So… you’ve decided to hire a recruitment agency!

This is a fantastic decision, as it will bring about a whole host of benefits for you and your business. As an established job agency in Cheltenham, i2i Recruitment have been fortunate to support a number of amazing businesses over the years with our services.

However, before you finalise your choice of agency, you’ll need to establish a few things to ensure that they’re truly the right team to help you find your perfect candidates.

With that in mind…

Here are 10 questions you should ask any recruitment agency before you hire them:

The average cost of hiring a new employee in the UK is currently around £3,000 – so it’s certainly not the cheapest of investments! As a result, you’ll need to be sure that the recruitment agency you choose has a high success rate of supplying long term candidates.

This is therefore an important question to kick off with. If the answer is unfavourable, then right away, you’ll know that they’re not the right agency for you without having to waste your time asking the following questions!

How we’d answer at i2i Recruitment:

At i2i recruitment, we have an unbroken record of supplying long term candidates to our clients, due to our personal and in-depth approach. As a result, we have retained 98% of our clients since establishing the company! You can take a look at some of our top testimonials here.

2. How much do your services cost?

While this might seem like a straightforward question initially, there are a number of costs that working with a recruitment agency can incur.

Employers are responsible for all recruiting fees in the UK, and this fee is usually determined by the job you have on offer and the kind of employment this will be under – temporary or permanent, for example.

Some agencies may also include retained recruitment costs should the role you’re hiring for require a particular skillset or experience level.

It’s therefore important to have all this in mind in line with your recruitment budget when choosing a recruitment agency to work with!

How we’d answer at i2i Recruitment:

At i2i Recruitment, we charge on a sliding scale, as opposed to a percentage, depending on your particular requirements. However, we won’t charge you until you complete a successful hire!

3. Where do you find your candidates, or how do they find you?

Knowing where your prospective agency finds their candidates is an essential indicator of not only the quality of said candidates, but the lengths they will go to find your perfect employee.

If they tell you that they only source their candidates from a single external job platform, for example, they’re probably missing out on a whole host of eligible and outstanding candidates – which also means missed opportunities for you and your business.

What’s more, knowing how their candidates find them is a great way of identifying how up to date they are with modern recruiting methods and techniques.

For example, if they tell you that their candidates find them through social media ads or platforms, or Google searches, you can be sure that they have a good marketing plan in place and a strong engagement with their following.

If they also say “word of mouth,” even better – there’s no greater marketing tool or indicator of a successful recruitment agency than recommendations from those who have experienced them first hand!

How we’d answer at i2i Recruitment:

Although we are a job agency based in Cheltenham, we find our candidates from a wide range of reliable sources across the country, and never back down in our search to find the perfect candidate for our clients – our Border Biscuits case study is a prime example!

We also use a number of different methods to help candidates find us; from sharing roles on a plethora of different job sites to regular updates on our social media pages (including Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and Twitter) to having our own dedicated marketing plan in place and tons of referrals through word of mouth.

As a result, we bring in thousands of applications per week! Our 15 recruitment consultants then screen hundreds of these to narrow it down to 60 new, high-quality candidates.

4. How many CVs do you look through on average per role advertised?

In a nutshell, the more CVs your prospective recruitment agency quotes, the better! This indicates that they advertise their roles well, have a good reputation, and have a large database of candidates from which to choose, meaning that you are far more likely to find the perfect candidate.

How we’d answer at i2i Recruitment:

On average, our job agency in Cheltenham looks through thousands of CVs combined, and around 100 for each role advertised (if these don’t fit the bill, we will take the time to search for others that do).

From there, we’ll talk to approximately 30 candidates, register 15 to be interviewed, then whittle this down to four for a second interview following your feedback. Ultimately, we offer a ratio of two interviews to one successful candidate.

5. Do you meet your candidates? If so, how?

If your potential recruitment partner answers “no” to this question, then consider them a write-off. While many recruitment agencies will simply communicate with their candidates via phone or over email, this is nowhere near as powerful as meeting them face to face.

How we’d answer at i2i Recruitment:

At i2i Recruitment, we endeavour to meet every single one of our candidates face to face. While this was not possible during the coronavirus outbreak, we still ensured that we spoke to all our candidates via video call.

This is because we know that behind every CV is an individual, and that individual cannot be fully understood and appreciated from two condensed sides of A4 paper! Learn more about this here.

6. How do you decide whether a candidate will be appropriate for us?

There are a number of different ways that a recruitment agency can go about this; however, some are much stronger than others. Similarly to the above, if their answer is that they go by a CV and references alone, or perhaps a few phone calls, this may not be enough to be sure the candidate is the best fit.

Ultimately, this all comes down to how in depth and personal the recruitment agency’s process is – in terms of both getting to know you and the candidate.

The more they get to know both sides, the better the chances that they will make the right decision on appropriate candidates for your business.

How we’d answer at i2i Recruitment:

Our main focus is (and always has been and will be) quality over quantity here at i2i.

As part of our process, we will take the time to truly get to know you, your business goals and how your new candidate needs to fit into that, as well as writing job descriptions that encompass all of this to attract only the highest quality candidates to apply.

As mentioned above, we also meet with the candidates to truly get to know the person behind the CV and ensure that they’re not just a great fit because of their skillset and experience, but also because of their personality and how well they’ll blend in with your business ethos and culture.

In fact, we’d even go so far as to say that we see the registration process as a first interview!

7. How often will you be in touch with us during the recruitment process?

Your chosen recruitment agency shouldn’t simply work alongside you in the process of finding you the perfect candidate; they should provide you with a collaborative, communicative, and efficient partnership in order to make your recruitment endeavours a success.

This means that, if you receive an answer to this that is anything less than you feel you need to succeed, then it’s time to look for a different agency.

How we’d answer at i2i Recruitment:

Ultimately, recruiting your perfect candidate is about ensuring the success of your business, so we will be in touch with you to update you on the process as much as you need, or feel is necessary.

During this process, we will provide step by step reports as part of a schedule planned from your initial meeting with us.

8. And what about after we’ve made a successful hire?

A lot of recruitment agencies choose to cease contact once you’ve made a successful hire via their services (unless something goes wrong – more on that below).

However, others will remain in contact afterwards to ensure you and the candidate are doing well and to be on hand should you need any additional support – they’re the ones to go for!

How we’d answer at i2i Recruitment:

Should you decide to hire a candidate through i2i Recruitment’s services, we’ll offer ongoing consultations throughout the first 12 months of employment. So, if there are any hiccups, or you need to ask any questions, we’ll be on hand to help!

9. What happens if it doesn’t work out with my candidate?

Although uncommon, there are occasions where a new employee simply doesn’t work out or the arrangement falls through, and this could be for a number of reasons. As rare as it is, however, your chosen recruitment agency should have some form of back-up plan in place.

It’s also worth noting that some recruitment agencies may still charge you for their time even if the employment is unsuccessful, so keep this in mind during your search, too.

How we’d answer at i2i Recruitment:

As noted above, we will remain in touch with you for 12 months following your hire, so if something goes wrong, we’ll be on hand right away to support you and the candidate.

This includes anything from our rebate offer to providing advice on improving employee engagement, or finding a suitable replacement as soon as is required (during the first 12 weeks we offer a free replacement, which you can read more about in our terms of business here).

10. What makes you stand out from other recruitment agencies?

There are so many recruitment agencies out there that you can choose to work with. So, when you ask this question, keep an ear out for responses that truly stand out from the crowd; essentially, what is it about them that is truly unique that makes them so successful?

How we’d answer at i2i Recruitment:

In brief, it is our mission to connect outstanding candidates with great employers that would have never otherwise come into contact, and our personal, in-depth approach. You can find out more about what makes us stand out from other job agencies in Cheltenham here.

With these questions to hand, you’ll be ready to choose the best recruitment agency for you!

As you’ll have seen above, we’ve shared how we would answer those questions ourselves here at i2i Recruitment. If our responses tick all your boxes and you’re on the lookout for a job agency in Cheltenham to support you with your recruitment process, why not get in touch?

We’d be delighted to hear from you and get stuck into finding your perfect candidate(s)!