How choose recruitment agency - NAJINTERNATIONAL Executive Search | Recruitments | HR Advisory

How choose recrutiment agency? Tips.

How choose recrutiment agency? Tips.

How choose recrutiment agency? Tips.

Good recruitment agency? How to choose?

Once a company has thoroughly verified that it has used up all the methods of finding an employee on its own and either can’t or won’t look on its own. Therefore begins to wonder how to choose a good recruitment agency.

Here the question appears:
  • a good recruitment agency – meaning what kind of agency?
  • how to find the agency?
  • what to pay attention to during the choice?
We can analyze the issues of choosing a good recruitment agency on many levels:
  1. a boutique agency or a large one?
  2. local or international agency?
  3. an agency doing mass or individual recruitment?
  4. recruitment company specialising in a particular industry?
  5. agency specialising in a specific type or level of positions?
  6. recruitment agency or executive search agency? Or perhaps a freelancer?
  7. a company with long experience in the market or a “fresh agency” with just a short period of experience?
  8. or maybe an agency that has cross-sector experience and uses its consultants’ rich experience can lead unconventional processes?
  9. maybe our company’s management or the owner needs to work with an agency that will co-create the search strategy and provide consultation. This is because our company needs to enter a completely new market sector and wants to hire a candidate who will bring new knowledge. The agency must know how and where to look for the right competencies?
  10. or maybe the owner of our company is looking for a successor? And then what? Who should be entrusted with such a task?
From where should we start our search for an agency? How to choose a good recruitment agency?

We begin naturally by analyzing our needs and expectations from the agency and then move on to search-market research. This is one of the elements of every recruitment and every other choice of an average Kowalski, regardless of whether he is buying a washing machine or a car.

Well, what to look for?

Many of us will agree that very often, we start with recommendations because it is the people we trust. People recommending us to a particular recruitment agency correlate the agency with a positive experience and success in cooperation. In conclusion, referrals narrow down our search field in a positive sense.

If we potentially need to reach passive candidates in our recruitment process, it is worth asking for recommendations not only from companies we know. It’s also good to ask friends and employees what agencies have contacted them in the past. The ones they mention probably use the direct contact method of searching on an ongoing basis, and this is an excellent “informal” recommendation.

When we have no recommendations, Google is always a reliable source. By entering phrases of our interest, such as “recruitment agencies in Poland”, “executive search firms in Poland”, “recruitment agencies in the manufacturing sector”, “global recruitment agencies”, etc., we can select agencies for comparison. It is essential to use extensions relevant to the specifics of our recruitment processes.

Once we know which companies to consider, the first thing we’ll probably do is analyze their websites and their social media presence. It’s evident that these days, websites reflect an agency’s image. The website and the agency’s profile on LinkedIn and Facebook is its business card. Social media is today the primary way of communication and searching for candidates. Therefore, it can be assumed that the agency, which has well-built profiles of employees and a well-developed www page, also knows and appreciates this communication channel during the recruitment process.

On the www pages, we can find e.g.
  1. information about the sectors for which the company provides its services
  2. the company’s successes
  3. current recruitments (although those for the highest or confidential positions may not appear there)
  4. information on whether the company cooperates with other entities
  5. whether it belongs to any international organizations, associations
  6. what the company shares with the world
Another critical piece of information is what the team of employees looks like.

They are the ones we will be working with on recruitment projects. We can analyze their profiles on LinkedIn, see their experience, career path, what information they share with the environment and why.
Looking at the overall analysis of the company on the Internet, it is worth correcting what we learn there. Both positive and negative sides are sometimes overcoloured. It is essential not to create a picture of an ideal company in advance – just check and adjust to our current needs.

People – I mean agency employees who represent a given agency and how he/she does it – will be at the very heart of our success when choosing an agency. Let’s not be afraid to meet and talk with the other person. It is even necessary.  When we have selected potentially several agencies to compare, the next step is to meet with consultants. As a result, the meetings should significantly impact the decision. They allow you to get to know the consultants who will provide a particular consulting service.

Face-to-face meetings with the consultant

Online meetings, which are so common nowadays, provide an opportunity to discuss the cooperation offer and how the agency works. About what are this agency’s standards – whether they are variable or flexible, how much experience does the agency have, e.g. in recruitment for specific positions? What is this agency’s idea of conducting given recruitment, for instance?

What else to ask about?
  1. about who specifically will be assigned to us for cooperation
  2. what are his/her successes, what experience does he/she have in problematic situations, and what solutions did he/she find?
  3. how does the communication of the process progress look like
  4. what are the ways to contact candidates when recruiting, etc.?

Although it is said that the first impression should not guide us, some parts of it will always remain in our minds. When choosing an agency, Consultants will represent our company in front of candidates and the market during recruitment.

It is also worth asking about the following:
  1. how candidates are assessed (is it a short phone interview and how short, do candidates have face-to-face meetings with the consultant and how long)
  2. what is evaluated at this meeting and why
  3. how many candidates will be presented
  4. what the evaluation reports will look like (and if there are any)
  5. what is the length of the guarantee for the hired candidate
  6. whether the agency works on an exclusive basis or not, and why
  7. how long is the exclusivity for a given position
  8. what is the frequency of communication with the client about the progress of the recruitment process
  9. what are the references of the agency, etc.?

Meeting with recruitment agency employees will either make us reject a given agency or make us even more interested in it. This will be another part of the journey of our choice. The feeling of matching the agency’s services to the client company – our needs here and now, and to our internal client – the hiring manager.

A good recruitment agency should attract us with their understanding of our needs and with their individual approach to the client.

Therefore, communication and knowledge sharing during the project is essential to the success of the agency’s service. Any problematic situations arising during the cooperation should be immediately analyzed with the Client if the Client is open to it.

It can be interesting for you: How much does it cost to work with a recruitment agency?