Whether you typically hire directly or use multiple agencies for your vacancies, it could be worth considering a partnership with one recruitment agency to assist with your recruitment and HR needs. They can act as a safety net for your hiring decisions, helping you to make the best choice for your organisation going forward.

Here are just some of the benefits to partnering with a recruitment agency:

They find the ‘un-findable’:

In recruitment there are two types of candidates: active and passive. The active ones are pursuing new jobs, sending in applications, monitoring job boards and overall taking steps to find employment. Passive candidates on the other hand are people who are not necessarily looking right now, so won’t be sending in their CV or responding to your ad any time soon. But if the right opportunity were to come along, they could be tempted.

How do you attract these people? This is where a recruitment agency comes in. Not only do they have extensive databases filled with candidates to approach, they also have networks and search tools available that enable them to reach out to those who may otherwise not see your opportunity.

They give you time to focus on what matters:

Making the right hiring decision for your organisation is crucial. Not only because of the financial costs involved in making a bad hire, but also because of the damage it can cause to your existing team. Don’t undo years of hard work and a cohesive culture by introducing a person who is going push your other staff away. Allowing a recruitment agency to run a full process on your behalf means you can put your attention towards the interview stage and really focus on assessing candidates for team fit. Nobody knows your organisation and team better than you do so don’t waste time chasing applications and coordinating interviews, let your recruiter sweat the small stuff so you can focus on the bigger picture.

Plus the longer you work with one agency, the better they will understand your organisation, team fit and how to represent your opportunities the best, meaning no surprises at the end!

They will deal with the not-so-fun side of recruitment:

It’s not fun telling one person that they didn’t get the job, let alone 50+ people. Declining the candidates that you have interviewed can be uncomfortable, especially if you want to pass on some difficult feedback. Or what about handling the constant enquiries about your advertised role? Recruitment done well is a full time job and it can be very hard to maintain your BAU while also running a fair and positive process. Partnering with a recruitment agency means you can hand over all the hard and time-consuming parts to your consultant!

They help protect your reputation:

One of the biggest risks of running a poor recruitment campaign is the damage it can do to your organisation’s reputation – and the tricky part is you may not even be aware that damage is being done. One of the biggest frustrations candidates report is poor communication around their application. Whether they never heard from you, felt that the process was overly demanding or not well managed, before you know it word has spread and suddenly you may find it harder to attract the right kind of person. Once that opinion is out there it is very difficult to control and contain that negative perception. Engaging a (good) recruitment agency takes away the risk of damaging your organisation’s reputation. Because recruiters act as a go-between, they are also privy to those rumours in the marketplace and can alert you to any bad press!

They can help you avoid mistakes:

We like to joke that New Zealand is a village and often when it comes to recruitment, this isn’t too far from the truth. You may think you have the perfect candidate – someone who ticks all the boxes on paper and impresses in person. But what you see in a cover letter or at interview is a very controlled snapshot of who they are. Because your recruitment agency has an extensive database and network, they tend to know who is faking it and who is the real deal.

Perhaps your perfect candidate has a few skeletons in their closet that they haven’t been open about? The extensive background checks and professional knowledge of your recruiter should help you make informed and successful hiring decisions.

They provide ongoing support:

Got a tricky situation with a staff member and aren’t sure how to deal with it? Need help re-writing position descriptions, handling exit interviews or other HR matters? If you are partnered with a recruitment agency, they can often provide support and guidance for other HR matters outside of hiring.

There are many different ways to partner with a recruitment agency, and processes can be tailored to suit your needs. So don’t hesitate to get in touch to see what a recruitment agency can do for your organisation!

Best wishes,
Kirsty and Nikki

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