Recruitment has become a real challenge in recent years. The latest figures show that 13.3% of businesses have a shortage of workers, and that finding people with the right skills can be exceptionally difficult in the modern talent market. Without the specialist expertise to find top talent, some businesses find themselves with positions that are hard to fill and significant operational challenges. Recruitment agencies sometimes have a bad press, but this can be unfair. Finding and securing top talent is where they absolutely excel.
The role of recruitment agencies in modern talent acquisition includes the following:
Drawing on technology – good recruitment agencies have invested in the best technologies that can help them target and identify the right people for a very wide range of different roles.
Understanding the recruitment market – recruiters work in recruitment day-in-day-out. They understand the nuances of the market and are equipped to navigate these more effectively than generalist HR teams that may recruit relatively infrequently, in contrast.
Large pool of passive talent – recruitment agencies have built relationships with a large pool of passive candidates. These are people that may not be currently actively looking for a new opportunity but who will be open to the right job when it comes along.
Avoiding costly mistakes – hiring the wrong person is a very expensive error. Recruitment agencies are specialised in recruitment. They know their field and hiring people is their core competence. They are often better able to sift out candidates that are not right for a business.
Saving time – where recruitment agencies can really impact beneficially on the recruitment process is cutting down the time spent. As experts in the field they have the key skills to quickly find the right people for different roles, including in very niche areas.
Clearly then, the benefits of working with recruitment agencies to secure top talent are time saved, pinpointing a wider range of possible individuals for roles, and saving companies money. However, ceding a certain level of control over company branding and how the business presents itself can be a drawback of working with a specialised recruitment provider. Yet this can be overcome through working effectively with the recruiter so that they best understand the employer brand and culture. It goes without saying that due diligence in finding the right partner is critical to minimising the potential impact of this drawback.
An obvious disadvantage of working with a recruiter is that there is a cost associated with doing this. Sometimes finding the right person might require this though, and it is certainly cheaper than getting it wrong!
Selecting the right recruitment agency to source talent is integral to the business achieving these talent acquisition benefits without the drawbacks. Working with a trusted partner like SureSkills can enable your business to leverage the advantages of modern talent acquisition while minimising any possible drawbacks. Why not give us a call to find out how we can support your business to secure top talent?