Let’s start with the facts. Did you know that in the U.S., there are about 20,000 staffing and recruiting companies, which altogether operate around 39,000 offices? Approximately 55% of companies and 74% of offices are in the temporary and contract staffing sector of the industry (Labor Works).
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To add to that, the same source mentioned that America’s staffing companies hire nearly 15 million temporary and contract employees in one year alone!
Being a part of such a dominant market and the fact that companies are always competing over top talents all the time, recruiting agencies need to do their best to stand out if they want to be successful.
We’re here to help. Whether you work for or own a recruitment agency, or you plan on starting one, we’re here to share 8 important things to consider to step up your game in acquiring the best talent and hitting the big numbers for the business.
Types of Recruitment Agencies
However, before that, let’s differentiate the types of recruitment agencies available. This is taken from this article where you can learn how to start a recruitment agency:
Traditional Recruitment Agency
This type of agency is also called an “employment agency” and the most common one of all. How they work is simple. They only source talents whenever their client needs a certain position filled.
Placements are usually for long-term positions, which usually range from entry to high-level roles. Once a job seeker is successfully hired, they charge a flat fee or a percentage of the candidate’s salary.
However, it’s crucial to remember that when someone drops out within an agreed amount of time (usually 3 months), the recruitment agency has to find a replacement or waive the fee paid.
Headhunting Agency
A headhunting agency is also called “executive search firms”. Such agencies only headhunt top executives for companies like Chief Technology Officer (CTO), General Manager (GM), Director of Marketing, and so forth.
They will usually work on a retainer basis or with a percentage of the candidate’s salary or a mix of both. The retainment fee is to, as the name suggests, “retain” a recruiter to continuously headhunt the needed position and is non-refundable.
Working with a headhunting agency is time-consuming. However, it is undoubtedly effective. Why? Because they have professionally-trained recruiters who will dedicate their time and effort solely to find the best fit for the position.
Staffing Agency
A staffing agency is also called a “manpower agency”. This one is quite similar to the traditional recruitment agencies, but the main differentiating factors are the:
Positions they fill
A staffing agency only fills temporary or contractual positions. These are often from select industries (i.e. hospitality) where they only do contracts and not long-term positions.
Overall recruitment process
A staffing agency does the hiring of the people themselves, and not the client. This means that they have to do all the interviewing, screening, and training. This is perfect if you’re burdened with a lot of tasks and don’t have the time to source candidates.
Niche Recruiting Agency
This one is also called a “specialist recruitment agency”. This recruiter agency gives them the edge to find highly skilled talents who truly specialize in their fields. Basically, they understand the talent gaps in the market and help fill positions faster by providing candidates best suited for such specialty roles.
Let’s create a scenario. Let’s say that they only work with hiring engineers. They work with clients only looking for engineering roles, and they can be trusted to achieve the task well because they already know the best way to attract such individuals.
They know what a good engineer is like, what kind of salary and benefits they want to have, what scope of work they entail, and many more.
Now that’s settled, let’s get right on to it!
8 Ways to Run a Successful Recruitment Agency
Have an inspiring leader with a vision
Everything starts with a vision. If you don’t know the direction that you want to pursue, creating concrete steps towards the ladder of success would be extremely difficult. And, at the end of the day, that vision comes from the management or the leaders of the agency.
With their guidance and supervision, each action and decision made will make or break the organization. It’s up to them to be able to come up with strategies on how to move the company forward and motivate the people to reach their goals.
It’s like the theory of the water ripple effect. Every time a leader throws a rock in the water-- regardless if it’s big or small-- a ripple will flow and affect the entire river and even the ocean!
Train employees to ensure outstanding performance
Of course with a great leader, a company should come with great followers, as well. You need to have trusted employees who have the drive and passion to hit milestones after milestones.
You must work with people who match the company values and are motivated to attain company objectives with initiative. At the same time, it will be helpful if you continually equip them with the knowledge and skills they need to be better in the field.
You can do this by hosting training now and then. You may even purchase online crash courses so they have available resources to nurture their growth exponentially.
This might be quite costly, but the return on investment will be apparent. Your recruitment agency will have high-performing recruiters who can attract and successfully hire top talents and satisfy clients as they work with you in no time.
We wrote tips on how to be better recruiters here. Give it a read!
Use recruitment software
Technology is the future, and there is no denying that. As much as recruiters can work capably on their own, utilizing such tools will boost work productivity and, ultimately, help them get the best candidates better and faster.
Recruiting software integrates automation and artificial intelligence (AI) into the hiring process, which enables more effective and efficient recruitment. There is various software that can help in this regard.
There is an applicant tracking system (ATS) like Manatal. It permits recruiters to source candidates across multiple channels with just a few clicks and funnels all incoming applications into a centralized database and hiring platform.
Specifically, with Manatal, you can post job ads on job boards, career pages, and even on social media. This includes LinkedIn, Jooble, Facebook, and so much more.
Additionally, it has strong capabilities that help you screen candidates better, too. For example, its AI candidate recommendation system. It suggests top talents with high candidate scores. The scores are automatically based on job match in terms of skills, experience, etc.
We also offer a free career page-builder tool, social media enrichment, and other things. All these give a world-class candidate experience overall, which can strategically improve employer branding.
Manatal is a handy tool for recruiters, as well, because it also has a dual recruitment customer relationship management (CRM) functionality. This lets you track and manage prospects and existing clients-- a true all-in-one recruiting software for talent acquisition professionals!
Other recruitment software can include payroll and accounting software, AI video interviewing software, chatbots, and candidate assessment tools.
Simplify your website
If you want to successfully build a big candidate pool and have more clients as a recruitment agency, making your website simple is a great way to do so.
Why is that? Because it provides a smooth and convenient candidate user experience. Nobody wants to answer long forms and fill up items manually. You’ll just risk people dropping their applications if you make them do that.
What you can do is simplify everything on your website so that they'll navigate the page easily. Then, you make sure that there’s an "easy apply" button where they’ll just input relevant contact information plus file attachment options.
It’s quick and easy, which saves both you and your candidate time throughout the hiring process. Your talent pool will expand faster and your time-to-fill will shorten significantly.
Build credibility via employer branding
To continue the previous point, you should also build credibility via employer branding through your website. As a recruitment agency, people must perceive your company in a good way.
What you put out on your website, social media, and even your career page can entice people to join your company. Here are some prominent benefits that employer branding can bring to your organization:
- Builds credibility among the people
- Allows you to attract top talents
- Decreases time to hire
- Promotes longer tenureship
You can do this by incorporating appealing elements into your platforms. Posting it and sharing them, too. Examples include your diversity efforts, showcasing healthy company culture, responding quickly to candidates, and more.
There is a recruitment software that can help you with this like Manatal, again. We have a free career page builder to help you customize your own. This way, you can include whatever you need to improve your employer branding.
This is a good instance also to take note of having cost-effective recruitment software that’s all-around. Why use multiple tools when you can rely on one that centralizes everything into a singular platform, right?
Be active on social media
This is a 2021 tactic that will get you under everyone’s radar. Your recruitment agency should start being active on social media and let the market know that you are available.
You can continually post various content and engage with potential candidates and clients to raise brand awareness. When they recognize your brand, it can either result in two things:
- They would likely apply when you post a job ad or would want to work with you as a recruitment agency
- They would recommend your agency to their networks
That’s the power of social media. It allows you to reach more people easily and, at the same time, lets you target niche audiences better.
Let’s say you’re looking for writers. You can go to Upwork and source freelance writers there. Or if you’re looking for a graphic designer, Behance can be an ideal option to browse through.
We wrote more about social media in recruitment here if you want to dig deeper into the subject.
Safeguard your business legally
Don’t dismiss the idea of protecting your business legally. As an agency, you need to safeguard yourself against this type of issue.
This is not to be taken lightly because nobody wants to be involved with legal crises. You can use Manatal to aid you here. They have GDPR, PDPA, and CCPA compliance tools for the data protection of your company and your candidates.
Most importantly, the latest rules empower individuals with the right to control their personal data. Amazing, right? This is one aspect that you’ll be glad that your recruitment software covers, as well.
Read and react to analytics
Last, but certainly not the least, is reading and reacting to reports and analytics. These numbers just aren’t for show. They are there to point you in the right direction.
Such data come from past performance. It will reveal what works and what doesn’t. It will inform you where you’re excelling and where you need to improve on.
If you take the time to read such reports monthly (or even bi-monthly), you would know exactly what steps you need to take to improve your performance next time around.
It takes critical thinking to pinpoint bottlenecks and provide solutions. You need to work together with your team and come up with a sound strategy based on data-driven values. With this in mind, you’ll be sure to hit the bull’s eye precisely.
There are plenty of ways to explore to be a successful recruitment agency. However, with these 8 tips, you’re bound to take your business a notch further and propel towards a more fruitful and productive year.
Just remember that it’s not an easy feat to do, but the rewards that you can reap, especially when acquiring the best of the best talents, will be worth it.
Once you have everything on your plate, it’s time to start your agency.
To find out how Manatal can support you and your team, book a demo now or sign up for a 14-day free trial.
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