Talent Drives Rules of Engagement for Agency and In house Recruiters ensures that everybody – the business, the recruiters, and the candidates, are guaranteed the best possible outcome.
Everyone can be a winner.
For Agency recruiters:
- Respect the process – only send CV’s to the person the internal recruiter asked you to… don’t go rogue!
- You can’t work a role if you don’t speak to the hiring manager, whether that’s with internal recruitment present or not – you simply aren’t giving yourself a good chance without this. Be brave, emphasise this point to the internal recruiter and work together.
- Agree SLA’s with the hiring or recruitment managers on CV timescales, if they aren’t realistic, be honest and get everyone on the same page.
- Show value add. Show the internal recruitment team the value you are offering them. Make sure you meet your candidates, understanding their needs and personalities so that you can articulate these clearly to the business. Make the internal recruiter feel as if they know the candidate themselves before they bring them into an interview process and give them confidence that they would be a good fit.
For internal recruiters:
- Don’t engage agencies if you are still pro-actively working the roles. There is no point taking a dual approach. Of course, if a direct candidate comes to you via an existing advert or posting, that’s great! But, once you have committed a budget for agency work, let them run with it so that you can make the most of that cost.
- Work together with the agency. Give them the information they need – they aren’t all trying to get a quick win and make you look bad, far from it! The hiring manager doesn’t care where the candidate comes from if they are talented and are going to be successful in the company. Help the agency recruiter make you look good, and they will.
- Don’t flood the market. It’s always tempting to for ‘tricky to fill roles’ to get as many agencies working on it as possible. Don’t. It saturates the market and can have an adverse effect on how candidates perceive your business. I simply won’t work a role if there are over 3 agencies working on it. With multiple agencies it just becomes a very transactional process and a ‘fastest finger’ approach – generally this doesn’t benefit the candidate, or the business.
- Give new recruiters a chance. You can’t develop your network if you stick with the same recruitment partners for ever. Ask around, take the time to meet a new recruiter and take a chance. Fortune favors the bold.
