The Pro’s and cons of using a recruitment agency for your next hire

Wednesday, May 2, 2018
If you’re looking to recruit a new employee but not sure if a recruitment agency is the way to go, have a read of our pros and cons below to help you make your decision. Remember at the end of the day, it’s about you and what is right for your business.


Pros

Recruiters have established networks and know people

Each recruiter will understand what the hiring manager is looking for and will have quality candidates at their fingertips.  Recruiters can become very familiar with an organisation’s ethos and culture and source candidates who match the company and the hiring manager as well as the role.

Using a recruitment agency will save you time 
Recruiting the right person for your role takes time and lots of it. Unless you have a full time HR department, not having to find candidates and go through the initial stages with them (sending out emails, initial interviews) saves you both time and money.
Recruiters have the tools to find the very best candidates for you. The more they work with you, the more they know the kinds of individuals you need and will have access to those  candidates, so you don’t have to spend extensive time and resources searching for the candidate you need. 
Recruiters are out to impress
Recruiters are highly experienced professionals who are experienced at finding the right talented candidates for your company, whilst ensuring the right career move for the candidate. They are experienced at getting the results you need, so you can concentrate on your business and making a  profit. Recruiters want a continued working relationship with your company.


Cons

Feels like an expensive outlay

The price of using a recruitment agency may sometimes feel like an expense you can avoid. However, if it takes your company double the time to find a mediocre candidate that will cost you more in in the long run – is this really saving money?

According to a new report from the Recruitment & Employment Confederation (REC), UK businesses are failing to hire the right person for two out of five roles despite the significant financial costs of making mistakes. The report shows:

  • 85% of HR decision-makers admit their organisation has made a bad hire
  • a poor hire at mid-manager level with a salary of £42,000 can cost a business more than £132,000
  • the hidden costs involved in bad recruitment include money wasted on training, lost productivity, and increased staff turnover
In addition to the information above, the biggest and most difficult cost to quantify is that of time and the fact that the entire recruitment process will need to be repeated again.  

Lack of control
For many hiring managers it is difficult to give up the control over the hiring process. While recruitment consultants are in the business of consolidating the top candidates for your review it can be frustrating to take yourself out of the process altogether. You want to read every CV and interview every candidate. But by building a good working relationship with your recruiter and discussing your needs in full, will make this so much easier.