DIY Recruitment – Is it really a good idea?

The results from consistent and persistent “cold calling”, meetings, and business development is that there are a good number of jobs available in the market. We also know that a percentage of these jobs are being managed by client companies directly. In most cases we ask the potential client and ourselves “is this wise?” The reason we ask this is that they tell us they are receiving hundreds of applications. Some of these clients will see a couple of our candidates as a comparison. Most will struggle along with the hordes of CV’s, phone and email queries. Recently we hear from a survey conducted by the ESRI – see http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/... 246058800html that job applicants with typical Irish names are twice as likely to be called for interview as those with minority names. This is not surprising as it would appear that companies are short cutting on screening the CV’s and opting for the familiar when really they should be finding the ideal candidates.

We know from feedback in the marketplace from candidates that most do not receive a reply to their application, nor can they get through to anyone if they try to ring and see if it has been received, and rarely do they receive an email response. Whilst waiting for a response the candidates impression of that company has dropped considerably and so if the company finally does call them in for interview the question is “will they be available?”. If they are lucky enough to be called and are available for interview there is often limited communication regarding preparation for that meeting i.e. how many involved in the interview, testing procedures, interview process etc. In some cases they have been told there will be a second interview only for the candidate not to hear from them again. Not good practice.


In steps the good agency / consultancy; they help with the job specification making sure there is sufficient understanding and indeed broadening of the role so suitably qualified candidates can be identified for interview; an agency will have their current database to look to as well advertising available to the client. Consultants will screen a high number of potential candidates checking location, salary expectations, skill set, systems experience etc; A short list is produced and recommendations are made. Interviews are set up and managed by the consultant. Consultants prepare the candidates for the interview again making sure of their suitability – that there is no deal-breaker about to happen (they forget to mention the 6 weeks honey moon break they have planned 2 months after the start date). If there is testing – the candidate is made aware and can prepare in advance. References and academic checks can be done. The consultant will help with the negotiation of the offer and make sure contracts are sent out to the lucky candidate. End to end recruitment is not easy but using a competent recruitment agent can definitely make the path a hell of a lot smoother and potentially less costly than you might think. Remember there is no charge until the candidate starts the position and worse case scenario should the candidate fall out of the role for some reason other than redundancy most agencies offer a rebate scheme or replacement. Now isn’t that worth thinking about?

How can you Improve the Effectiveness of Resourcing the Right Candidate?

There has been a shift in the market recently, from that of a Candidate driven Recruitment Market to that of a Company driven Recruitment Market.
What does this mean for your company and how are you and your HR Department going to get the best out of this?

Traditionally, Companies have contacted recruitment agencies for a number of Key reasons:
Lack of suitable candidates available on the market for Senior Positions
In a busy HR Environment there is not enough time to screen the many applicants that you may receive for junior positions
Rapid Expansion of Companies meant more induction courses, more training, more assessments and more HR tasks in general means less time to search for difficult to find candidates
High Turnover of staff due to competition between rival companies for the best and most experienced staff

Currently Companies are looking at using agencies for other reasons:
When recruiting directly, many companies are finding that for every role advertised there are upward of 100 applicants, mostly without the relevant experience, which is time consuming to filter though
There is still a lack of Senior Quality Candidates available on the market, as there is a fear of changing jobs for those who are not being made redundant, and therefore head hunting is still required
With Hiring Freezes in place in many companies, and with reduced headcount, companies need to get the very best of the available candidates to ensure new hires are capable of handling more than the ‘job spec’.


How you can take advantage?
What some Companies are finding is that in order to reduce their costs and still get the quality of service that they need, Professional Agencies are reducing their fees in exchange for exclusivity on the role and possibly a Retained Assignment fee. Everybody wins here – The Company have a dedicated Senior Consultant working on the role where the Recruiter can afford to spend 100% of their time on this position as the risk of their competition has been eliminated. In a situation where Contingency Recruitment Fees are in place this is a key point.
The Company can also have a structured timeframe for interviews and a deadline for an offer and start date, which can be managed by the single agency. There is only one point of contact, one agency, and not several consultants all looking for feedback on their candidates.
Paying a retainer up front provides reassurance to the Company that the Agency is working their role and that they have to deliver.
It doesn’t cost anything for Companies to give Agencies temporary exclusivity and it frees up considerable time for the HR Department. The Recruiter has to deliver the “High in Demand” Candidate through Headhunting, Network Mapping and overall contacts and market knowledge in a quick turnaround time during this temporary exclusive period, or risk loosing it and have the role become contingency based between competing agencies.

Costings and Savings:
1) With direct applicants, there is no rebate period or free replacement should the candidate not work out. If the Candidate doesn’t work out then it is back to square one regarding interviewing and searching for candidates. If you use an Agency (if the agency is doing the correct job and adhering to their Standards) you can be happy in the knowledge that they will be relevant to the position and that the candidate is of a certain calibre, professionalism and is committed to the position and future of their career. There is no back up plan with using Job Hire websites - you have paid for the advertisement and the CVs you receive is all that you can use, and if a candidate does not work out you have to buy new advertising space

2) Rates seem to have become more competitive but regardless of the charge, the amount of work that goes into the process is still the same and again the standards, ethics and workload (Pre-interview screening, CV formatting, cover letters, Reference checking, Visa working rights, Pre-interview Training etc) have to be adhered to. Perhaps something that is rarely considered by companies is that this is on a contingency basis, so even after this amount of work is done there is no guarantee that we will be paid for this service in the end (Internal interviews, Candidate has found another job, position has been but on hold, Recruitment Freeze) You would not get this service from a Job website where you have to pay up front before you even see a CV and then have to process all the work thereafter. With a recruitment agency, you will get a reduced rate and a higher level of service and a better chance of getting the perfect candidate.


Which Agency should you choose?
There are good agencies and bad “cowboy” Agencies. Agencies are not all the same!! Do not choose an agency based on the rate alone. If you have doubts, ask to see testimonials from clients. Understand what recruitment services are on offer. Take the time out to meet with the Agency face to face, that will help understand the benefits of utilising their services and also you can directly explain how you want the recruitment process to happen. The meeting will allow the Agency to better understand your company, your teams, your wants and needs – as well as how your current service can be improved.


Written by Sinead O’Sullivan