Are you making the most of your Agency meetings?
As a specialist high performance selection agency we are constantly striving to spend as much time with our clients as we do in selecting the top talent in the market. January has been and gone, bonuses have been decided and high performing candidates are on the move. At this time of year we receive the largest volume of new applications to advertised roles. We receive the greatest number of calls from prospective candidates looking for their next challenge…
In previous newsletters we have highlighted the cost of a poor hire showing the average cost of replacing a departing staff member is £30,614, quoted by Oxford Economics and income protection providers Unum.
So how do you get it right?
Step 1 – Select the right recruitment partner:
https://www.darwinrhodes.com/news/selecting-the-right-recruitment-partner-written-by-clinton-poore-
Step 2 – Meet with your selected recruiter:
Discuss your hiring plans for the rest of the year. Proactively help them to support you through the ups and downs of the yearly recruitment lifecycle.
There is an increasing trend evolving where clients will conduct a telephone conference involving the hiring manager, HR/resourcing and multiple agencies selected to support on the hire campaign.
These calls are great for saving the hiring manager time initially. They are fine for offering the basic information a recruiter will need to conduct an initial search. However, they can tend not to be so productive when each agency may be wary of revealing their own specialised recruitment strategies to sourcing your preferred candidate successfully. Often this requires a follow up call with you or the hiring manager to clarify a few areas. If this is happening to you: return to Steps 1 and 2.
Step 3 – Make the most of ‘every’ job briefing with your selected agencies.
A. Treat each vacancy as a completely new role
Avoid falling into the trap of repeating the hire process you took the last time your hired a similar role. It will not help you to use the same job spec as last year.
B. Ideally spend time face to face with each selected agency and discuss the role in detail. ?An extra meeting or two now will reduce the number of candidate interviews required and save you time.
C. At the outset – cover off the basics
Examples: reason for hire, team size, informative job spec, key responsibilities, key technical competencies, salary banding, desired level of experience, recruitment process preferred.
D. Most importantly – discuss the areas that will result in a successful hire.
Company values – which of your values are specifically relevant to this role/department
The team culture – backgrounds, levels of experience, team engagement, atmosphere within the team
Line manager – how do they like to manage? What do they expect from their team?
Career progression – how do you reward high performers, what is the actual career path available?
Attitudinal behaviours – what attitudes for high performance does this person need to demonstrate?
Examples of attitudinal behaviours may include:
- High attention to detail
- Accomplished presenter/communicator
- Builds relationships easily
- Handles confrontation constructively
- Entrepreneurial
- High achiever, stands out against peers
Explain to your recruitment partners how you will assess these attributes throughout the process. Ask them for assistance on how to conduct behavioural assessment. High performing selection agencies can offer a tailored psychometric profile match service to suit your specific needs. Value added services such as these can and will ultimately increase the effectiveness of your hiring campaign.
High performers will demonstrate key attitudes that reflect those in your company.?To summarise the process of saving you time, energy and repeat hire spend:
- Prepare for the year ahead
- Select the right recruitment partner
- Provide the right information for a successful hire campaign
- Communicate constantly with your recruitment partner
- Select the right candidate
Kind regards
Lee Kerr
