Is It Time to Hire a Recruiter?
Guest Post by Rosario Canales and Nikki D Green from Ave Staffing
Regardless of the size of your firm, it’s important to know when to work with a recruiter. It’s essential to know how to staff on your own, but at times it can become difficult for several reasons.
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Here are some reasons you might need to consider working with a recruiter:
- There is a shortage of talent for your hiring needs
- Posting jobs, screening, interviewing is not yielding results or is too costly
- You have more positions to staff than you are equipped to fill on your own
- You have a short window to get these job openings filled
- You’re opening an office in a new location where you do not have prospect candidates in mind
Many law firms and companies work with staffing agencies to fill job openings on their teams. The positions can be full-time, part-time, temporary, contract-to-hire, or direct full-time higher. While employers can recruit for their job openings on their own, it can be more efficient and cost-effective by outsourcing recruiters.
If you also find recruiters that you genuinely feel comfortable working with, you can establish a great relationship and partner with them to meet all your staffing needs.
So, what is the best way to look for a recruiter?
Make sure that you work with a staffing agency that specializes in what you do. The importance of this is that you want to work with people who know exactly what you’re looking for and are familiar with the skill sets your ideal candidate needs.
You also should inquire about retention rate. You want to make sure that your new hire stays around for the long-haul. Unfortunately, some staffing agencies do not prioritize retention rate as much as others do. It is essential that you do your research and inquire about this.
Work with a recruiter that has at least a 90% retention rate with their placements. Anything less than this might end up costing you more money overall, because you will end up spending additional resources on hiring and onboarding a new employee all over again.
Word of Mouth
You can inquire with any other coworkers or connections about staffing agencies that they have experienced working with. Word of mouth is also a great referral when it comes to sourcing staffing specialists. You want to work with people you trust – so relationships matter.
Typically, recruiters charge around a 15 to 25% fee for their placements. It might be tempting to go for the recruiters that charge the lowest rate, but you want to make sure that you go for the ones that have the best reviews, retention rate, and specialize in what you need assistance with.
Benefits of Working with a Recruiter
When you work with a recruiter, you’ll spend less time on hiring, and more time on growing. Using an effective legal staffing agency to fill job openings allows the employer to focus on growing the company and continue projects without being slowed down by the tedious process of hiring. A staffing agency will investigate its network of candidates and find a proper replacement for your team.
Using staffing specialists can also significantly reduce overhead costs. Did you know that losing good employees or hiring the wrong ones is a costly expense? A dedicated recruiter will ensure you have the right match with proper screening and reference checks before you make the final decision.
Another benefit of working with a recruitment agency is their knowledge on salary ranges and job descriptions. They have experience filling the same exact position you need assistance with. And because of this, they have insight of what to use as a base salary and how to properly outline the job description. Giving them insight on how many years of experience is needed and what skills are required, will influence the role’s compensation entirely. This is essential because it will help the staffing specialists target better applicants for the job.
You will always sign off on what the starting offer is, so you and the recruiter are both on the same page. Staffing agencies have their own methods of attracting candidates, such as connecting with their expansive network, advertising through various platforms, and more.
Could you do all of this on your own? Yes. However, it would be time consuming and costly. Since staffing agencies do this so frequently, they know exactly what job descriptions get the most hits and where to advertise your listings. So while they’re doing that, you can focus on managing your firm.
What to Expect
When you work with a staffing agency, you pay when the job is successfully completed. A staffing agency will charge you for their services once the job has been properly filled. You won’t have to pay for unnecessary or hidden fees throughout the hiring process. A great staffing agency will offer a placement guarantee to give you peace of mind in case our candidate doesn’t work out.
Many hiring managers are swamped with work and working with staffing agencies allows them to trust them to get the job done. Staffing agencies specialize in this, so the whole hiring and on-boarding process is much, much smoother.
When working with recruiters, you’ll also have a liaison between the company and the candidate. Having a middleman is incredibly helpful when it comes to scheduling interviews, preparing paperwork, and negotiating compensation. Candidates tend to open up more to external recruiters and share information with them that they often won’t share with employers. And because of this, staffing specialists have a much better understanding of matching potential candidates with your job openings.
A recruiter knows the ins and outs of the industry. When you work with a great staffing agency, you’ll gain access to the recruiter’s knowledge of salary ranges and network of skilled candidates open to work.
In Conclusion
Although you do not need a recruiter to fill your job openings, it can be incredibly helpful to use one as your company grows. At some point it might be more costly for you to staff job openings on your own than to outsource a recruiter. Your Firm Administrator might be swamped with work and might be unable to allocate enough time to staffing. Having a middleman can be a huge sense of relief and allows your staff to maintain their workflow without being interrupted.
You have the final call on whether a candidate is a good fit for your firm or not. Once you find a staffing agency you feel comfortable with, you can establish a strong relationship for many great years to come.