Low VS high cost recruitment. What is the difference?

Considering engaging with a recruitment partner to support you to make the best hire?

With more than 7,000 commercial recruitment businesses operating in Australia, there are plenty of options available.

Finding, attracting, and engaging the best available talent is critical to your team’s success - every hiring moment should be viewed as an opportunity to improve your organisation.

Partnering with a recruitment agency can be incredibly powerful for our hiring outcomes. From expert market insights to extensive reach and a supported, robust process; a professional recruitment partner can have a significant impact on your business talent outcomes.

While the services provided by one recruitment agency may seem to be the same as the next, this isn’t always the case.

Each business will approach recruitment talent acquisition strategy slightly differently, so it’s important to understand how your recruitment partner will approach your requirement and the value they can add.

You might also want to consider how they will represent your employer brand during the recruitment process.

This article is designed to help you to better understand the different types of recruitment service offerings, the benefits and features of each.

Low-cost recruitment services

Some organisations only need help with certain aspects of the recruitment process.

Whether it’s a search and shortlist service, talent mapping or reference checking - sometimes an ‘unbundled’ recruitment service offering is the way to go.

Many (but not all) recruitment agencies offer flexible, low cost services which include:

Reviewing applicant responses. The recruiter reviews the applicant responses, assesses their suitability and provides a recommended shortlist for your consideration.

Shortlisting service. The recruiter takes a brief from you and manages the advertising, search and shortlisting stages of the recruitment process. You’ll be provided with a recommended shortlist of which applicants to take to interview.

In both of the above scenarios, the hiring manager/organisation would manage the interview, feedback and offer process.

Talent mapping. This service can help you understand where and how to reach hard-to-find talent. Talent mapping is used when organisations are looking to employ the best talent in a particular industry and/or location. 

Reference checking. References are a critical evaluation tool. Using a recruitment business to conduct unbiased references checks can be a useful way to validate claims made during the interview process.

These flexible recruitment service offering provides organisations with ultimate flexibility, but as the saying goes, you get what you pay for. 

The important difference between these offerings and the traditional model is that you are paying for a distinct service/s, not a complete recruitment process.

A low cost model can work very well but it is essential to ask the recruiter the following questions:  

• What inclusions/exclusions and guarantees apply to this service? 

• What resources will be allocated to this service, ie how many people, who and what is their experience level/specialism? 
• Is there is a cap on the number of hours spent on this service? 
• What is the process for conducting the service provided? 
• For shortlisting services, how big will the candidate pool be? Make sure you’re not simply getting three CVs from candidates who apply first! 
• How will they communicate with candidates? 

• How will they manage your employer brand? 

If a respected full-service agency is offering these services, you’ll more than likely be happy with the results. 

Be aware that some businesses only offer low cost and fixed price recruitment. Unless the consultant you partner with has extensive recruitment experience and can provide reference and testimonials, be wary of this option.

Traditional, end-to-end recruitment service (360* recruitment or full cycle recruitment)

Think of this traditional offering as something akin to the concierge desk at a top notch, 5-star hotel. This is a ‘we’ll take care of everything for you’ level of service.

Recruitment should never be viewed as a transaction but rather a strategic, consultative process  - and an opportunity to transform and lift your organisation.

With this traditional style recruitment offering, you can expect your recruitment partner to:

• Conduct a detailed needs analysis
• Undertake a realistic assessment of the skills, experience, attitude required for the role
• Ask lots of questions and potentially challenge and/or manage your expectations as required
• Develop recruitment marketing content to position your role in the most compellingly and engaging way
• Recommend a process to find, attract and engage top talent
• Manage the advertising, research and engagement process
• Review and evaluate applications
• Phone screen potential candidates
• Interview suitable candidates
• Provide a comprehensive report on all shortlisted candidates
• Be prepared to discuss a ‘longlist’ of candidates with you if required
• Work with you to design an effective interview process and interview question design
• Facilitate interview scheduling and feedback
• Extend an offer to your preferred candidate 
• Manage any offer negotiations, as required
• Conduct professional reference checks for your preferred candidate
• Follow best practice candidate communication and engagement
• Promote, manage and protect your employer brand
• Keep you updated every 48 hours throughout the recruitment process
• Support you and your new employee during the first few months

As you can see, the ‘concierge’ recruitment offering really is an end to end service and a robust process.

When you work with an experienced, professional recruitment partner through this process, you’ll really feel the difference - and see the results.

Regardless of which option is right for you, remember that recruitment is a professional service. Like any consultant, your recruitment partner should help you solve a problem/s, save you time and add value.