What Clients Should Expect From An Agency
Honesty
For us, this comes naturally and is something you should always expect when dealing with an agency. We are not sales people, but consultants who provide an ethical service to both clients and candidates. We never embellish or omit information.
Planning And Co-ordination
We will manage the whole recruitment process from attracting candidates to offer stage. After taking details of your job, the agency will advertise the vacancy on job boards and usually their own web site. They will also look at candidates on their database and contact them to discuss your role. It is standard practice NOT to tell the candidate the name of the company at this stage to avoid them making direct contact if they are deemed unsuitable. The agency will then shortlist the best candidates and present their CVs. It is standard practice for CVs to be presented in the agency’s standard format. The client then selects the candidates they would like to see so that the agency can organise interviews.
All the client needs to do is be there on the day, expectations, directions and preparing for the interview is all organised by the agency.
Once the suitable candidate has been selected, the agency will put the offer to the candidate and liaise between candidate and client to arrange start date and any queries. We know our candidates well, so usually if a client has any additional questions, we are able to answer them.
Attention To Detail
A good agency should have a rigorous interview process. In recent years it has become less common to meet with candidates face to face, although there are times when this is necessary. All reasons for leaving previous roles are investigated and the agency should have a good understanding of what motivates a candidate. From how the candidate travels to work, to their academic aspirations, all information will be recorded and can be shared with the client.
As experienced interviewers, we can draw out key information which will tell us whether a candidate is a good team player, can deal with a busy environment or whatever is important to a specific role. Although high quality questioning is always part of what we do, this is always tailored to specific client’s needs.
Communication
There is nothing worse than allocating time to a person who fails to attend. We know this and if we have any concerns regarding one of our candidates, we will share this with the client. Everyone knows what it is like to wait for a call and we keep all parties fully informed at each stage.
We prefer to meet with our clients whenever possible as we know that it gives us an even more accurate feel for the type of team member who will work well in their organisation. Being able to explain the type of working environment is helpful to candidates; talking through CVs and putting together plans for a bespoke recruitment process work better face to face.
Representation
At the forefront of our minds is the fact that we are often the first representative of a given organisation. When a candidate hears about a company it is our professional responsibility to explain clearly the nature of their business and to convey information about the company in a professional and positive manner.
We are dedicated to representing our candidates and clients as they would wish to do themselves.
Value For Money
An agency should share their terms of business with you at the point of taking a vacancy. For permanent staff the fee is usually a percentage of the annual salary, this fee is charged when the successful candidate commences employment. For more senior or very specialist assignments, these are likely to be handled on a retained basis, where the agent is paid an amount up front and the remainder of the fee on successful completion of the assignment.
A temporary rate is usually based on an hourly rate and the client is invoiced weekly for the hours the temporary member of staff has actually worked.
As a specialist recruiter, we have a strong network of candidates and rarely need to look elsewhere. The value is in our expertise, speed and level of service; something which you simply don’t get from placing an advert. A good agency can save you valuable time and money.
