# What to Look for When Dealing With Recruitment Agencies

It is well accepted that having the right staff in an organisation is the key to organisational success. Unless you are able to make smart staffing decisions, it is unlikely that you would be able to recruit human resource that gives your organisation an edge over competition. The staff your recruit should be of high caliber, possesses the right attitudes and be able to fit in with your organization's unique culture.

Only when all these aspects are considered in recruitment decisions, will the right choice be made. What it boils down to is that recruitment itself is a specialized task which is best handled by someone with proper HR management experience and knowledge.


While some large scale corporations may have the luxury of having their in-house HR team to make effective recruitment decisions, most do not have this benefit. This is why it pays off to enlist the services of a recruitment agency when it comes to your staff hiring needs.

Why Use a Recruitment Agency?

Some small to medium companies believe that using the services of a recruitment agency is a waste of money or an added cost which they don't need to incur. While it may just look so in the short run, think of all the wrong staffing decisions that you may have made. The cost of a wrong recruitment can be fatal at times, especially if the post filled is at high up in the organisational chart.

Wrong strategies, failed implementations, bad customer handling, fraud, de-motivated staff can all be repercussions of **[headhunter](https://www.recruiter.com/headhunters/)** recruitment decisions gone bad. Recruitment is a key function of human resource management (HRM) and should not be treated in ad-hoc manner. It should be integrated in to the overall company objectives, the culture and the job functions desired.

The new recruit should possess the required competencies, skills and qualifications so that they can easily take over the duties and responsibilities with minimal training. To ensure all this, it is best that a professional recruiting agent is entrusted with the task.

Benefits of Enlisting a Recruitment Agency
There are many benefits that firms can enjoy by enlisting the help of a professional recruitment agent. These benefits will far exceed the costs of professional fees you would have to pay for the recruiting agency. Below are some of the main benefits worth noting.

Greater HRM Expertise - recruitment agencies have professional recruiters who are well qualified and possessing the right knowledge of HRM competencies relevant to recruiting. For instance, they are well versed in the techniques to apply in 1st, 2nd and last rounds of screening to get the best applicants selected.

Various interview methods, group interaction observations, team skill tests, personality tests etc. are applied by professional recruiters to see the fit between the applicant and the company for which they are being selected. A manager or an owner of a small or medium scale company is unlikely to have such competencies related to HRM function.

Better Experience - A professional recruiting agency handles recruitment for many clients. Hence, they are well experienced with the task. Years of recruiting has sharpened their senses when it comes to detecting genuine applicants from frauds. They are also more capable of checking out references and seeking out job histories of applicants.


Greater Accessibility to prospective candidates - Recruitment agencies subscribe to job banks, take part in job fairs in colleges and universities and have greater access to prospective candidates. They also advertise a number of posts in one large news paper advertisement which gains better attention than small classified ads which your firm may put for a single position. Greater the number of applicants, better the chance of recruiting someone more suitable for the post.

Application of effective recruitment procedures - A professional **[agencies recruitment](https://www.recruiter.com/recruitment-agencies/)** will guide their client organisation on proper recruitment procedures as well. In addition to handling interview process, they will issue template appointment letters, probation guidelines and employment contracts to the client agency, to ensure effective appointments of those selected by the agency.