What does a “no win, no fee” law firm and a “no placement, no fee” recruitment firm have in common?...
Breaking news! Bradford City’s recruitment policy has been leaked.
“Hi, this is the chairman of Bradford City FC. I understand you’re a highly-respected football scout.”
“Yes, I am. My fees are…”
“Never mind all that. I need some new players quickly. Be a good chap and pop along to Manchester. I hear they have some players going cheap.”
“Well, if you could at least cover my expenses…”
“Ha, ha, ha! Very amusing. Now I want to see about half a dozen players, and if any of them are any good I’ll see you right.”
“Okay… Well could you at least tell me what kind of players you’re looking for?”
“No time for that! Things to see, people to do. I’ll expect to hear from you by the end of the week. Toodles.”
It’s just a joke. You knew that, right?
But did you know conversations between employers and recruiters can be a lot like this?
Employers hit up their favourite recruiters, ask to see a bunch of CVs as quickly as possible, and each recruiter only gets paid if one of their candidates is hired.
In terms of getting people into interview quickly, this is a very effective approach. But in terms of finding quality employees who will help you grow your business, this is a terrible strategy.
What happens is that you end up with whomever is sitting on the surface of the market, when the real diamonds are sitting much deeper.
In professional football, the best scouts working for the most successful clubs are retained, well-paid, and given time to find the best prospects, no matter where they are in the world.
If you want the best employees, you need to take a similar approach.
Retaining a recruiter means they have time to properly survey your firm and your roles, and understand your precise requirements. And, because they’re not racing against other recruiters, they have the freedom to scour the market for truly awesome candidates.
This also gives them time to assess the shortlist and figure out which candidates are going to fit in with your company culture. This is a critical part of the hiring process because, when quality employees leave, it’s almost always because they fail to settle in their new work environment.
Contingency-style recruitment – where you only pay for results – might feel like an economical way to handle recruitment. But at best it produces mediocre, haphazard results.
For guaranteed results, retained recruitment is by far the best solution.
Don’t worry if you’ve previously made the mistake of going down the “results-only” route. You’re not alone. Many employers still believe this is the best approach.
But we know better.
Our retained recruitment process produces a 96% retention rate for our placements after one year. Which is why we’re able to offer market-leading, free replacement guarantees of up to 12 months.
If you’re ready to ditch lottery-style recruitment and establish a recruitment policy with guaranteed results, please give us a call.
