7 Things an Employer Should Consider When Selecting a Recruiter

There are in excess of 15,000 recruitment firms in the UK alone.  So as an employer, where do you start when you need to determine which recruiter is the most appropriate to engage with?

Well, here a few key factors to consider when undertaking your decision making process.

1. Is the Agency REC or APSCo accredited?  Recruitment agencies registered with either the REC or APSCo have to conform to a professional code so generally, you can rest assured you will receive a professional service.
2. Are They Specialists in Your Industry or in the Skill Set You’re Hiring For?  Generalist agencies have a place. They can be useful for an employer who needs to recruit for a wide variety of roles without the hassle of agreeing individual terms of business with a number of different recruitment agencies. Specialist agencies may be preferable however if you have a specific skill set that you need to hire. A specialist recruiter will have a solid understanding of either the niche skill set or the industry sector which you’re hiring for. Typically, specialist recruiters provide their services at a premium.
3. How well do they understand your industry sector?  A recruiter will have a greater understanding of what candidates are appropriate for your role if they understand the industry sector in which you operate and the scope of the role that the candidate would be required to perform if hired.
4. What is their track record?  Promises on what can be delivered may be no more than promises. Although no guarantee of future performance, a good indicator is past performance. Ask the recruiter to provide evidence of successful delivery – particularly with other employers in the same market sector as yourself, or who have sought to hire for a similar role.
5. Can they give you any client testimonials?  It’s very easy to extol one’s own virtues, but there’s a greater degree of significance if a third party sings your praises. Ask the agency to provide testimonials from their current and previous customers.
6. What fee are they wishing to charge you?  On average, recruiter fees can range from 18-25%. Your commitment to providing the opportunity to source volume hires through a recruiter can bring that rate down to as little as 10-12% (depending on how many vacancies you have).
7. Do they have a rebate clause in their contract?  Sometimes, regardless of how thorough the recruitment process is, the person hired does not work out for one reason or another. A good recruiter will acknowledge this and therefore will agree to source a free replacement for the employer should this situation arise in the first two or three months. If no replacement candidate can be found, the recruiter should provide the employer with a rebate of some form. An example rebate schedule is for 100% if the candidate leaves within the first month, 75% if they leave in month 2, and 50% if they leave in month 3. Beyond that, typically no rebate is provided.

As indicated above, this is not an exhaustive list of things to consider, but the items mentioned should definitely be included in your review process.

Good luck in your selection process!

 

Yourpeoplemarket.com is a free to use website that is helping 100s of businesses get the best talent in the market.  Through us, the hire process is often quicker and employers benefit from an average cost reduction of about 40%. Recruitment agencies registered on yourpeoplemarket.com are vetted before being approved onto the service. Employers can easily see a recruiter’s performance track record on the system and their YourRate score – which is an aggregate rating compiled by other employers who have engaged the recruiter in the past. All this helps employers to quickly decide which recruiters to engage with and find their desired talent fast.