Hiring a recruiter can be expensive but making a mis-hire can be even more expensive — as much as 2-3x’s the base salary of the mis-hire. This includes lost productivity, loss of employee moral, administrative time to interview and hire another employee, potential loss of business and more. This number increases the more senior the hire! Next time you are faced with making a key hire for your company, consider using a recruiter. But before you do, make sure you ask these five questions to help you make the best choice in a partner:
- How does your recruiting experience match this type of role?
The recruiter or firm with which you are working should have experience filling similar roles. If they don’t, it will take them longer to fill the role. They will have difficulty finding the best candidates because they may not understand the details of the role and they will not have a strong network in your industry.
- What is your process?
There is no right or wrong answer here. The key is that you know how the company or recruiter works. You want to know how they communicate updates to you and what role they play throughout the recruiting and placement process. Do they coordinate interviews, do reference checks and negotiate offers? Will they be in touch after a candidate is placed?
- What sourcing strategy would you use for this type of role?
The post and pray strategy doesn’t work here. You want a dedicated recruiter focused on your position. They should be able to use their network, ask for referrals and get creative to find the right candidates. You want to interview passive candidates but you may also interview great active candidates. Most importantly, you want candidates that are open to making a move for the right reasons.
- How do you determine if a candidate is a fit?
You want to make sure you are not working with a recruiter or firm that is simply throwing resumes at you in hopes that one will stick. You want to be confident they are speaking with and meeting (if necessary) each candidate to thoroughly qualify them based on skills, experiences and cultural fit.
- Do you have references you can share?
A recruiter or firm should be more than happy to share references, but don’t expect them to share more than a couple. Client lists are held closely and are confidential. Also, don’t expect them to share references before a conversation to learn more about your needs. They will want to be confident they can help you first.
Still have questions? We would love to share our process with you. We want partnerships with our clients. We want clients that share the same values we do. That means we aren’t for everyone and that’s okay. It’s about finding the right partnership to help you grow your team so your organization can thrive. Contact us if you want to talk more.