Employers Can Benefit From Developing A Good Relationship With Their Recruitment Agency
Using the expertise of a good recruitment agency and leaving them to carry out the initial search for someone suitable for a vacancy and to handle pre-screening so that the employer is provided with a shortlist of suitable candidates can save companies a great deal of time and money.
It is important to identify the right agency for an employer's needs. Some agencies focus only on recruiting permanent members of staff, while others also provide staff on a "contract" basis, where an employer can employ a candidate through the agency.
One of the first things an employer should check is whether the agency is a member of the REC, the Recruitment & Employment Confederation, which works to promote the highest standards and ethics within the recruitment industry.
The REC's code of good practice gives employers guidance on what they should expect. It includes the agency providing the employer with a clear statement of its terms and conditions, its fee structure and its complaint handling procedures.
The agency should be able to demonstrate that it understands and complies with the regulations they are governed by employment legislation, equal opportunities legislation and the rules governing the employment of workers from overseas. Like any employer agencies must check a candidate's eligibility to work in the UK.
An employer using an agency will also want to know about the system it has in place for terminating the assignment of any temp worker who turns out to be unsatisfactory and should be given the names of the individual or team within the agency who will be dealing with their company's account.
The best recruitment agencies work hard to build a long-standing and stable relationship with their clients. That means they will do their best to learn about the company's culture, the kinds of people that best fit in with this and the individual preferences of the people within the company to whom they are supplying candidates.
It is a two-way relationship and the employer has a part to play in establishing a strong working relationship with its chosen agency. Employers therefore should make sure they keep the agency involved in the recruitment process, and provide honest feedback on a candidate's performance at interview. This feedback is helpful for the agency and the candidate but will also help develop trust and a good working relationship between employer and agency. If the agency asks an employer to respond to its feedback mechanism it is a good idea to use it to rate its performance.
It is a good idea to keep in mind when choosing a suitable agency that cheapest is not necessarily the best. It makes sense to assess the overall package including the quality of candidates, the agency's rebate and replacement terms, personal checks, candidate filtering, psychometric testing, salary advice, and possibly whether it offers on-site interviewing facilities.
There are agencies that specialise in certain types of jobs, such as executive PA, or IT specialists and understand the requirements of these fields in depth. A company may find it helpful to consider using a specialist agency rather than a generalist one and putting in the effort to build a good working relationship that will last for many years.
Copyright (c) 2011 Alison Withers
It is important to identify the right agency for an employer's needs. Some agencies focus only on recruiting permanent members of staff, while others also provide staff on a "contract" basis, where an employer can employ a candidate through the agency.
One of the first things an employer should check is whether the agency is a member of the REC, the Recruitment & Employment Confederation, which works to promote the highest standards and ethics within the recruitment industry.
The REC's code of good practice gives employers guidance on what they should expect. It includes the agency providing the employer with a clear statement of its terms and conditions, its fee structure and its complaint handling procedures.
The agency should be able to demonstrate that it understands and complies with the regulations they are governed by employment legislation, equal opportunities legislation and the rules governing the employment of workers from overseas. Like any employer agencies must check a candidate's eligibility to work in the UK.
An employer using an agency will also want to know about the system it has in place for terminating the assignment of any temp worker who turns out to be unsatisfactory and should be given the names of the individual or team within the agency who will be dealing with their company's account.
The best recruitment agencies work hard to build a long-standing and stable relationship with their clients. That means they will do their best to learn about the company's culture, the kinds of people that best fit in with this and the individual preferences of the people within the company to whom they are supplying candidates.
It is a two-way relationship and the employer has a part to play in establishing a strong working relationship with its chosen agency. Employers therefore should make sure they keep the agency involved in the recruitment process, and provide honest feedback on a candidate's performance at interview. This feedback is helpful for the agency and the candidate but will also help develop trust and a good working relationship between employer and agency. If the agency asks an employer to respond to its feedback mechanism it is a good idea to use it to rate its performance.
It is a good idea to keep in mind when choosing a suitable agency that cheapest is not necessarily the best. It makes sense to assess the overall package including the quality of candidates, the agency's rebate and replacement terms, personal checks, candidate filtering, psychometric testing, salary advice, and possibly whether it offers on-site interviewing facilities.
There are agencies that specialise in certain types of jobs, such as executive PA, or IT specialists and understand the requirements of these fields in depth. A company may find it helpful to consider using a specialist agency rather than a generalist one and putting in the effort to build a good working relationship that will last for many years.
Copyright (c) 2011 Alison Withers
