We’ve seen a lot of recent hiring down-turns in a number of different sectors recently. Often, this means that internal Talent Teams pare back their work with recruitment agencies and consultancies. After all, if there’s no hiring work to do, there’s no need to maintain a relationship with agency, right?
But the partnership between agency and internal TA can be incredibly important during a hiring downturn. Agencies and consultancies provide a wealth of knowledge and broad industry knowledge and insights which can be beneficial a Talent Advisory capacity to internal Talent teams, and maintaining that relationship provides an easy way to scale up work quickly and efficiently when hiring does resume.
How can recruitment agencies and consultancies give their clients value if they don’t have many (or any) hiring spots to fill? And what should TA teams be mindful of when selecting external suppliers to choose partners who will be of the most value to them?
I spoke to 3 people on various sides of the spectrum to find out what exactly goes into creating a great reciprocal relationship between TA and Agency recruiters.
Spend time “inside” your client’s organisation
James Witcombe, Director & Recruiter, SMAART Recruitment
AGENCY POV
No time is more valuable than spending time “inside” your client’s organisation. Sitting amongst the team, observing how people work and getting an understanding of the culture provides valuable insights that cannot be attained in any other way. Turning those insights into useful information for the client (for example in the form of benchmarking) has made a huge difference to our agency. It allows us to provide trusted information back to our clients and truly allows to partner with them as we have their best interests at heart.
In many areas our key relationship is not with those in the TA team, but with the direct Hiring Managers. We aim to know as much as we can about their work and challenges, and in many instances we appreciate more the running of their teams more than their own TA team does. We focus on providing unique market research, consulting and insights that cannot be accessed anywhere but through us. TA teams and personnel come and go, being able to demonstrate a deep understanding of your clients business function and provide them with unique insights always provides value.
Partner with agencies who understand your business and hiring demands
Simon Hedt, Senior Manager, Talent Acquisition @ Slalom
INTERNAL POV
If you asked who my favourite partnership was with, I’d have to say Crew Talent. Simon McSorley comes from a diverse recruitment background with both in-house and agency experience, and combined with the fact that he is a business owner, he understands the pressures we have internally like no other agency partner I’ve worked with.
When hiring demand reduces, this relationship remains valuable as they can provide benchmarking and industry insight. It is very easy to get stuck in your insular bubble in an internal TA role, having a great agency partner can provide much needed insight into what the rest of the industry is doing/thinking and provide an external health check of sorts. You can also learn about other best practices that you have not thought of in isolation, all in all it is an extremely valuable relationship despite the hiring demand.
Internal TA and Agency Recruiters aren’t so dissimilar
Natalie Bentivegna, Senior Recruitment Consultant @ CircuIT Recruitment Group
AGENCY POV
One thing I’ve learnt from getting more involved in TA community meet up and events, is that Internal and Agency Recruiters face similar challenges when it comes to the recruitment process. We have a lot more in common than people would think! The prioritisation of strong relationship building techniques and transparent communication – that’s what makes the difference.
Now this isn’t to say that effective sourcing strategies, clear job briefings and collation of market data won’t make a difference (cause it sure as hell does) but when you strip it all back, prioritising communication and the consultation piece in your relationships with clients properly, is the one thing that will always consistently boost your client outcomes and experience with you, no matter what is happening in out there in the market.
Over the last 9 months, the value that I can add to a recruitment partner has completely changed. This time last year, I could safely assume that when a client partnered with me, it was because they needed me to find as many qualified CV’s as possible. In a time when agency spend is sparse, we have gotten creative about what other services/advice we can impart. I’m focused on offering, not only quality profiles but also partnership services such as:
- EVP & Candidate experience consultation.
- Engagement in workforce planning conversations & market data collation.
- Generating a thorough candidate pipeline for future vacancies & growth plans.
- DE&I policy implementation as well as training and development.
- Initiating the refinement of screening and interview processes as well as research into the best/most efficient interview techniques.
- Coffee Catchups!! – Sometimes your clients simply need someone to talk to. Allowing them to get to know you better while things are quieter will build trust in your future partnership. Besides, the best kind of coffee is a free one!
The focus should not be on chasing a short-term fee, it should be placing emphasis on adding value in these areas. Whether or not you’re able to collaborate on open vacancies.
Want to share your talent insights, expertise, or case study? Email info@atcevents.com.au.
