For businesses that handle their own recruitment, HR departments will usually have a significant role to play in this process. It will be the responsibility of the HR manager and their team to define the company’s talent requirements, organise the recruitment and onboarding process, and ensure that new recruits are delivering for the business.
Larger companies and businesses with dedicated recruitment expertise within their HR teams are often able to handle all of these responsibilities internally, but smaller HR departments may not have the time, resources or expertise to manage all of this without assistance. This is where external recruitment agencies are able to deliver considerable value as partners and service providers.
In this blog post, we will explore the ways in which recruitment agencies are able to effectively support HR departments, as well as the factors that HR leaders should consider when selecting an agency to partner with.
How can external agencies assist your HR department?
Every business has different recruitment needs, both in terms of their hiring goals and ideal candidate profile, and in terms of the level of support their HR department will need to fulfil these objectives. Recruitment agencies are able to deliver tailored support to ensure that companies receive the level of support that will suit their needs, whether this involves light-touch consultancy support or a full-service recruitment offering.
Agencies can aid HR departments in the following ways:
● Industry insights and expertise - HR departments will have a strong understanding of the business’s needs and perspective but may lack broader expertise in terms of prevailing industry conditions and trends, and the specific challenges they may face in their recruitment efforts. Specialist agencies will possess this knowledge and will be able to offer insights and guidance on how to tailor your recruitment strategy for the current market realities.
● Enhanced candidate analytics and databases - the most effective recruitment strategies are driven by data and analytics, and an intelligent approach to assessing candidates. Recruitment agencies will have an established list of contacts and prospects, with sophisticated methods of filtering these potential leads to deliver the most promising candidates for your business. By combining these with your HR team’s existing data, you will be able to extract new insights, as well as gain a valuable second opinion on your own decision-making processes.
● Direct hiring support and candidate engagement services - the recruitment process is labour-intensive and process-driven, including numerous stages of job advertising, candidate vetting, interviews and proactive communication. If your HR team lacks the bandwidth to handle all of these effectively, an agency can take over all of these responsibilities on your behalf, ensuring that candidates are kept engaged and that the hiring process runs smoothly, without efficiency bottlenecks caused by limited capacity.
● End-to-end strategic collaboration - the most effective partnerships between HR departments and recruitment agencies are seamlessly integrated, allowing HR teams to consult with their agency partners throughout the hiring process and receive reactive strategic advice, informed by proven expertise. This allows the company to delegate tasks to the agency when needed, share data and insights, combine expertise and ultimately deliver a streamlined process and excellent results.
How can HR teams pick the ideal recruitment partner?
In order to ensure that your HR department is able to get the very most out of its partnership with an external recruitment agency, it is essential to ensure they are able to meet your needs. You can find an ideal recruitment partner by considering the following factors:
● Ensure the agency has proven credentials and a strong track record in your chosen industry, as judged by their existing case studies and the results they have delivered for businesses like yours
● Evaluate the agency’s contact lists and access to relevant talent pools to see whether they will be able to connect your business with high-quality candidates
● Find a partner that can provide access to high-quality market intelligence, analytics and databases, including recommended metrics for analysing candidates and market conditions
● Hold a conversation with your prospective agency partner to ensure a good cultural fit between the agency’s team and your HR department, including a shared understanding of the project goals and mutually compatible ways of working
By doing your due diligence, you should be able to ensure that your HR department is able to extract the maximum value from its agency partnerships in the long term, leading to significant benefits in terms of recruitment outcomes and return on investment.
How we can help
Businesses that wish to supplement the capabilities of their existing HR teams with an external partner are advised to work with a specialist recruitment agency that understands the specific hiring needs of their sector, and is able to provide the tailored support and services that will complement your HR team’s existing capabilities.
Employment Solutions has been working with businesses to deliver better recruitment outcomes for more than two decades. As a specialist engineering and manufacturing recruitment firm, we can work closely with your existing HR staff to provide a tailored level of recruitment guidance and support, ensuring that you are able to set your own hiring goals and receive the advice you need to meet them.
To learn more about how Employment Solutions can help you and your HR department, call our team on 0161 839 5353, or complete the contact form below to arrange a callback.