Choosing A Recruiting Agency: To Help You Hire Better

Today’s job market is stronger than it has been in over 50 years and finding people to fill your company’s open positions is even more challenging than ever. No longer will you find a lot of qualified candidates by just posting an opening on a job board. You may be like many other companies and you are experiencing extended vacant job openings for 60, 90 or even 120 days or more. You might have never used a recruiting agency but you’re at the point where you realize that you need help. On the other hand, you may have some experience with agencies, or you have existing partnerships, but your positions remain open. So maybe it is time to consider partnering with a recruiting agency or reconsidering which agency’s you are currently doing business with.

Here 5 key areas that should be examined when qualifying a recruiting agency.

Process. What process does the agency use to find qualified candidates? Do they have a process? The right answer is “yes. we have a detailed proven process”. Ask the agency representative to explain their recruiting process to you. It should be detailed, and it should also make sense to you the potential client.

Speed. How long will it take for the agency to find you qualified candidates. For most professional positions it should take between 2-3 week for the agency to find you qualified candidates to consider. The time it takes may vary based on the type of position as well as location, salary, etc.

Quality. Can the agency find you the quality of candidates that you have not been able to find on your own? Ask the agency their experience filling similar positions. How will they qualify potential candidates? An experienced agency or recruiter should be able to answer these questions with details of their experience and how they identify serious candidates and qualify them before they are submitted to be considered for the position.

Offer Acceptance. A lot of time, energy and money can be expended on the consideration of apparently qualified and serious candidates. How do you know if you offer your top choice the position that there will be high percentage chance that they will accept? Ask the agency what their process is to ensure that qualified candidates are also seriously looking not just “testing the waters”.

Guaranty. What is the agency offering in the way of placement guaranty? The agency that you are considering should be offering a reasonable guaranty period in which to refill a position in the event that the hire candidate does not work out. There should be reasonable credit and potential refund for unsuccessful recruiting efforts. It is also reasonable to expect that your repeat business should include some kind of repeat customer discount.

There are a lot of recruiting agencies out there so do your due diligence with partnering and good luck!