Recruitment Industry Report 2019
Recruitment Industry Report – Executive Summary
As a Global Talent Partner, we work hard to develop long term partnerships with our clients. It’s part of our promise to deliver the best recruitment service available. If you would like to download our recruitment industry report, please click here.
People are at the core of every successful business. The services that our clients use to hire talented people are important. This is why we have taken the time to find out what our clients think about the recruitment industry.
Our latest research involved polling a group of HR leaders working in various industries. The questions focused on the recruitment process and the services that are provided by agencies.
What We Found
The majority of HR leaders felt that agencies offered medium value for money.
The feedback about the quality and fit of candidates was also negative. Under 60% of leaders felt that matching their requirements only happened some of the time. Over 21% of people suggested that profile requirements were not met enough of the time or not at all.
Companies use recruitment agencies to achieve a goal. Less than 40% of HR leaders, when given four options, ranked reducing the time to hire as their number one goal.
A high number of people felt the candidates put forward by agencies didn’t meet their requirements. Under 3% of leaders felt that agencies offered good value. Based on this result, we can see that agencies are increasing the time to hire and not reducing it. The reason for this is that they deliver candidates that rarely fit the requirements.
Recruitment Industry Report: Cost
Reducing the cost of hiring was the second most important goal for HR leaders. Under 76% of people said that their agencies gave them medium value for money. Based on this, it’s hard to say that agencies help clients reach their second goal. Not delivering the right type of candidates increases cost for companies.
HR leaders were also asked to change one aspect of the service they got from agencies. The response listed improving the quality of candidates put forward.
One HR leader said that more work on understanding the organisation’s culture should be done. “HR leaders do not have the time, as recruitment is only one aspect of HR’s role within the business.”
Another leader echoed the need for a deeper understanding of the client’s business. “The best talent agencies are the ones that have a partnership approach and who are not fixated on a sale”.
Getting the right candidates
Gerrard Devaney, Head of Talent Acquisition at Schwarz & Vogel spoke about the report. He said: “Our report highlights some of key issues that our clients are facing. First, the quality and suitability of candidates needs to be better”.
He also said: “Agencies must spend more time getting to know their client’s business. If they do this, they’ll begin to understand which candidates fit and which don’t.
Spending more time on client discovery will allow a true partnership to form. If clients get long-term partnerships the value of the traditional agencies will improve”.
What the Recruitment Industry Report Says About The Recruitment PSL
The data we collected in regarding value for money is no surprise. There are many factors that compound the negative outlook in this area. Some clients have to engage with a high number of agencies to make sure of good candidate coverage. Clients are hedging against the risk of getting bad quality candidates from agencies. Using a recruitment PSL because agencies are delivering poor candidates, is a bad use of time.
Recruitment is one function of HR. leaders don’t have the time to coach agencies on how to deliver excellent candidates. But, they shouldn’t have to, the fees are high when hiring skilled professionals.
Agencies should be prioritizing client discovery to build long-term partnerships. Good discovery techniques will improve the quality of candidates presented for open roles. Better quality candidates will speed up hiring and drive recruitment costs down.
Time for change
Schwarz & Vogel work with SMLEs across the world. As a Global Talent Partner, we develop long-term partnerships with all our clients.
Understanding our clients allows us to select the right candidates every time. Our consultants have deep industry knowledge and experience. This enables them to connect with clients as industry professionals and recruiters. Presenting the right candidate increases speed and efficiency within the recruitment process.
Our client’s success is the key to ours. If you’d like to read the report in full, please click the link below.
Schwarz and Vogel Talent Acquisition Industry Report Q2 2019