Partnering with recruiters might not be what companies think works, but it does.
While writing about how recruiters need to dig deeper into client companies to deal with managers, find out more about what they are recruiting for and make more placements, I realised that companies need to work towards a similar goal. To maximise the effectiveness of the people recruiting for them, they need to partner more closely with recruiters.
How recruiters prioritise
To illustrate this, let’s look at how recruiters work. They have numerous job assignments that they are working on, all on a contingency basis. In other words, if they don’t place the position, they don’t get paid for all the work they have done on it. (PS: Recruiters don’t need to work this way.) This means that they prioritse the roles they feel they are most likely to place. Their “high” placement fees are priced as such because for all the work they do for no return, they need to earn enough from those they do place.
As a company, your role is to be on the top of the priority pile. Giving line manager contact, paying a retainer upfront (recruiters drop everything for that), scheduling interview times upfront, giving the position to one recruiter exclusively – all these are reasons for a recruitment professional to focus on finding you a candidate for your vacancy.
Partnering closer with your eyes and ears
If you run a company or a division, or are a hiring manager, you may be someone who complains about the abilities, service and fees of recruitment agents and agencies. The trick is to partner much closer with a small group of good recruiters. You can try a number of them at the start, perhaps small groups with different positions, but pretty soon you’ll know who delivers. Then cut ties with the rest and focus on giving these small few a “whole lotta love”.
Invite them in for a site visit – show them how your business works, show them the type of people you hire and help them to find the right staff to take your business forward. By getting them acquainted with your organisation, partnering with recruiters becomes something you enjoy doing, as your business reaps the benefits by never being short of talent.
The benefits of partnering with recruiters
Knowing that the more you give (to a good recruiter), the more you get is key. You will spend less time dealing with numerous recruitment companies, will be able to negotiate a fair fee, and will enjoy the pick of the bunch of the available job seekers out there. Recruiters will also willingly headhunt for your positions.
The message is clear – if you find that your recruitment agents are not delivering, the problem might be with you. Are you giving them enough information? Are your line managers and decision makers available to answer questions and get the right person on board? Are you partnering closely enough with your recruiters?
If you think you aren’t, you’re probably right. The next time you speak to them on the phone, ask them what else they need to be able to help you better as a client.
