If you have already engaged a recruiter partner to support you with those difficult-to-hire positions, then you could be off to a great start. If you have taken the time to select the right partner and done your due diligence, they will have experience hiring in your sector, a strong network built from similar successful searches, and various strategies and techniques to headhunt the right people for your organisation. But how do you ensure they prioritise your search assignment over the other organisations they also represent? What can you do to help increase the likelihood of a successful hire?

These questions of even more prevalent when you are under time pressure to have this hire in place, to coincide with wider business objectives or to take pressure off other members of the team. Bearing that in mind, here are a few ways to get the most out of your recruitment partnership.

Effective Communication – This sounds straightforward but ensuring clear and concise 2-way communication throughout the hiring process will help to strengthen the relationship between yourself and your recruitment partner. Regular communication is key to ensuring any possible problems or challenges are discussed and overcome swiftly before they delay the hiring process. This is even more vital when hiring in a candidate short market where your competition is looking to hire similar people and moving quickly.

Full job briefing – Taking the time to provide a detailed job briefing for the position you are hiring for will not only give your partner a better understanding of the position, but it also helps them to understand the culture of the team this person will be joining and what type of personality would best fit. 

Making this job profile as detailed as possible will help the recruiter make accurate assessments when screening and interviewing candidates on your behalf. Make sure you give tangible insights to your company to help them understand what makes your business great and why someone should join your team.

Where possible it is always good to go through the briefing in person, invite your recruitment partner to your office so that they can see things first-hand for themselves. Providing a full and detailed brief instils confidence in your recruitment partner that you are invested in the process and greatly increases the chance of you receiving suitable, well-vetted applications from someone who truly understands your business.

Exclusive search assignments – Offering a period of exclusivity on a search assignment is a good way to ensure your search is given preference over others being worked by your recruitment partner on a contingent basis. This means that for an agreed period of exclusivity (typically 6 weeks for a detailed search process) you agree to fully commit to working with this partner and no other. This option gives you the benefit of knowing your search is being given the time it requires and your search partner the confidence that you are invested in working with them to achieve a successful hire.

And let’s face it, you have a day job to do as well as hiring, so only communicating with one recruiter, saves you time. Working exclusively means your partner has dedicated time to carry out a detailed interview and screening process as well as providing you with useful feedback on each candidate’s application and suitability, meaning you don’t receive duplicated or poorly matched CVs.

Retained search assignments – Similarly, agreeing to partner with your recruiter on a retained search basis also means your hire will be prioritised over other contingent searches and hugely increases the accountability to deliver a successful search. In this instance, you agree to some financial commitment upon commencement of the search with the residual being invoiced when a successful candidate has been hired. Working in this way offers all the benefits of an exclusive assignment as well as weekly update calls with your recruitment partner and a clearly communicated and agreed timeline of key milestones throughout the search and selection process.

Delve Search has over 30 years’ experience in sourcing talent for the life science, engineering & semiconductor communities worldwide. Get in touch with our team to see how we can support you with your next hire.

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