There is no human resources expert who has not suffered some kind of awkward situation with a recruiting and selection consultancy. Any head of human resources of a company or business knows how difficult it is to get the best talent and, above all, to work with the external recruitment companies in charge of recruiting them.
Sometimes recruiting companies take a long time to finalize a proposal, either because they present inappropriate candidates, have difficulty creating the right profiles, or do not have effective recruiting methods.
The services of a company like this can be very useful, but it is important to consider some aspects of particular importance when choosing a recruitment and selection of staff.
How to choose the best recruitment and selection company?
Here are the highlights to consider before choosing who will help you find your ideal candidate:
Evaluate the prestige and experience of clients
Before selecting a recruitment and selection consultancy, it is worth reviewing their history and, if possible, learning about the experiences they have had with their clients. That way you can get an idea of what style of work you will find, as well as aspects that may be important for the development of a successful business relationship.
Knowledge of the field or business
All recruitment and selection consultants’ staff can publish your vacancies and follow a process. But only those that have a specialized database in which they can search among millions of candidates (which will be a great source of attraction) and will be able to offer you support in the construction of the candidate’s profile, the search and in-depth evaluation with tests and specific methods according to the needs of the position.
This with the possibility of presenting candidates who were thoroughly evaluated, with a prior market mapping methodology, and that not only cover the technical profile but also adapt to the mission and work style of the organization. This with the aim of guaranteeing quality in the result.
Effective selection methodology
There are various recruitment and selection methods, but their correct application depends on a solid methodology in its foundation and flexible in its implementation, so that each part of the process is applied as planned.
Thus, the best candidate will be evaluated using the most appropriate evaluation tools according to the profile to be hired. Hiring a middle manager in the accounting area is not the same as hiring an account executive or a group of workers. Evaluate the methodology offered by the agency, as it is key to achieving a beneficial hiring for the organization.
Technology
The digital age offers in the world of human resources, a large number of tools to speed up the recruitment and selection processes.
A recruitment and selection consultancy with good technological support has integrated platforms to make the management of processes easier and thus helps guarantee their quality, as it carries out its functions more quickly and with a complete overview of the status. of the selection process.
Does the agency you work with use an Applicant Tracking System (ATS)?
Personalization
It is the ability of the recruiting company to adapt its services to the particular needs of the organization in search of talent. The company must be able to make a correct reading of the needs of its client, to manage and successfully solve the personnel requirements.
Communication
It must be fluid between the parties. The recruitment and selection consultancy must understand the functions and dynamics of the organization to know in depth the required profiles and offer the best alternatives. This is very useful to consider aspects such as the work environment and the adaptability of candidates to their new co-workers. It also allows relationship between client and agency.
Looking for the best Overseas recruitment agency in India?
What are the most common recruitment and selection problems?
- Incomplete or ambiguous vacancies
Sometimes you have an unclear idea of the position to be offered and create profiles that do not meet the appropriate requirements for the job. This can lead to people being hired without the experience or knowledge required for their role.
When the vacancy is ambiguous, it can attract unqualified candidates, which generates a greater volume of work during the selection process.
To avoid this problem, the ideal is to have a correct profile lift.
In the event that this level of depth does not exist, it is advisable to carry out a detailed interview with the person applying for the position, in order to establish all the points to consider in the preparation of the profile.
If you are not sure of the characteristics of the profile, you can go to a human resources consultant, who with their experience can help create the required profile and support the recruitment and selection process of personnel.
- Not considering the values of the organization
If a recruiter looks only at the technical aspects of the profile, they will lose valuable information about the work style required for the candidate as well as its compatibility with the vision of the organization and the values it promotes.
You cannot hire a vegetarian to tend a butcher shop. Values are extremely important, since the ability of candidates to adapt to their new job and their new work team depends on them.
In order to contemplate the values of the candidates, it is necessary that, during the profiling, the organizational culture is assessed and what type of personality and attitude is sought in relation to the position is established.
If there is no clarity in this regard, recruitment and selection consultancies, have a unique methodology for the generation of profiles and the selection process.
- Search for candidates with the same characteristics as the previous collaborator
Assuming that a candidate will be found with the same profile and characteristics as the one who is leaving the vacancy is unrealistic. If the recruiter or applicant persists in this idea, they will surely run into a wall. Each person is unique and so is their professional experience and attitude.
Instead, it is interesting to accept the possibility that whoever covers the square, contributes new ideas and styles of collaboration that can be very positive for the organization. Each new member will always have the potential to generate unique value to their work, the key is to create a good profile and carry out a good selection process.
4.Find a todologist
The idea of hiring someone with a lot of experience and knowledge is always very attractive, but it is also a difficulty to create a profile.
When preparing a vacancy, the temptation arises to ask for a large list of characteristics, experience and skills, which in practice, makes it materially impossible to find such a person.
It is better to define which are the most relevant aspects for the functions to be performed and from there prioritize what kind of skills, experience and knowledge are required.
- Personnel recruitment and selection strategy
Using the same recruiting strategy for all vacant positions is a mistake.
Each type of job implies that the interested parties consult different sources, have different search habits, and are even located in different geographical spaces.
This being the case, the recruitment strategy must be adapted to the situation and profile of the vacancy. Hiring a team of workers is not the same as hiring a chief accountant or a project leader or CEO.
The recommendation here is to study the profile to identify your work habits and sources of consultation in order to create an appropriate strategy.
- Not explaining the selection process
When a candidate enters a selection process, they will always have doubts about the steps to follow to continue participating. It is imperative to clearly explain what each part of the process will consist of, the times, the interviews, the tests to be carried out, the questionnaires to be answered.
Doing so is very useful because it provides clarity to the candidates and also helps to rule out in advance those who look at themselves without the possibility or interest to participate in any of the phases.
When the process is not explained, it becomes disorganized, produces inconsistencies between each phase and generates a negative image of the organization before interested candidates.
- Recruitment without use of technology
A recruiting process is complex and exhausting. It can represent conducting dozens of interviews and psychometric tests, scheduling meetings, coordinating candidates, etc.
That being the case, sticking to the use of Excel templates for human resources or wanting to do it without the use of recruitment and selection software, represents an additional workload equivalent to hundreds of hours.
Today, there are hundreds of recruitment templates in Excel that can be used to organize each phase of recruitment. But that technique begins to be left behind with the arrival of the Applicant Tracking System or ATS, which are platforms designed to implement the recruitment and selection processes in an automated way.
- Weak employer brand
Just as people choose many products and services based on brand recognition and prestige, candidates often don’t apply to companies they haven’t heard of before.
If a company wants to find the best candidate, it is important to rely on expert recruiters to help it position its brand, but also to link the available talent with the organizations that are looking for them.
- Uncompetitive wages and benefits
This is a very common problem when vacancies are offered. You can count on attractive jobs and a good work environment, but if the salary conditions are less than the responsibilities and the level of specialization required, the ideal candidates will simply not agree to stay in the job.
To avoid this, it is necessary for recruiters to do an investigation about the value of positions similar to the one offered and based on that, adjust their salary proposal.
As better conditions are offered, it will be easier to find the most qualified candidates.
- Test and interview schedules
The scheduling of tests and interviews is very important and the schedule in which they are established as well.
Scheduling appointments too early can be a negative because it does not give candidates enough time to prepare and get to the appointment. Scheduling appointments too late means that candidates and recruiters are already tired or stressed from the day, which can affect the assessment of those interested.
When there are too many candidates, mistakes may arise and appointments may overlap.
Attention to detail here is key. It is also important that the recruitment phases take place in a reasonable period of time, because if it is too long, the candidates can go to another job, if it is too fast, an incorrect selection process can be carried out and not have enough time to do the stakeholder assessment.