Effective recruitment means more than hiring the right person for the job. A fast and efficient recruitment process can reduce costs, enhance a company’s reputation both from a market and candidate perspective and ensure that the very best talent is identified, engaged and brought into the business.
However, within the fast-moving business world, time and budget constraints, a lack of targeted talent management skills and demanding pressures from other parts of the business can mean that hiring managers are often left stuck with a situation in which the process becomes long, drawn-out and disengaging.
From writing the initial job specification to advertising, from wading through hundreds of CVs of aspiring candidates to trying to identify those worthy of assessment, from trying to find the time within an increasingly busy schedule to thoroughly interview, and then re-interview, and then co-ordinate further interviews with additional members of the team – all whilst managing and absorbing the deficit left behind by the vacant gap within the organisation, it can be, in short – a nightmare.
In order to avoid the recruitment minefield, many organisations turn to specialist recruitment consultancies in order to not just expedite and take the stress out of the process, but also to ensure the process is smooth and effective in order to attract and retain the best talent and maintain a strong employer brand in terms of business efficiency and the overall candidate experience.
There are those who are dubious about using external agencies, perhaps due to previous bad experiences, or on the flip side – having never utilised a recruitment consultancy before and therefore not knowing the benefit and added value of using such a service. Yes, there is the argument that the use of a specialist recruitment agency comes at a cost – but the drain on both time and resources for a hiring manager carrying out their own recruitment plus the potential impact of a bad hire far outweighs this cost.
So what are some of the benefits of using a specialist recruitment consultancy?
Specialist Industry Knowledge
Recruitment consultancies working within niche markets are constantly in contact with talent up and down the hierarchal structure and are constantly exposed to market trends, market insights, current skill shortages/needs and hiring challenges. A good recruitment partner should understand your industry as well as you do and be able to offer up that knowledge in order to assist your business on a truly consultative basis.
Employer Branding
Using a consultancy can offer more than just the right candidates. Through a strengthened partnership between employer and agency, a recruitment consultant can deliver a real insight into the business, not just the role itself but also the culture, the career pathways on offer, and an insight into day-to-day life. They can also ensure that the business is portrayed in the best possible light, eradicating any concerns and highlighting the key strengths to create an engaged and impressed pool of candidates, the effect of which will continue to snowball.
Candidate Filtering
There are very few things more time consuming to a manager looking to expand his or her team, than wading through endless numbers of CVs and applications to find the gems amongst them. Even with highly targeted placement of adverts on specialist job portals and clear essential role requirements and pre-screening questions – the CVs just keep on coming. A recruitment partner is the first step in this filtration process, eliminating the most time consuming and frustrating element, and thoroughly screening all of the potential candidates to ensure that only the best candidates with the right skill set are presented to you.
Reach of Higher Quality Candidates
On the opposite hand, many of the best hires’ companies may come from candidates who are not active in the market place – their current employers know their value and are keen to retain it within the business! It may be that candidates are passive in terms of new opportunities, or that they have been too busy in their current role to actively market themselves. What this means for the recruitment process is that it is often slowed down by the difficulties associated with reaching and attracting the top talent into the business. Recruitment consultants who truly know their industry and their network will always be on top of who is passive within the marketplace and what would make them take the leap.
Buffer of Sensitive Information
No one likes to have difficult conversations – least of all a client and a candidate who have gone through the recruitment process and are both keen to impress each other and not to damage the relationship that has been built. The difficulty then lies when it comes to handling sensitive subjects just as salary negotiation, additional benefits and any substantial change in circ*mstances which could potentially bring the whole process to a grinding halt. Through using a third party, sensitive information can be gathered independently from both sides, negotiated and common ground upon which an agreement can be reached can be found, without either side losing credibility or causing irreparable damage to the working relationship.
How can we help you?
At CSG we understand just how important talent attraction and retention is so alongside are permanent, contract and executive recruitment services we also have a range of Talent Strategy Services to help our clients further inform, define and develop their workforce planning. Whether that is mapping future talent for growth and succession planning or carrying out a feasibility study when entering into a new geographical market. Even if it is simply carrying out a market-specific salary benchmark to remain competitive, we can help.
We are committed to forming lasting partnerships with the clients within our areas of expertise and to assist them in streamlining and improving the efficiency of what can otherwise be a long and tedious process. By establishing and running an effective recruitment process on your behalf we are able to keep your business running at maximum capacity, to take advantage of future opportunities for growth and set yourselves aside from the competition in terms of the reputation that process provides for your business.
To find out more about how we can help you to streamline and raise the effectiveness of your recruitment processes for 2019 and beyond please do get in touch.
