The labour market is highly competitive and finding good employees is real tough despite the ongoing recession. Hiring managers rack their brains on how to find qualified professionals especially for the hard-to-fill positions.
Companies can no longer rely on ‘help wanted’ classifieds and wait for the applicants to pour in. It is not only a daunting challenge to wade through the hordes of resumes, but there may not be any good ones to begin with.
What’s more, the right candidate for your job may be happily employed elsewhere and for all you know, he may not even be looking for a change. This is where a recruiter/head-hunter/search agent enters the scene.
It is prudent to use the services of these skilled specialists as they are trained to source the best who go on to become valued employees of the organisation. The benefits are wide-ranging, such as:
You can get search firms specialised to your industry, sector or even type of job opening. This will enable them to help you hire the best candidate for your specific needs - be it qualifications, experience or skills.
Recruiters not only maintain an extensive database of candidates and network of contacts much beyond your individual range, but also can further tap multiple avenues to seek out qualified candidates for the job opening. The extensive experience also helps them identify where exactly to look and how, improving your chances of getting the right employee for the job.
The search professionals will be better equipped to clearly understand the job requirements and can respond quickly leading to faster and better results. According to Linda Wagner, President of Technical Professional Staffing, “Recruiters can be a valued resource for the company, because they can respond quickly to the company’s needs, saving both time and money.”
They have the knack for picking the right candidates from the hordes of applicants, thus saving you valuable time. Recruiters can easily identify hidden prospects that are neither on the job market nor read in classifieds or circulate resumes. They will know how to approach them, make them aware of the ‘golden’ opportunity and gradually wean them away from their current jobs.
Confidentiality becomes an added advantage as you can quietly conduct a search without advertising publicly, especially for key openings or simply keep employees from knowing that you are replacing someone. In fact, “Confidentiality can keep competitors from being tipped off to management shake-ups, new product and market initiatives, and can protect against employee and supplier apprehension. Recruiters value the sensitive information they become aware of during the search process and respect their client’s vulnerability.”
Recruiters are also closely aware of industry trends and can offer objective opinions for any job opening and salary information.
Apart from this, recruiters also play an active role in the entire recruitment process right from providing an objective analysis of the candidates’ vis-À-vis the job requirements and conducting background checks of employment history, education and references to guiding you through the interview, final selection and salary negotiations.
Apart from this, they also play a strategic role in personnel planning.
Therefore, it makes sense to reap the expertise, resources and efficiency of third-party recruiters. Not only will this ensure a good fit for the job, but also save your valuable time and efforts leaving you free to concentrate on other important tasks.
While detractors can argue that using search firms is very expensive, fact is that it yields good value for money by both reducing costly hiring mistakes and improving the quality of your staff. As one manager outlines it, “The benefit of using a recruiter can be weighed against the cost of preparing and executing an advertisement campaign, screening and qualifying candidates, and operating without a needed employee for an extended length of time, compared to the relative insurance of getting the right person for the job.”
Moreover, you can always hire the services on a contingency basis where you do not have to pay until the position is successfully filled.
Then again, recruiters can be used solely for crucial positions like technical jobs and middle/upper management openings, skipping them for regular, dead-end ones. So sit back and let a recruiter do the work for you.
PAYAL CHANANIA
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