If a recruitment agency is not meeting your expectations, then maybe it’s time to start the search elsewhere for the right agency for you.
Is this recruitment agency genuine?
Many businesses work with recruitment agencies but fail to identify if the agency is genuine. The right recruitment agency is one that knows your business and market inside and out.
Targeting high-quality candidates, whilst preserving a company’s culture is the expectation that every recruitment agency should strive for. You will be able to know whether a recruitment agency is a good one by asking yourself the following questions:
- Is this Recruitment Agency active within your industry?
- Do they have any other successful clients that fall into your industry that they have previously worked with?
- Do they just want to fill the vacancy and leave, or are they here for the long run?
- Has the agency asked what you want?
These questions should assist you to form a solid idea of whether the agency you’re working with is genuine but there are many other questions you should be asking.
Does this recruitment agency have enough industry experience?
Experience within your market is a must. Recruitment agencies that specialise within a niche market can identify and acquire high-quality candidates with ease. To achieve the best outcome from the recruitment process, you will need an agency working alongside you that has equivalent, or more knowledge within your market than yourself. Work with an agency that supports your business goals and your hiring needs.
Does this recruitment agency have access to specialist recruiters?
Specialist recruiters are the people on the front line, their purpose is to form relationships with candidates but also to get to know your business so they can match these high quality candidates to your open roles. Recruitment agencies that have access to specialist recruiters become very easy to work with, you can tap into prebuilt relationships and fill your vacancy with speed and effectiveness.
Making sure the agency you’re working with can offer these prebuilt relationships speeds up the entire recruitment process drastically, whilst still maintaining the level of skill each candidate has to offer.
Is this recruitment agency transparent?
Transparency is something other agencies struggle with. Being transparent is the first step into a healthy relationship between an agency and a company, the ability to trust each other from the get-go is vital in producing the best results for both the agency and your business.
Discussion over rates and charges between the recruitment agency and business is a topic that some agencies fail to officialise and agree on terms with their client. Gathering this intel in writing as proof, allows for a smooth recruitment process with no surprise of rate increases or charges.
The overall message here is, when an agency lacks communication it can only lead on to confusion and a negative experience in the future.
What you should expect from an agency is to be within the process, not spectating from afar. Many agencies lack this communication between the client and the agency, they have no idea who is within the process and overall diminishes the recruitment experience for both the client, recruitment agency and the candidate.
One of the most frustrating aspects for a candidate within the recruitment process is feedback. We make sure that each of our candidates within the recruitment process stays well informed about what is going on and where they stand. Keeping everyone within the loop allows a positive experience for all as well as a positive outcome.
Is this recruitment agency aware of legislation changes and how it could affect your business?
At Nicoll Curtin we are members of APSCo, and this allows us to stay ahead of legislation and industry changes. However, in order to prepare effectively for change we need to ensure our clients are aware. We work to transfer our knowledge across to our clients and advise them in the best way possible.
What does the agency want?
Perhaps one of the most important questions and the last one to consider from this blog. Each agency has its own strategy and goals, do you know what they are? In some companies delivering a quick service to clients is a priority and this may work for you.
At Nicoll Curtin part of our strategy is to become our client’s number one supplier. We believe the most effective way to achieve this is to really understand what our clients want and then work to deliver. Some of our clients will take many weeks to make one hire that is perfect for their team and others will want to hire within two days. It is our intention is to work with our clients in a consultative rather than transactional manner to ensure all parties are happy.
If we sound like the right agency for you please get in touch with us.