Need to do some hiring? No matter the size or industry of your company, you could find value in outsourcing recruiting to help grow your organization. Depending on what you’re hiring for, you have options on what type of firm you use, from Executive Search, Recruiting, Staffing, RPO, etc.
Outsourcing your recruitment process isn’t a decision that is determined by the size of your company. It is about building the best process for attracting talent and freeing up manpower for other tasks. The best process, as a corporate employer, may be to outsource your hiring to a recruiting firm.
Companies choose to outsource for many reasons: bandwidth, reducing costs, expertise, etc. If your company is smaller, for example, you may not have the internal bandwidth to have someone focus on hiring (recruiters prove that this is a full-time job). On the flip side, if your company is larger, you may be receiving too many applications to go through – and many are likely not to be qualified. It takes up valuable time going through hundreds of resumes and applications, so hiring a recruiter (or Executive Search Firm) dedicated to finding your next CFO could save your internal teams valuable time.
The simple answer is… probably more than you think. Companies of all sizes and verticals outsource their recruiting. Whether it’s a company with under 20 employees or over 2,000, any and all
could find value in outsourcing their recruitment process. The global recruitment process outsourcing market has been valued at $4.8 billion (2021), so you could say that many companies have outsourced their recruiting efforts at one point. Even companies that have an internal recruiting team often utilize a recruiting firm for a specialized position or during a period of high growth.
Some think that an outsourced team won’t know your culture like someone who works there every day – while this can definitely be true, outsourced hiring teams can also find a great culture fit for your environment. Create a relationship with a great recruiting firm, and you’ll be able to work together for years on hiring for your various teams.
Building out a new sales team? A recruiting firm can fill multiple positions quickly, and you can have several recruiters working on your openings, if necessary. Need talent quickly but not for long? Staffing firms can find contract talent quickly with a proven track record.
Many costs go into hiring, and it can often be more than you think (check out our Cost Per Hire Calculator). Recruiting firms can get you more bang for your buck because of their speed and expertise in finding talent. With a recruiting firm, you’re paying for the experience the recruiters have, the recruiter’s network, marketing your job to top talent and job boards, outreaching, and they’re pre-vetting candidates so you know you’re only interviewing candidates that meet the qualifications you communicated to the recruiter.
Technology goes along with cost-effectiveness; most recruiting firms are utilizing tools like an ATS or sourcing tools like LinkedIn Recruiter to keep track of and identify top talent. A solid ATS can help recruiters manage multiple positions, a large pool of talent, and give the corporate employer visibility into their recruitment process. SmartSearch’s hiring manager portal can give you details on sourced candidates, what stage candidates are at in the recruiting process, and be interactive so you can leave detailed notes after each interview.
Good recruiters build relationships with their candidates, so the recruiter may be able to get more information from a candidate than a hiring manager can during the interview process. Candidates are often more willing to share red flags with a recruiter during the interview process that your company can address to avoid losing top talent. Recruiters also can keep in constant communication with the candidate to ensure a positive and speedy experience.
Recruiters often have a great network of candidates that you may not be able to attract to your company. Sourcing is something that can take up a serious amount of time. Recruiters may end up reaching out to 500+ candidates for your position, but they save you time by your team only having to interview the top 5-10 candidates. Recruiting firms can often find your new hire much quicker because they are dedicated to filling your job, have existing networks, and have expertise in knowing the right people and tactics to attract top talent.
Communication is key. Make sure to give as many details as possible to the recruiter filling your role. Give them insights into your company’s culture and skill sets that will
create a great relationship with your team. When it comes to recruiting, there is no such thing as over-communication.
Finding the right recruiting partner for your company is essential. There are tons of headhunters, RPOs, recruiting firms, executive search firms, and staffing firms for you to choose from, but you want to make sure you’re picking the right one for you. Many are specialized, and companies should not take this for granted. Are you an early-stage start-up? Firms specializing in knowing how to get a candidate excited about making an impact in your organization and knowing whom to go after that will have the right mindset for your environment. Firms can specialize in many areas, even recruiting for specific roles like sales, technology, creative, and more.
Depending on your company’s needs, you may need to engage the services of different vendors who specialize in placing candidates with different skills or disciplines. Because there are specialized recruiting firms, you want to make sure you’re creating relationships with multiple vendors based on your needs. You may want to consult an executive search firm because you’re looking to hire a new CTO. You also could need to hire to fill your new call center – this is where a great staffing firm relationship could come in handy.
If you’re utilizing multiple vendors to source candidates for the same opening or for a variety of positions, having a solid Vendor Management System can make a huge difference in managing how you communicate and organize your recruiting and hiring process.
These systems give you a competitive advantage in how you track your candidates are coming from and keep all your information in one place.
But a VMS is only one system in your larger recruiting tech stack. While a VMS is a great system for managing outsourced recruitment efforts, you’ll need other systems to appropriately manage candidate engagement and onboarding needs.
Combining these tools is how SmartSearch gives a competitive advantage to employers. Through our all-in-one platform, HR teams can easily combine the features and functions of an Applicant Tracking System, Candidate Relationship Management System, and Employee Onboarding System in one effective solution.
