Staffing your business takes time searching for talent and copacetic personalities. Attempting to hire on your own may be daunting. Using a recruitment agency can weed out the no-fits and resume padding candidates that end up wasting your valuable time. Consider these 5 things to look for in a recruitment agency to help you get started.
Before you talk fees find out how the agency operates. Ask if you can be treated as a potential candidate to get a feel for what the person you hire may have to go through to get to you. Being taken through a mock interview gives you the opportunity to adjust the process according to your specific needs. A recruitment agency that is willing to do this offers a good start for a lasting relationship.
Candidate Qualifications
It is important to find out the qualifications of the stable of applicants the recruitment agency offers. Ask to be given the resumes of candidates they think will be a good fit for your company. If the resumes you are handed fall below expectations more-so than not it is probably wise to find an agency with more options.
Get Specifics
Before signing on with an agency find out what you will get for your money.
- Ask how many interviews they will perform per week in regard to your search.
- Do they always do face to face interviews or do they just send you candidates based on a blind, Internet submission.
- Find out their policy regarding your responsibility if a candidate does not work after a few weeks. This is usually a 30, 60 or 90 day payment responsibility on your part.
- Inquire if they cover temporary as well as permanent staffing.
- Ask what the policy is if you would like to hire a temporary employee full time.
- Find out what kind of services they carry such as: background check, unemployment coverage, taxes and payroll.
Additional Coverage
Some businesses simply want to fill a position fast but others need a recruitment agency that will offer a full service package. This means that you will be offered a hands-on, everyday communication with your counselor that includes everything from real-time interview results to preparing hired candidates with specific internal policies and protocols. Preparing a candidate can be extremely time consuming so having an agency that offers to train a new employee can enable you to have them hit the ground running on their first day.
Fees
Fees change according to economic ups and downs. Currently the fees come in at about 1% for every thousand earned annually. Therefore, if an employee sent from a recruitment agency is permanently hired at $25,000.00 per year the fee will be $250.00. However, caps can be placed on higher annual salaries to as much as 30% so ask accordingly.
These 5 things to look for in a recruitment services agency should help you find the perfect employee to keep your business running smoothly.
Originally posted on October 26, 2011 @ 1:09 am