Partner Article

Top five things to ask your recruitment partner

Has your recruitment partner ever said “Keep hold of your money, you don’t need to recruit”? If not maybe it’s time you did some due diligence on your current recruiter of choice to check you’re still getting the best service available. Recruitment is a very competitive market, but what questions should you be asking to check you’ve got the right people working for your business.

Here’s my top five to get you started:

What do I get for my money?

Most people start with “how much will it cost” but really you need to know what you’re getting for your money. Think of the best meal you’ve ever had in a restaurant – I bet you can remember the experience, the service, the ambiance, the people and the great tasting food; if you even remember the price I bet you still feel it was value for money! The same should go for any service offering – establish it’s true value to you, not just ‘how much it costs’.

Why do you want to recruit for us?

Don’t be fooled into thinking every recruiter wants your business. At Cooper Vance we get our job satisfaction from working with companies with growth potential, who invest in their staff and value the support of a professional recruiter. We occasionally have to tell people that we’re not the best placed recruiter to help them. Be really clear from the outset what you want from a recruiter and check that your current suppliers actually have the same goals as you.

Why should I use you?

Just because we do recruitment and you need to recruit doesn’t mean we can work together. Every supplier to your business should have a clear vision and mission statement of what their business stands for and this should match your own business goals. Ask your suppliers what their USP’s are and more importantly ask them why that’s then relevant to you!

What do you specialise in?

Why do cars with a ‘full dealer service history’ have a higher value? Because the people who have serviced them are an expert in that particular make of car. You can still get the car serviced at another garage, but they might not do as good a job. Pick a recruiter who understands your business and your current job requirement. It will improve the external perception of your business if candidates are being approached by a specialist in their field who understands what they do to make sure they are relevant to what you want. You’ll also get a much better end product by engaging a specialist in any particular field.

Do I need to recruit?

Most recruiters only get paid when they’ve successfully filled your job, therefore if you express even a slight interest in recruiting then you can expect some CVs to land on your desk. A really good recruiter should be able to spot when a company doesn’t need to recruit and be bold enough to tell you! Our Round Peg Audit does exactly that – we can save a business thousands of pounds by identifying the hidden talent within your business to stop you recruiting when you don’t need to.

And that’s it. Take a bit of time out to evaluate your recruitment partners and make sure you’re getting the best possible service into your business. To learn more about how Cooper Vance can help you get in touch today on hello@coopervance.com or call 01937 547 098.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Andrew Pickersgill .