Here we’ve given you the benefits of using a recruiter from the perspective of candidates, so now it’s time to discuss the benefits to a company.
The Client Perspective
Many companies have large, experienced internal recruiting teams and may question the need to engage an external resource for their recruitment efforts. The benefits of working with an agency can vary depending on the dynamics and search, but here are a few of the perks.
Experts:
While internal recruiters are often skilled at hiring for a great variety of roles, agency recruiters are often specialized within a particular industry, role, region or specialty. This specialization allows them to have deep networks, refined vetting and interviewing skills for their area of expertise and the ability to execute faster.
When first engaging with a firm, it’s also likely they will already have a bench of potential active candidates for you. Being able to work with a firm so closely allows the recruiter to select the active candidates that best fit your specifications.
Brand Agnostic Engagement:
When an internal recruiter reaches out to a candidate, it’s clear what company the person is representing. If the candidate has an initial negative reaction or a previous impression of your company that’s incorrect, the internal recruiter will likely never get a chance to have a conversation.
Agency recruiters represent a variety of clients that may initially grab a candidate’s interest and then they can give a more thorough pitch on why they should also consider your opportunity. This is especially helpful for early-stage startups without much brand recognition or companies who have reputation challenges, such as negative Glassdoor reviews.
Backchannels:
External recruiters utilize their own vast personal and company networks to backchannel candidates before placement to determine if a candidate is well suited to fill the position. While internal recruiters often do this as well, it’s often easier and faster for agencies to conduct backchannels due to the broader reach.
Time & Money:
While recruiting fees are often sizable, anecdotal and study-based evidence has shown that making the right hire faster, has both a direct and indirect correlation with revenue. To start, a quick time-to-fill turnaround saves your hiring team valuable hours that they could spend in more productive or revenue-generating activities.
Secondly, the accountability tied to an external firm filling roles helps to ensure it’s a particularly good hire. In the same way you want candidates to work out, they are even more motivated to ensure a good placement so they don’t have to backfill the hire for free.
Finally, there is the direct impact of carrying an open seat for revenue-generating roles such as sales. The longer a position is open, the higher cost to the company. As an example:
You need an Account Executive position filled. Each month that position goes unfilled, the revenue lost is a large fraction of the annual quota that would be assigned to that sales rep. For some with a $1M annual quota, $150,000 in revenue is lost per month if a rep is not hired. For others with a $600,000 annual quota, $160,000 in revenue is lost per month if a rep is not hired. After a year, the lost revenue likely exceeds the annual quota for that position.
Consider It
Take these points into consideration when it comes time to fill your open positions. Hiring a recruiting agency increases the quality of your applicant pool, cuts down your costs and saves you time. Agency recruiters specialize in curating a list of candidates that are best suited for YOUR needs. They could be the game changer to help your company excel.