Choose the right recruiter for your business

Finding the best talent for your business is no less critical than finding the right recruiter to help you complete your search. Ensure you choose the right recruiter for your business by asking these four key questions.

Choose the right recruiter with these questions

1. What percentage of hires have stayed more than two years?

Low numbers here may suggest the recruiter has not properly vetted the candidates put forward. Choose a recruiter with a retention rate above 70 per cent. This suggests that any employee attrition experienced by the client may be due to external factors rather than a poorly matched placement. After all, recruitment is an investment and is more costly in the long term to continually replace poor placements.

2. How long does it take to complete a recruit?

Depending on the industry you are recruiting in as well as the seniority of the position, the time it takes to recruit will vary. Temp roles in most industries should be completed within days, sometimes within 24 hours for urgent placements. Highly skilled roles, especially in a skills-short market, will take considerably longer to move through the hiring process. When engaging with recruiters ensure you are across their estimated timelines and agree to these before signing terms.

3. How involved is the recruiter in the search process?

When engaging a recruiter, you are making use of their expertise, industry knowledge and contacts in the market. If you’re paying for a service, it makes sense that you would expect any candidate lists to have been handpicked by the expert recruiter. Ask the agency how they structure their business. Some agencies are known to outsource candidate care to a call centre, while others (like VP) keep all this work in-house. A key part of a recruit is formulating a unique message to represent the business and the opportunity; delivery is key.

4. How thorough is the vetting process for candidates?

Some recruiters will put forward candidates without ever having met them, while others stipulate that every potential candidate is met face-to-face. Finding the right candidate is time-intensive and needs multiple touchpoints to qualify their suitability for a role. Find out how many rounds of interviews, in what format (video, face-to-face etc.) and what additional testing (such as psychometric) comprises their recruitment process.

The role of a recruiter

Recruiters play an important role in supporting a company’s growth. They work with the internal hiring managers of HR to better understand the needs of the company, culture, values, and vision. This foundational knowledge allows them to source and qualify candidates that could fill an open role and, critically, add value, skill or culture to the company.