THE PERFECT MATCH: WHY RECRUITMENT AGENCIES AND TALENT ACQUISITION TEAMS SHOULD WORK TOGETHER

Working together: the secret weapon to building a quality workforce.

American industrialist and business magnate Henry Ford was a remarkable man.

Besides founding the Ford Motor Company and developing the assembly line technique of mass production, he also created the first car that middle-class Americans could afford, and in doing so transformed transport in the 20^th century.

In addition, he was a passionate believer in teamwork – as this quote attributed to him indicates:

“Coming together is a beginning.

Keeping together is progress.

Working together is success.”

As one of the UK’s leading property recruitment consultancies, we’d whole-heartedly like to agree.

And that means recognising the advantages of working together with in-house talent acquisition teams at estate agencies across the country.

What’s more, we firmly believe that the benefits work both ways, with each side of the equation only producing results at an optimum level if such a relationship is maintained.

With that in mind, we’ve put together a ten-point plan for success, to ensure that the very best people are selected when the time comes to finding the right candidate for positions which have become available.

• Understand it’s no longer ‘them’ and ‘us’. Even if historically or traditionally this is how internal and external recruiters were regarded, that should no longer be the case. What was once believed to be a competitive relationship between the two has changed. After all, each side is working to achieve the same goal – and we can best achieve it by joining forces.
• See the process as more than merely “filling vacancies”. Surely what we both aim to do is much more sophisticated than that. “Filling a vacancy” suggests simply that a gap has opened up – and as long as we close it, our work is done. But the truth is, we want to track down the very best person for the role, knowing that someone who provides the best ‘fit’ is likely to be happier in their work, have greater success and as a result stay longer in the position.
• Keep the channels of communication open. Both parties need to ensure that information is passed freely and consistently in an honest and trustworthy fashion. Both sides need to strive for clarity, to reduce the possibility for confusion or misunderstandings. So, we aim to build a relationship – which involves keeping in touch. So, let’s meet up for coffee on a regular basis. Come to us for information on salary or packages or off-the-record references. Call us for a chat – or a rant! We always take the time to listen and understand the exact requirements of the people we’re working with, because we know that good relationships will inevitably make the whole process smoother. Indeed, for many of our clients, we like to see ourselves as an extension or ‘brand ambassador’ for their company.
• Recognise that time is of the essence. In a candidate-driven market, speed is key. The very best candidates tend not to stick around for too long. So, time taken for us to communicate should be measured in hours, rather than days or even weeks. We both know that some candidates will quickly lose interest if they don’t feel wanted.
• Limit the number of recruitment agencies on your Preferred Suppliers List. This comes down to a question of motivation. There’s no point having dozens of agencies on your PSL, as each one is unlikely to be sufficiently motivated if the brief is given to lots of other suppliers as well.
• Accept that we’re each fishing for talent in different pools. When it comes to talent acquisition, there’s nothing wrong with traditional tactics, such as online job postings. But the trouble is that this approach may only attract the interest of active candidates (who might only constitute 20% of the whole). The very nature of the work of external agencies means that we might be able to unearth passive candidates (perhaps as high as 60%), who may consider an exceptional career move, but only if they’re approached. As the talent pool broadens, so do the chances of finding the perfect fit for the role.
• Create a pipeline. The sheer pace and immediacy of what we’re both trying to do means that there can be a temptation just to cope with the present day, focusing mainly on placing candidates for positions which are available now. But we also keep an eye on the future, creating a pipeline of talent for searches which may come up months or even years from now. We’re in this for the long-term.
• Court candidates. Without building a relationship with individual candidates, they can sometimes withdraw from the process, even if they have already reached the finish line. Yes, such an approach takes time, but we both know the frustration that results when candidates ‘ghost’ their recruiter – and so must do all we can to prevent it happening.
• Provide constructive feedback. We need it. What’s more, feedback hits home most successfully when it’s friendly, genuine and helpful. But the candidates need it too. After the rollercoaster ride of the recruitment process, some of them have been known to lose interest completely when feedback takes too long, or it’s weeks before a second interview can be booked in.
• Play by the rules. Last but not least, and without doubt most importantly, all of the talent acquisition teams that we work with have very clear guidelines as to what they expect from their relationship with external recruiters. They have processes that they ask us external recruiters to adhere to – these will include them wanting prospective candidates’ CVs to be sent through their own portal, and they will all insist that recruiters don’t try to cut them out by go directly to hiring managers. Trying to ‘buck the system’ will understandably only backfire.  

That’s it. To be honest, it’s not a difficult set of priorities to fulfil. And at heart, they are ten factors which would be recognised by every recruiter out there – regardless of whether they are working internally or externally.

So, let’s accept that each side has different skills and benefits which they bring to the party: in-house recruiters have access to leads and inside job information, it’s true. We accept that. But external recruiters like ourselves have more extensive networks and a longer history in this line of work (we’ve been doing this since 1988 – longer than any of our competitors).

Both sides know that collaborating together means positions are filled more quickly and everyone wins as a result.

So, let’s make it happen.

To quote Henry Ford again:

“If everyone is moving forward together, then success takes care of itself.”