Steps To Take When Choosing A Recruitment Agency
As such, it is vital to choose the right agency to represent your company"s needs. Some tips for choosing an agency include:- Industry specific or more generalised? If your business is in a specialised industry such as the IT or pharmaceutical sectors, then it may be prudent to choose a recruitment agency that specialises in your business area. It may be worth asking potential agencies if they have found candidates for your competitors or if any of the staff have worked in your field of business to ensure that they have the relevant expertise.
- Communication quality. Hiring a recruitment agency will mean regular contact, likely to be on a daily basis. As such, it is important to get along with a potential recruiter and ensure that they are able to communicate and describe procedures to you in a confident and efficient manner. The quality of a recruitment agency"s staff can reflect on the kind of employee they are able to secure you.
- Vetting processes. A recruitment agency is designed to free up your company"s staff for more important tasks than spending hours wading through CV"s and covering letters. However, you must be confident that their vetting process is up to scratch. It is important to find out how rigorous their vetting procedure is and make sure that they will be willing to sift through applications based on your company"s set of criteria.
- Testimonials. Check if previous or current clients have left any feedback about their experiences with a potential recruitment agency. It may also be worth phoning any companies that have left testimonials to double check the information provided.
- Staff training levels. If you are seeking to recruit highly qualified or specialist staff for your company, it is important that recruitment agency staff themselves are well trained and participate in regular staff development. HR policies are subject to changes and developments, so it is vital that they are well versed in employment laws and ethics.
- Are they accredited? Choose an agency that is accredited by a recruitment industry body such as the Association of Graduate Recruiters (AGR) or the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC). As such, if you do encounter any issues, the industry body can provide weight to your cause.