Why should I use a recruitment agency?

Considering a recruitment agency for your next big hire? You’re not the only one. Thousands of businesses seek the services of recruiters to help them find great talent with the skills they need.

But are they really worth the cost?

Our experts here at Caroo have delved into the world of staffing to reveal just why they’re so popular.

What does a Recruitment Agency do?

Most people could tell you that recruitment agencies find talent on behalf of employers, but that’s selling them short. Job agencies streamline the hiring process, providing a whole range of other recruiting solutions depending on your company’s requirements.

Generally, an employment agency will get to know their client (i.e. the company searching for a new employee) to understand things like company culture, the skillsets they need for the role and the type of person they want to join the team.

Using this knowledge, they search their extensive candidate database for individuals who match these requirements and pluck out the best ones for interviewing.

Think it stops there? Oh no.

A job agency will also: write detailed job descriptions optimised for search; post job ads online to find other promising applicants; screen and assess shortlisted candidates; arrange interviews; follow up with both successful and unsuccessful applicants; check references; share insightful recruitment tips with the employer, and more.

Recruiters are certainly not one-trick ponies.

Why should you use an agency?

There are a number of reasons why a company might turn to a hiring agency for their recruiting needs.

Some businesses simply want to outsource their hiring for efficiency, while others rely on recruiters for their industry-leading knowledge.

Here are the top five reasons why companies use staffing agencies:

Quick and Efficient Hiring

Perhaps the biggest benefit of a recruitment agency is that they accelerate the hiring process.

Recruiters have things that employers simply don’t have, including access to a huge network of candidates, knowledge of where to look for individuals with niche skillsets, unparalleled expertise of both the job market and specific industries, and time.

This last one is especially advantageous.

A recruiters job is literally to match jobseekers with candidates (surprise surprise), so they can dedicate their full focus to finding a pool of perfect candidates for the interview stage.

Compare this to the employer, who probably has a hundred-and-one other things demanding their attention, and you can see why a job agency can be invaluable for cutting time-to-hire.

Get matched with high quality candidates.

Another reason businesses choose recruitment companies is for the high standard of candidates they manage to generate.

When sifting through numerous applications on job sites or trawling through CV databases, it’s more than likely that you’ll let a few unsuitable candidates filter through, while letting fantastic talent slip through your fingers.

Instead, recruiters have a knack for sourcing top-notch candidates from the outset thanks to the time they’ve spent getting to know your business requirements, plus their general expertise in the field.

A recruitment agency will also:

• Write detailed job descriptions optimised for search, meaning the job ad achieves better reach and attracts well-matched candidates to the role.
• Have access to hundreds of thousands of CVs, as well as an impressive network to help them find candidates who may be a great fit.
• Screen, assess and analyse the suitability of applicants for a role.
• Know where to find passive talent who are a great match for the job, plus the ​​knowledge of how to plant the seed in their heads that it may be time to move on to a new company.

By locating only the best individuals for the job, recruiters reduce the chance of hiring someone who is a bad fit for the role. This ultimately avoids expensive costs down the line when that new employee leaves your company or you’re faced with someone who isn’t well-suited to your team.

Save valuable time.

When partnering with a recruitment company, you gain a whole load of hours that you would’ve otherwise spent searching for new team members.

If you’re a small business, start-up or are just thinly spread as a team, this time is invaluable.

Recruiters take care of the hiring process for you, so all you have to worry about is showing up to the interviews on time and making a final decision.

Rather than spending hours wading through hundreds of CVs for that one needle in the haystack, attempting to organise screening tests or trying to schedule interviews, you can invest your time in other areas of the business while an expert does the work for you.

Unparalleled knowledge of the job market.

Companies who work with an employment agency can benefit from the wealth of knowledge that comes with a career dedicated to the job market.

Recruiters not only use this expertise to facilitate a speedy and efficient hiring process - they also provide their client with insights into trends like salary and career expectations, the likelihood of finding someone with the range of skills you need, what you may need to compromise on, and much more.

This helps you revisit parts of your recruitment strategy that may not be working for you and adjust them accordingly, helping you to find excellent talent within realistic parameters.

No hire? No fees.

If a job agency fails to find you that perfect candidate, you might not be liable to pay anything at all.

That’s right - some agencies only charge on results, so you only have to pay once the applicant has officially accepted the job offer.

This demonstrates how confident your recruitment agency is in their ability to find you a new team member. It also means you won’t be forking out on recruitment costs that lead to nothing.

Looking to hire without the costs?

Traditional recruitment agencies typically cost around 15-30% commission on the base salary, so yes - this can be a considerable chunk out of your budget.

If you’re looking for all the convenience of a recruitment agency without the pricey bill at the end, use Caroo instead. 

Caroo’s intelligent AI system matches exceptional marketing, tech and sales talent with employers, removing the hard work for you.

We even offer fully managed Recruitment at just 9.5% commission - a fraction of the cost of what recruiters usually charge.

Sound good? Let's chat.