Selecting The Right Recruitment Agency

As a hiring manager, it is well worth investing time up front in really getting to know the agency and the individual account manager. Spend at least 2-3 hours before you embark on a campaign with an agency to get the fundamentals right.

While it's an inexact science before you've had the chance to actually work with a recruiter, information will create a clearer picture of a particular agency and how it compares with others. Rank each agency 'Yes', 'No' or 'Maybe' against each question. You might then consider doing trial contracts with the couple of agencies that score the most 'Yes' answers.

Does the agency:

1. Promptly respond to email and telephone inquiries?
   
   
2. Have an ethical business charter?
   
   
3. Offer access to a quality candidate pool?
   
   
4. Offer Human Resources support such as psychometric testing and coaching for current staff?
   
   
5. Have a demonstrated understanding of your industry?
   
   
6. Work with you to develop tailored solutions?
   
   
7. Act professionally at all times?
   
   
8. Have experienced staff who are friendly and courteous?
   
   
9. Have the skills and resources to handle bulk applications?
   
   
10. Offer value for money?

1. Prompt response to email and telephone enquiries
   
   First impressions are critical, so think about how that 90-second initial encounter with an agency unfolds when you pick up the phone and call. The way the receptionist answers the phone, how they handle your initial enquiry and answer your questions, whether they keep you waiting, and whether they refer you with confidence to the correct consultant are all important.
   
   Take note of whether the consultant follows up promptly with information by email or responds quickly to your email query. If they're falling down on the job at the purchasing stage, they're unlikely to improve on appointment.
   
   
2. An ethical business charter
   
   An agency's website is a good starting point for all research. Check whether they are members of the industry watchdogs, the Recruitment and Consulting Services Association (RSCA) or Australian Human Resources Institute (AHRI). See what they say about their mission and values on their website and ask if they have a conflicts policy.
   
   
3. Access to a quality candidate pool
   
   Given that every agency with any marketing nous claims this, who do you believe? In today's highly mobile labour market, an agency working in specialist areas should have a database of quality temporary and contract labour candidates.
   
   Such claims are less credible for permanent placements. A sophisticated recruiter knows the whole market, whether or not a certain candidate is registered on their books. That candidate may simply be part of the wider pool of people to whom the recruiter has access for a short time: no-one good these days is stuck on database for long.
   
   The recruiter who has genuine access to these candidates is probably the one who is out there talking to people, networking at industry functions and is adept at managing a dynamic web of relationships with employers and candidates, past and present.
   
   
4. Human resource support
   
   While you may not be able to try before you buy, the agency should be willing and able to supply you with examples of the tools that underpin these services. Ask for a psychometric profile report or a reference template - our team have been known to send their own profile to clients so they can see exactly what it entails. You could also ask to talk to one of the agency's other clients to gauge the service experience. Always check whether these additional services are fee-attracting or value-adds.
   
   
5. A demonstrated understanding of your industry
   
   Test an agency's knowledge by asking what previous experience they've had recruiting for your industry, for the names of clients for whom they have worked or testimonials from them, or to describe similar projects they've undertaken in your industry.
   
   Have you seen them at industry events - networking, speakers, sponsors or exhibitors? Does their website or proposal evidence claims to agency or individual expertise in your industry?
   
   You should also ask about their specialisation in recruiting for the particular role. A general agency is unlikely to be able to provide the technically astute talent required for specialist roles if they have not worked extensively in that marketplace niche.
   
   
6. Work with you to develop tailored solutions
   
   A good partnership with a recruiter begins with a discussion about the best methodologies to achieve your project objectives. There's a commonly held belief that all a recruiter does is take a brief, check their database, list on the SEEK website, and send you a bill - and that perception is really the fault of our industry for not educating clients.
   
   For some assignments, we know the candidate will only be found by pro-active networking or tapping people on the shoulder, so what is the point of spending a client's time and money doing a whole lot of other things? As the experts, we need to consult you - the client - about the best solution because it will impact on things like the length of the assignment, the risk and the cost.
   
   
7. Act professionally at all times
   
   Professionalism means different things to different clients. At the most basic level, it begins with the agency's staff being polite and well dressed, with clean, welcoming offices and efficient business equipment,  punctuality to meetings and responsiveness to requests. It is also the sum total of everything on this checklist.
   
   
8. Experienced staff who are friendly and courteous
   
   You are embarking on an important relationship with an agency so ask yourself: do they listen to what I say I need and seem to respect my opinions? Look at individual CVs of team members assigned to your project to understand how long they have been in the business and what assignments they have undertaken. Ask them who you will be working with most in the team and ask yourself: "Can I work with this person?". Have a clear understanding of who has ultimate responsibility for your project if things go wrong.
   
   
9. Skills and resources for bulk applications
   
   A capacity to handle bulk applications mostly lies in an agency's technical resources. The number, calibre and geographic spread of an agency's consultants can also be an indication, although small agencies with great IT and systems can do an excellent job.
   
   Does the agency have the IT functionality to undertake online search, for example? IT also contributes enormously to an agency's ability to manage its candidates, whose satisfaction in a tight market impacts directly on the reputation of both agency and client. It can streamline application processing and response, ensure candidates are kept informed and provide them with regular newsletters and updates in electronic format.
   
   
10. Value for money
    
    While the proof is undoubtedly in a successful placement at the end of the recruitment process, you can evaluate value for money upfront before the relationship begins. When organisations are surprised at what recruiters charge they often don't realise what goes on behind the scenes, especially in a market that is getting tighter by the day.
    
    More importantly, an agency's costs should be linked to specific, costed stages of a transparent recruitment process that they can walk you through before you commit. If needs be, a good recruiter should be able to remove steps in the process and re-price the package to suit your needs.
    
    

In a nutshell, you should be prepared to invest and to plan properly for your campaign by working with the recruiter. The more information we have, the more accurate we can be in our provision of a candidate that meets your criteria. We both want to take the guessing out of it. Putting people into jobs is very complex and we need to really understand the workplace, as well as, the candidate to avoid a mismatch.

There is also no subsitute for great, ongoing communication. At the executive search and managerial levels in particular, the project is most likely to fail because communication has broken down. This may be in part due to mismatched expectations, but frequently because the message and the tactics have not been clearly defined and agreed at the outset.

In this market, you may only get one chance to get it right.

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