There is a lot of competition in the recruitment sector right now. Everyone is clamouring for your business.  How do you cut through the noise and find the perfect partner for your recruitment needs?  Whether you’re fed up with your existing agency or hiring for a new type of role these are the factors you should look at to help you decide.

1.         Choose an agency that specialises in your sector either by industry or job role 

A specialist agency, by industry or role type, will be an expert in their field.  This keeps the hire process timeline short, saves you time in explaining what you need and gets you a much better return on your spend.  Niching allows an agency to build a reputation to attract the right candidates and create a great talent pipeline whilst also developing an in-depth knowledge of the requirements of your role and business.  They may even be able to offer you insights into additional skills that would benefit your role.

2.         Find a personality and approach that suits you and your business

An agency’s personality should be clear from their website and social media.  The About Us and Team sections are the best places to get a feel for the business and their aims.  Some firms have unfairly built a negative reputation for recruitment agencies, being pushy and focused on sales rather than the perfect match between candidate and business.  Do you like their approach and style?  Ideally you want to build a long-term relationship with your agency, so choose one that you feel you could partner with and whose personality and content resonates with you.

3.         Check out their vacancies

Ideally, they should have a good number of roles on their books – check their website for details.  Ensure these roles echo the needs of your business and that they change over time, indicating they are being filled.  If so, the agencies marketing efforts will be in the right candidate market and work to your advantage.

4.     Read their client testimonials

You can find these on websites and social media.  What better way to show the quality of their service than by showing off their glowing testimonials?

5.         Ask the right questions

Ask an agency where they source their candidates.  You want to hear that they are proactively looking in a range of places, not just advertising on job sites.  If they’re active on social media and get word of mouth recommendations it will help you get the best person for the job, after all your perfect candidate may not yet be looking for a new job.  Agencies need to work hard to ensure they get eyes and ears on your role to uncover the best.

Another great question to ask is how do they interview and select candidates?  You’ll hope to hear that they have a thorough process in place where they have the opportunity to not only test a candidate’s skills but discover their personality.  This final piece is what will ensure a great team fit and increase the likelihood that a candidate stays with your business in the long run.

If you want to discuss how we can work with you to meet the needs of your business get in touch.

At NHB Recruitment Solutions we are passionate about the relationships we have, from the candidates we help, to the clients we work in partnership with. We are highly driven people that commit to deliver the best we can.