For both small and large organizations alike, satisfied clients can agree that their external recruitment agency has been at times the most time and cost-effective way to access pools of highly skilled workers, especially those who are not actively seeking new employment.
How Recruitment Agencies Save You Time:
Only 10% of the market, if that, is actively applying for jobs. Most of these qualified individuals choose to only work discreetly with a recruitment agency when they are looking for a new challenge and opportunity. A well connected recruitment firm has thousands of candidates within their network, both actively and passively looking new roles. These recruiters are quality specialists within their sectors that have the knowledge to find the perfect fit for any hiring need. These firms pride themselves on presenting the top candidates in each market so a client only needs to make time to view candidates that will be worth considering. An independent firm also addresses all administrative issues such as all communications with the pool of applicants, verifying candidate qualifications and references as well as following up with those candidates not selected. Compared to in-house staff who may require training on best practice procedures, these highly experienced recruiters and agencies handle the process smoothly.
How Recruitment Agencies Save You Money:
Using recruitment agency removes any increased spend on multiple job adverts being posted. For instance, the NPAworldwide network gives recruitment firms allocations on top job boards, so clients can ensure that your job is advertised in all the correct places without managing the spend. Future hiring costs are significantly reduced as the agency will have knowledge of client company growth and culture so the process will be quicker which will result in even faster fills. An international firm part of a global network of recruitment firms locally based on all six continents, can especially reduce the need for in-house resources or putting in place a unique HR team if your organization expands.
Many employers attempt to first use internal resources instead of looking at external recruitment companies. In markets that the employers know well and have social media connections, perhaps it is possible to avoid independent recruiters or at a minimum reduce the dependence on outside agents. When the needs of companies expand beyond a local market and into countries where there is no physical presence, recruitment agencies may be the only way to achieve the results that are needed. As an international agency ourselves, we have prepared a few questions to consider when contracting an international agency.
While it may be difficult to calculate the exact cost of a hiring mistake, there is no doubt that a bad hire is a costly proposition. It is commonly mentioned that a hiring mistake costs somewhere between 2-5 times the salary of the person. A study by the Society for Human Resources Management (SHRM), puts the figure at five times the annual salary. SHRM also found that the higher the person’s position and the longer they remain in that position, the more cost is associated with this bad hire. Many companies don’t resolve poor hires quickly which can escalate the costs.
The opportunities and rewards that come along with transitioning a business in to a global operation are plenty, but so are the risks. Once your home operation is steady and strong, moving to new strategically picked markets is a good next step for the right company. As a global organization, our recruitment member’s clients frequently take on this type of expansion. Here is an informative case study on how a they accomplished a move to a new market using their international recruitment firm. 
There is no question that currently the hiring needs of employers require more time and diligence than ever with much of the power in candidate’s hands. When you are considering signing on a new recruitment agency, consider asking these questions to ensure you are contracting with an elite agency.
As recruiters or employers, we all know that the ideal goals of interviewing a candidate are to expose potential issues, reveal strengths, ensure that there is a fit with salary and compensation, evaluate personality against company culture, and verify qualifications, skills, and abilities for the role. Unfortunately, human nature often can cloud some of these key points when you relate personally to certain candidates over others. Many times, you can be drawn to personality traits that cause the candidate to appear stronger even if they are not the best one for the role. Even more than personal taste and bias, many are also likely to try and hire a similar employee to the one who was last in the role if they were successful, or the opposite if they were not highly reviewed.