5 Myths About Recruitment Agencies That Companies Tend to Believe
"We can get the same candidates by posting our ad on some job boards"
Many companies believe that they can get the same applicants for the positions simply by posting the job ad on the same career portals as the recruitment agencies. While there is some truth to this, recruiters have two things that companies don't.
The first thing is access to CV databases of career portals. This expensive feature allows recruiters to search for passive candidates with relevant experience but may not be viewing job postings on that site.
The second is their network. Over the years, as a recruiter builds their network, they naturally develop relationships with companies and permanent employees with key skills in their sector.
This means that the recruiter can know the best candidate for the role and know that they can start at the right time without having to post a job ad, which is very valuable for all involved and saves a lot of time.
“The recruitment agencies simply forward resumes”
HR professionals that work in companies often have the misconception that a recruiting agency consultant will simply send them a bunch of resumes they find online, hoping that one of them will meet the expectations of the hiring company. While this may be the case with some bad recruitment agencies, good agencies will consult with the client throughout the process and understand their needs.
This means constant feedback between the client and the recruitment consultant, discussing whether the salary offered is too low to attract qualified candidates, determining the necessary skills and experience of the sought-after employee, and classifying the candidates so that the hiring manager sees only the best-selected candidates.
“There’s a ton of people searching for the job!”
According to Eurostat, before the COVID-19 pandemic, employment in the European Union reached a record high of 72.7%. This was the highest employment rate since 2005. Of course, this number has changed little at the moment, however when you combine this information with the fact that 70% of the global workforce are passive candidates who are not actively looking for new positions, it becomes clear how difficult it is to find high-quality candidates.
“The recruitment agencies cost too much”
A common argument the company representatives gave as to why they do not hire recruitment agencies is that recruitment agencies cost too much.
Did you know that hiring the wrong specialist can cost your company from a few to a dozen or even tens of thousands of euros per year? For example, in the United Kingdom, according to research conducted by the REC, which still dictates the trends of the labor market, hiring the wrong specialist with an annual salary of approximately €407,772 can cause a company an annual financial loss of €150,142.
Now imagine that a 20% recruitment fee for a fully vetted, professionally recruited candidate on the same salary would be €9,554. You can easily appreciate how recruitment agencies can help businesses save money in the long run!
“Recruitment agencies do not understand our industry”
Even though some of the larger recruitment agencies may have younger staff that do not fully understand the industry of the client’s company so that they could help their margins, many smaller specialized agencies understand their sector very well.
A good agency will have people who are incredibly knowledgeable about the industry needs workers and can help your business thrive.
