Why use recruitment agencies?
There was a time when finding new marketing employees was as simple as placing an ad online or in your local newspaper and waiting for your new hire to arrive.
Today’s recruitment landscape is markedly different, and more employers are choosing to harness the expertise of a specialist recruitment agency to fill roles. Here are ten reasons why using a recruitment agency works, and why it could make finding your next candidate a lot easier.
1. It saves you a lot of time
The number one reason that most employers consider using a recruitment agency is to save themselves time. You are busy doing your job and may have underestimated just how much time the recruitment process can take up. Not to mention the colossal amount of paperwork involved once interviews are finished and reference checking begins. Outsourcing recruitment to a specialist agency frees up time for you to do what you’re best at!
2. Access to the best candidates
If a great potential employee is on the lookout for a new challenge, one of the first things they’re likely to do is register their intentions with a specialist recruitment agency in their field. In fact, recruitment agencies tend to have large numbers of talented candidates who are actively seeking new roles already on their radar. This ‘captive audience’ will speed up the process of finding the right candidates.
In addition, most recruitment agencies will position their vacancy adverts on a range of job boards, alongside headhunting appropriate talent. Their knowledge of the market means they understand what it takes to rank highly in candidates’ job searches to get better enquiries.
3. Specificity
Sometimes a vacancy will require a candidate with a very specific skillset. A good recruiter can use their industry knowledge to work through the sea of applicants to find someone who is best suited for the role. They can filter out any candidates who aren’t really suitable and ensure that only the strongest and most relevant, make it onto your shortlist.
4. Sector expertise
Even those who are incredibly knowledgeable about their own industry might not be aware of the best ways of screening, filtering and profiling candidates for a role. Successful recruitment requires full awareness of the current market and competitor activity. Allowing a recruitment agency to pick up this task can be both time saving and cost-effective.
5. Managing extra services
A good recruitment agency can handle everything from DBS and reference checking to psychometric testing, depending on the demands of the role. Speak to any potential recruitment agency about what additional services they can provide. A professional agency should offer advice on the market, your job spec, benefits and interview process to allow you to recruit efficiently.
6. Flexible recruitment options
Finding qualified temporary staff can be very tricky. Temporary staff are usually required ASAP and need to be able to hit the ground running. A specialist temporary agency will have candidates such as these ready to go, so work can begin as quickly as possible. Temporary staff allow you to boost your workforce quickly during busy periods or unexpected circumstances.
7. Access to the right job boards
Online job boards are often the first stop for opportunistic candidates who wish to peruse new roles. Negotiating contracts with job boards can be a lengthy (and sometimes costly!) process, but most good recruitment agencies will have already done this and be using them already. They can get your job advert in front of the right people faster and more cost-effectively.
8. Salary benchmarking
If it’s been a while since you were last recruiting for a particular role, you might be out of touch with the salary it now commands. Equally, if this is a new role within your business, you might need advice on where to begin. A recruitment agency can help you come up with a ballpark salary that matches the needs of candidates and the company’s budget, using salary data and local market knowledge.
9. Expertise in your sector – and in recruitment
Your recruitment agency should be your first stop on the search for an expert opinion about and knowledge of current recruitment legislation. It’s part of their job to stay abreast of the latest best practice and it could save you a lot of trouble further down the line. A specialist recruitment agency should know all the relevant requirements and legalities surrounding the industry that you’re in.
10. Create the best shortlist
The shortlisting process can be time-consuming and labour-intensive before you’ve even had a chance to speak to a potential candidate! By handing this process over to a trusted recruiter, you can be sure that the candidates that do make it to the interview stage aren’t going to be a waste of your time. It also means if you get to the final stage but end up back at square one, your agency will be prepared and have further candidates ready to be considered.
Get help from our experts
Get in touch with Spotlight Recruitment today and let our experts guide you through onboarding with us so we can help find the best candidates for you.