of using a recruitment agency is the fact that the best firms have broad networks and keep the resumes of thousands of skilled local professionals on file. That’s why, upon seeing your needs for a position, agencies can provide you with a candidate who’s closer to the right fit than you could likely find on your own. They also save you the time of wading through resumes from unqualified applicants.
4. Stay in touch
Your work with a recruitment agency shouldn’t end when an employee accepts your job offer. Specialized recruitment firms have a stake in the success of both parties. Keep recruiters informed of any changes in your requirements. After an employee comes on board, review their progress with the agency several times during their first weeks on the job. Maintaining communication and providing feedback allows the recruiter to better understand how to serve you and make the right hires for your company.
5. Tap agency resources
If the recruitment agency provides training resources to its registered candidates, encourage your employees to make use of them. This training helps you get a capable worker with a wide-ranging skill set and industry specialisation. The professionals can augment their on-the-job skills for free, and that benefits everyone involved. New people in the office can infuse new ideas and perspectives. A temporary professional brought in for skills not available internally can impart a degree of specialised knowledge to full-time staff as they go about their job.
There are myriad benefits of using a recruitment agency your business can experience. But the overall value of building a solid working relationship with a reputable firm is that you have access to recruitment experts who not only help you find the right mix of talent to achieve your business goals but also save you time and money.
