First, let me explain that I spent several years earning my chops as an agency recruiter at some really small shops. This meant I was always fighting an uphill battle against the big boys in the space that had name recognition, a volume over margin focus, and huge databases. I was able to parlay that experience with a Masters Degree in Human Resource Development in order to switch over to the dark side of corporate recruiting and HR. What I have learned in making this switch has been astonishing and casts some doubt on the value I actually was able to provide to clients when I was an agency recruiter. Let me give you a couple misconceptions I have learned:
1. Corporate Recruiters don't like Agency Recruiters: This may be true for some, but the majority of folks on the corporate side of the fence understand the value of the agency and respect the services offered by the good ones. The corporate recruiters who don't feel that way probably aren't very good at their job and are highly insecure regarding the prospect of being shown up by an agency recruiter. Agency recruiters don't like to get lumped into the bad apple generalization, but they are quick to assign corporate recruiters that same bad apple tag based upon the actions of a few bad corporate recruiters.
2. Corporate Recruiters don't give timely enough feedback, but I know they have it: This couldn't be further from the truth, again, with the good corporate recruiters. It never ceases it amaze me how many times an agency will call or email within minutes of an interview with a hiring manager to see how their candidate did. I must admit here that I was a flagrant participant in this behavior before joining the corporate ranks, I mean really bad. I figured the corporate recruiters could get feedback at the drop of a hat and just were slow in getting back to me. Plus, I figure it showed my timeliness, dedication, and engagement in the process if I followed up quickly. I figured wrong. First, corporate recruiters have a tough time wrangling feedback because in most hiring managers priority list good feedback in a timely manner ranks super low, if it ranks at all. Second, when recruiters do this is just annoys corporate recruiters who want the feedback just as quickly and are often just as frustrated as the agency folks. As the face of my company, I can't just say to you the agency recruiter, "The hiring manager sucks at getting me feedback," but I am thinking it sometimes. I am not sure who trained us on the agency to do this, but it needs to be untrained.
3. Corporate Recruiters don't give enough feedback: See point 2. Good corporate recruiters will give you whatever feedback they have as soon as they get it. It might not be much, again, based upon the prioritization of tasks for the hiring manager. In fact, many times corporate recruiters simply get a green light to hire candidate X, and a pass on Y and Z. I know this may be hard to believe but there isn't a lot of value in giving tons of feedback on unselected candidates when a candidate has been hired. Again, it's not that corporate folks don't want to, but there are limitations.
4. Why wouldn't corporate recruiters work with lots of agencies? I used to ask the question all the time when I was an agency recruiter. I just didn't get why hiring managers and corporate recruiters wouldn't want to talk to as many agencies as possible in order to get the most coverage for their positions and then, I made the switch and the light bulb went on. Corporate recruiters, HR professionals, and hiring managers have a lot of work to do that isn't focused on onboarding new agencies to the open positions of the company. I spend, on average, 3 to 5 hours with a new agency before I expect them to have a full understanding of our company’s culture, products, positional requirements, etc. Now agency folks don't take this the wrong way, but my phone never stops ringing with agency recruiters who want to establish a relationship with me and my company from scratch. Lets say, on average, I get 3 calls a day from new agency recruiters, that is 15 a week. Now if I were to take the time to get each of them ramped up properly to help my company, how long to you think that would take? Let's go low ball on this and say I ONLY spend an hour with each, I am now left with a 25-hour workweek to get my job done. But like I said, it takes more like 3 to 5 hours to get ramped up. I am potentially working overtime just to get agencies in a place that I trust they can effectively and honestly represent me, my company, our brand etc. It is a big deal and it takes a long time. At what point in your opinion do I stop taking calls and building relationships?
The challenge, in my opinion, is deciding which agencies to invest the time in. Take a look at what four local companies in DFW have on their homepage to entice me to use them. Like it or not, it all reads the same, and tells me nothing. When I take a call from an agency, I promise you I will be on your site during that call and this is typically what I find:
1. Since our inception in 1998, our company now has earned a solid reputation with both our clients and employees as the recruiting firm of choice in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. We specialize in the placement of both direct hire and contract positions in the disciplines of Accounting, Finance, Tax, Office Support, and Human Resources.
2. Since our founding in 1998, the company maintains the same dedication to a single purpose - to provide the highest quality skill set in the shortest possible time, allowing our partners to meet their project and staffing goals.
3. At the company, we understand the importance of having a reliable and flexible workforce that can ebb and flow with your business. That’s why we have created staffing solutions for you that go beyond the norm—from a short-term assignment to a complete project team, the company can provide you with the right staffing solution for your situation. We also know that you are looking for people who have an excellent attitude, are highly qualified and reliable. We follow a rigorous recruiting, screening and selection process to ensure consistency from placement to placement.
4. We've been a locally-owned, leading staffing agency in the DFW area since 1991. In fact, more than half of our tenured recruiting staff have been with the company for more than 10 years. Each day, they talk to hiring managers, HR directors and supervisors to find out about employers' specific needs. They also consult with a diverse range of talented people seeking new job opportunities. This regular, highly personal communication gives us a staffing insight that's second to none in DFW. And it's just one reason why we're able to match the most qualified candidates for the openings that you have.
Now, which company would you choose? Who would you call back? How would I know? This is a problem that agencies have created for themselves. Being able to stand out among the crowd is the key to gaining the relationships that are required. Sort of chicken and the egg, and I get that, and I hope this helps agencies folks understand that a bit more as well. Good luck to all the good agencies out there working in this tough space trying to set themselves apart from the rest of the pack. I know your trials and tribulations and I respect the path you are taking.
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