Competition for great employees has never been higher than it is now: with a tight labor squeeze in every industry, companies must work smarter to attract and retain excellent talent before their competitors lay eyes on the prize. Recruitment marketing firms have been the secret weapon of savvy companies for decades now, and they continue to grow in relevance and utility as organizations find themselves desperate for great candidates.
However, you can only find the best applicants if you choose the best firm – and if you cultivate a healthy working relationship with your recruiting team. Today, we’ll unveil five tips to getting the most out of your relationship with recruitment marketers so that you can go headhunting with confidence.
Select the right firm for your industry
No recruiting company is going to be familiar with every single industry, which is why it’s vital that you take a look at their portfolio and note what types of companies they have worked for previously. Some firms have quite a large scope, such as NAS Recruitment, but others are more niche. Closely examine their case studies and get familiar with the individuals who will be working on your case so that you know where their strengths lie.
Communicate your expectations for each role
Of course, you’ve hired them to fill some positions, so you need to give them clear guidance as to what you’re looking for in each role that you’re advertising. It doesn’t need to be perfect, as they will write the listing and design a landing page for you, but you need to give them a list of the traits you want in a good candidate.
You will need to be a bit flexible, as no single candidate is going to have everything you’re looking for, so prioritize the most important components of the job and the qualifications you need. The recruiting team will spruce this up to attract the best candidates, but your outline is essential to ensuring they properly communicate your expectations.
Describe your company culture and trajectory
Every leader knows that employee turnover is incredibly expensive and frustrating, but you may not be aware of how much company culture contributes to retention. However, it becomes more obvious when you think about just how uncomfortable it is to be the odd one out in a social situation; consider having to enter an environment that doesn’t fit your needs every day, and you can understand why many people choose to exit shortly after arriving. As such, it’s important that you explain to the recruitment marketing team what your culture is like so that they can help communicate this to potential employees; this will ensure everyone is sure of what they’re getting into and they don’t feel hoodwinked by onboarding.
You shouldn’t just consider where your company is right now, but also where it’s headed. Different personalities work best in different settings; while one worker will do a great job at an established firm, they may really struggle with the uncertainty and ambiguity of a growing organization where roles are shifting regularly.
Provide continuous feedback
This isn’t a set it and forget it task: you need to remain an active participant in the process from beginning to end. While the recruitment team will do much of the legwork, review their work and explain how much it matches what you actually need, as this will give them guidelines of how to better meet your expectations.
Remember that this is a two-way conversation, and it’s only by asking questions and offering your opinion that you can find a good solution. For example, you might comment that the candidates do not have a particular qualification that you’re looking for; the team can then explain to you why this is, and you can brainstorm how to better target this subset. Focus your attention on identifiable issues and give specific examples of poor candidates so that the firm will be able to prevent such problems in the future.
Establish performance reviews
Even if everything is going swimmingly, you always need to take a step back and reexamine your strategy from time to time. Have your priorities as an organization changed since your last review? Is the industry now heading in a different direction and you’d like to target this new area? All these components should be brought up during these meetings so that you can best determine how to reimagine your recruitment strategy.
Design these as a constructive, collaborative experience between your team and theirs, with both offering your perspectives and expertise. As these firms are highly skilled in leveraging data, contact them before the meeting to ask what information might be of most benefit to them and give them a quick overview of what you want to discuss.
Every company needs to boost their applicant pool from time to time, and recruitment marketing firms are one of the best ways to attract high-quality talent that ticks all your boxes. By developing a strong working relationship, you can be assured access to the best potential employees, making your onboarding that much easier.
