Teaming up with a recruitment agency can provide your business numerous benefits.
From saving you time creating job descriptions, having access to high-quality candidates and being able to offer sector-specific expertise, the possibilities that such a partnership can open to you are almost boundless.
As one of the top recruitment agencies in Gloucestershire, these are benefits that our team at i2i Recruitment have strived to provide our partnering businesses for the last fifteen (plus) years!
When it comes to choosing a recruitment agency, however, there are a number of services that they should be able to offer you to ensure that you can reap these benefits and, ultimately, secure the best possible candidates to work in your business, including:
- an initial, in-depth consultation
- effective job advertising and promotion
- thorough CV filtering
- face-to-face candidate meetings/screenings
- dedicated follow-up services
Read on to find out about these in more detail…
5 essential services your chosen recruitment agency should be able to offer you:
1. An initial, in-depth consultation
Finding the perfect candidate(s) for your business should always start with developing an in-depth understanding of you, your business and the vacancies you are looking to fill.
The best way for a recruitment agency to do this is by holding a thorough and in-depth consultation with you – preferably face to face, but otherwise at least with a video or phone call (here at i2i Recruitment, we know that there’s a company behind every job specification, and that a simple email thread will never be enough to get to know you properly!).
By having this consultation, your chosen partner agency will not only be able to establish the details of the role(s) you are looking to fill and the kind of candidates you are hoping to employ, but they will also be able to align this with your business’ overarching goals, and how you typically go about achieving them.
What’s more, they’ll also be able to establish who your business competitors are and advertise your vacancies in a way that will bring candidates to you instead of your competition.
As part of this consultation, you should also be provided with a single point of contact at the agency. This way, you’ll have complete peace of mind that you will receive a consistent service, rather than needing to use up valuable time and energy repeating yourself to another employee of the agency.
Consequently, your chosen partner agency will have everything they need to start finding the perfect candidates for you off the bat. It’s a lengthier process than most, but it will save you and your business significant time and costs in the long run!
2. Effective job advertising and promotion
While this might seem obvious, some agencies will take a more robust approach to job advertisements than others.
If the agency of your choice has taken the time to understand your business’ vision, they’ll be able to write a job description that is not only clear and accurate, but also exciting and appealing to only the very best candidates.
In addition, the best recruitment agency partners will know that advertising your job vacancy is not simply a case of posting it on their website and waiting for candidates to apply, but also sharing and promoting it in the most effective way possible.
For example, if you’re hoping to employ a graduate, a top agency will consider sharing your job on social media platforms, as this is where graduates have been found to do much of their job seeking.
What’s more, top recruitment agencies will be able to attract passive candidates (those who are content with their work and not actively searching for new employment opportunities, and who are often the most desirable to businesses) as well as active candidates.
3. Thorough CV filtering
Oftentimes, recruitment agencies will simply pass on all the CVs they receive from an advertised role to you and leave you to work through them. It goes without saying that this is a time-consuming and potentially frustrating process, particularly if the CVs are not to the standard you are expecting.
The best recruitment agencies however will take this pressure off you by offering a CV filtering service, where they will make use of their specialist knowledge and experience (as well as their understanding of your business and goals) to find and pass only the very best candidate CVs on to you.
Therefore, when you look to partner with a recruitment agency, be sure to ask them whether this is a service they can provide.
4. Face-to-face candidate meetings/screenings
In busy times (as well as due to limitations made by circumstances such as the coronavirus pandemic), it’s also not unheard of for recruitment agencies to simply pass CVs on to businesses without meeting the candidates first.
As powerful as a CV can be, it’s important for recruitment agencies to recognise that there is a human being behind those two sides of A4, and that, by meeting that individual, they can learn even more about them.
This includes their skills, experience and personality, and whether they truly are the right fit for your business and the position you have available (this is actually one of the things that makes i2i Recruitment one of the best recruitment agencies in Gloucestershire!).
Your chosen recruitment agency partner should therefore be able to offer face-to-face candidate meetings and screening as part of their service wherever possible.
5. Dedicated follow-up services
If your chosen recruitment agency plans to say goodbye to you once you have interviewed and chosen a candidate to fill a role, then this is a warning sign that they may not be ideal partner for you.
Your partnership shouldn’t end once the job is offered and accepted by a candidate, but instead, the recruitment agency should stay in touch with you regularly to check up on how the candidate is settling in, whether you have any questions or concerns, and so on.
What’s more, unfortunately, things don’t always go to plan. For example, your new recruit might need to leave the role suddenly due to personal circumstances or may decide that the job is simply not for them.
By keeping their communication lines open, your chosen recruitment partner will be able to manage these situations quickly and efficiently, with as little stress or inconvenience on your part as possible.
At i2i Recruitment, for example, we offer a 100% rebate for the first four weeks following a hire, which significantly minimises the risk to businesses employing new candidates.
Before you decide to team up with a recruitment agency, therefore, be sure to ask whether they’ll stay in touch with you once you’ve filled your job vacancy, and how long for.
We’re proud to offer all the above services at i2i Recruitment – and more!
So, if you’re currently on the lookout for recruitment agencies in Gloucestershire, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us.
Whatever specialism your business works in and whatever your recruitment needs, we have the market knowledge to fully support you and will be sure to provide you with an unparalleled service when it comes to finding the perfect candidates!
