A job role is more fluid within an SME as often the company is growing quickly, and people and processes need to adapt quickly to the regularly changing environment. Corporate positions often have a more defined structure and career pathway through the company. How is your recruitment provider testing candidates to demonstrate their ability to be flexible and adaptable within a role and willing to take on extra responsibilities? 

 

 

 

 

 

The outsourced recruitment model is based on paying for the time it takes to recruit rather than a placement fee. This means that as soon as you engage with a company there is a bill to pay. However, you will find this is much less than a placement fee and you will get much more help, support, and guidance through the recruitment process. If you think that on average it takes a recruiter 6 days to find a candidate for you – then look at what a placement fee equates to – and do the maths, this is a much higher daily rate than you would usually pay for this level of consultancy using an RPO. 

 

 

 

 

Whilst there are fluctuations across different industries, typical recruitment costs are between 15 – 20% of your new employee's basic take on salary, if you use a recruitment consultancy or a recruitment agency to recruit. This is usually payable once the candidate has started their new role. There are no upfront costs, and therefore the risks are low – it is the standard “no win, no fee” model. For this, the agency will have looked at their pool of candidates and given you access to the ones that they think are most suitable to the position for which you are recruiting. They will sell the opportunity to the candidates on your behalf and they will also liaise between you and the candidate for booking interviews and should make sure that the candidate is fully briefed before an interview.  

 

 

 

– Having strong leaders within your business is vital, whether it is just you or your management team. You need to be someone who communicates well and who everyone trusts. As a leader you will inspire others to go that extra mile. Businesses that have strong leadership display the following behaviours. Solving problems effectively. Operating with a strong results orientation. Seeking different perspectives. Supporting others 

 

 

- You need to ensure that you have a Common Goal. Your team need to have a clear understanding of the direction that your business is heading in, what the goals are for the next month, quarter and year. Most importantly of all, they need to understand their role in the process and how they can help you achieve it. 

 

 

 

 

 

By looking at your workforce needs over the next 12 months, means that you can plan your recruitment in a more proactive, rather than a reactive way. If you know what your business plans are for the next twelve months then you can plan to recruit the right people to help you deliver your short and long-term organisational goals. 

 

 

 

Then COVID happened and other strange things started to happen to recruitment too. Firstly, potential candidates who were furloughed, or were no longer confident in the longer-term prospects of their company started to look for their next position. Secondly, huge numbers of vacancies were put on hold as employers started to try and guess their marketplaces and the long-term impact of COVID. Companies that were recruiting found that the numbers of applications started to increase rapidly. 

 

Finally, we have settled into a new norm (well for the time being at least!) where those companies that may have stalled for a while have pivoted within their market place and those that are growing need to fill their vacancies. However, the candidate pool is now huge and will continue to grow over 2021. 

 

 

 

After a slow and difficult year in recruitment, the pace has changed, it is now quick and rapid. There are lots of great candidates out there – if you are looking for a Business-Critical role look sooner rather than later, the candidates at the moment are proactive – not reactive. At Emerald Starfish we can help you push on with your recruitment needs, we have everything in place to help you fully recruit remotely without coming in to contact with anyone face to face, therefore keeping the risks to a minimum for all involved. Here is how we can do this, all the while ensuring the candidates are right for you and your company. 

 

 

 

 

 

We felt that there was a mismatch though, working in a recruitment agency we were working for the candidates – trying to get them the best salary, selling them in against other candidates, but the client was paying the bill. 

 

At Emerald Starfish we wanted to bring the focus to the client – to understand what they need for their next position, and to make sure that all of their time wasn’t taken up testing and assessing candidates and paying us for the pleasure!