Choosing The Right Recruitment Agency

This week, we decided to change up our weekly blog post a little bit. We thought we would give some advice to any Business clients who are searching for a recruitment agency. We know just how important it is to find the right agency so we have come together and created a post with a bit of advice to help you make your decision.

We thought we would start by giving you some pro's to using an agency. This is for the companies that are sat on the fence and are indecisive as to whether or not they should use an agency...

Why use an agency? - 

- Specialist expertise in market place

- Reduced advertising costs

- Access to key strategic skilled worked force

- Save you time and therefore money. Only see CV’s/Candidates that are suitable for the job. No wasted time sifting through unsuitable applications.

- Access to people who aren’t actively looking for a new job
- Relieves the stress of having to find a suitable candidate.

Now you have decided that using an agency is the best choice, we are going to help you choose one. We have come up with four top qualities to look for when choosing the right agency to suit you and your businesses needs.

Choosing an agency.. - When choosing an agency, there are some important things to ask yourself... 

- Do they recruit the staff you are looking for? - If you are looking to recruit Warehouse Operatives then don't contact an IT recruitment company. You'll be wasting your time and theirs. Make sure you find out beforehand what sectors the agency recruits for. The majority of the time, you can find this out online through a simple Google search! 

- Are they really specialists? - Do they understand your needs? Are they able to meet them? Make sure you are dealing with an agency who have experience and are going to be able to help you. The last thing you need is something going wrong further down the line. A good way to find out if a company really are specialists is to request a reference. Don't be afraid to do so, at the end of the day it's the fate of your business in their hands. 

- Do they ask you questions? Do they want to come and meet you and see your premises, to find out about the company and its culture, or are they just order takers? - Are they showing a genuine interest? This is important as recruitment isn't an easy business. It takes a lot of time and doesn't always go to plan. Because of this, you need to make sure you have an agency who are going to be there for you 24/7, no matter what. You need to ensure that if you urgently need five more staff members for that day, that they can get you that. Don't settle for anything less.

- Do they belong to professional organisations such as REC/GLA/ALP? - REC, The Recruitment and Employment Confederation, GLA, Gang Master Licensing Association and ALP, Association of Labour Providers. Belonging to a professional organisation means that the business is not alone. They have access to professional/legal advice when they need it and more importantly they are not alone. It's not good for a business to isolate itself, when joining forces, you are able to offer better services and learn from not only your own experiences, but others too.
- Do they offer any in-house training or admin support? - Does the agency offer any extra support to you or your potential employees? This can be done through; English tests, health and safety testing, payroll support, invoices etc. All of this will contribute towards taking the stress away from you and ensuring you receive the best standard employees possible. 

So there you have it, a bit of advice when you're looking for a recruitment agency. We wish you all the best in your search for finding the 'perfect' agency to cater to your individual business needs.