​How to Choose the Right Recruiting and Hiring Firm

Right now we’re in a worker’s employment market—open jobs outnumber job seekers. So, high-performance recruiters are in greater demand than ever. Due to the increased need, there are now more challenges for businesses when it comes to securing top recruiters to handle their hiring needs. To assist you in finding and selecting a good partner, use the recommendations below as your guide for locating, filtering, and vetting recruiting firms to ensure you select the best agency for your company’s specific needs.

Define your company’s needs.

You first need to meet with your team to discuss your business needs and hiring challenges. Spend time listing out the different kinds of positions you anticipate filling and a good estimate of the number of positions you think you’ll fill over a certain amount of time based on your rate of turnover. Think about things like:

• Are your openings permanent, temporary, project-based, or a mix?
• How long does your typical hiring process take, and how long do you want it to take?
• Are there certain roles you have the most trouble with filling?
• Do you have issues finding enough applicants with the right qualifications?
• Do you need a better way to assess and track candidates or new hires?

After making a list of what’s important, think about prioritizing it so that you can find a recruiting firm that can focus on what’s most important to you.

Are the recruiters experienced in your industry?

Examine the niche(s) in which the recruiting agency operates. Look for a team with the deepest knowledge of your industry and that’s used to working with candidates in roles similar to the ones you want to fill. Those are the professionals best equipped to anticipate your company’s needs, adeptly access and attract top candidates, and bring aboard the best talent to fill key positions. They know how to access candidates with the specific skill sets you need. They’re also clear on how to avoid bringing in people with more generalized skill sets that cost you much more to train and develop into top performers. 

Look for a recruiting agency that searches the entire candidate pool.

You don’t want to pick a recruiting firm that gets a request to fill a position and then scours LinkedIn and job websites to connect with those looking for work who seem to have the needed skills. First of all, those who are actively seeking make up only around 30% of the workforce. You want someone who’s actively making connections with industry professionals in similar positions regardless of whether or not they’re currently seeking a job, a recruiter who’s looking at 100% of the workforce. There’s also an advantage to talking with highly-qualified candidates who are “open,” but not actively seeking. Because they’re not applying and interviewing elsewhere, they’re less likely to be entertaining other offers.

Look for recruiters who know the right hiring processes for the positions you need to fill. 

The most effective recruiters are tightly focused on their niche. They know they can best serve companies who will most benefit from their hiring processes and networks. For example, businesses in the tech industry need to fill positions that require specific skills, and those hiring processes often include online or practical assessments, specified interview questions, or interviews with multiple team members. A recruiting firm like eHire that specializes in hiring for the tech industry is already familiar with the processes typically used to fill those positions, and a firm that already knows the processes is easier to quickly on-board as an extension of your team. In addition, some firms, like eHire, can also advise you on the best hiring practices and processes for your business so that you can improve turnover and reduce the time it takes to hire.

Do they communicate thoroughly with candidates?

How do they identify candidates and foster budding professional relationships with them as your company’s representative? What kinds of questions do they ask them in order to gauge their interest in working for your company? The way recruiters communicate with candidates is important because it's the messaging they’ll convey on your behalf. If that communication is done well, not only will it help communicate your company culture and brand, but it will also give you a good indication as to where you stand with a candidate. 96% of eHire candidates accept the offers we extend to them. Our recruiters communicate so thoroughly with candidates that we know exactly what it will take for someone to say “yes.” 

How are the agency’s reviews? What do their clients say?

When you’re considering hiring a recruiting firm, ask to be connected to well-established contacts who will provide sufficient references and evaluations. Of course, some clients and/or candidates are likely to require confidentiality. But, a solid recruiting firm should have plenty of clients and candidates who are willing to share positive comments on their behalf. 

Can they tell you the success rate of their hires?

Ask for the agency’s current and historical metrics reflecting successful placements. When completed search numbers are comparatively high (80% to 90%), those also indicate strong performance. Additional measures that should be considered include ratios of interviews to offers, and offers to closes, among others. 

Recruiters who nurture relationships are typically more successful in building strong networks of people who can fill professional roles. The recruiting metrics tell the story of that success or lack of it.

Choose recruiters with strong values and high standards.

Various research reports estimate numbers anywhere from 49% to over 90% of applicants offered jobs say they would reject a job offer because of a bad experience during the hiring process. Other research reports indicate that employers also pay a high price in other ways for low standards in recruiting. Making the wrong decision in this critical area means a higher likelihood of unsuitable job placements, which lead to excessive turnover costs, reduced customer satisfaction, and profit losses. Plus, poor ambassadors for your business damage your employer brand. A recruiting group with strong business values can attract high-caliber candidates who will strengthen your team and bring greater overall value to your company. 

Does the recruiting service you want to work with fit your budget?

If you’ve found a recruiting group that seems to offer all the attributes you’re looking for, don’t be alarmed at their 25% - 30% quote. Compare the performance of inexperienced or lower-quality, lower-cost operators to a top agency placing large numbers in the region where you need strong recruiting. The well-recognized recruiting firm that specializes in your company’s needs will cost less in the long run. How? A high-performance recruiting service delivers higher-value results with greater speed and efficiency. That, of course, translates into reduced attrition and increased employee and customer satisfaction rates, which are essential to increasing profit margins.

As you embark…

Make sure you choose a firm that has recruiters with whom your team likes to work. If they’re acting as an extension of your team, then your team members will be working with them closely, and hopefully, for an extended period of time. Therefore, this partnership should be enjoyable for your team as well as beneficial to your company.

The recruiters at eHIre are tech industry experts who build networks of skilled professionals in various tech professions. They’re familiar with highly-selective processes and filling key positions that impact the success of growing businesses. Contact us to see how we streamline your hiring process or assist your hiring managers.