Outsourcing is when a company goes to an external provider to complete a job for them because they have more resources and/or specialise in the area. There are 2 main reasons an organisation may use an agency to complete the recruitment process for them;
- The company does not have an HR or internal recruitment team.
- The company is looking for someone with a very specific set of skills and experience.
Companies who do not have an HR or internal recruitment team may give the process a go before realising the amount of time that needs to put into it. Finding the right candidate isn’t always easy, especially when you chuck an ad up on Seek and have hundreds, sometimes thousands of candidates apply for the role.
Whoever gets assigned in the company to do this job, whether it be the director or a team leader, it will take them away from the tasks and duties associated with their position, costing them valuable time and money. Not to mention, it will take a lot longer to fill as that person in charge of finding someone will still need to be completing their day to day duties.
As well as this, the assigned employee may not be an expert in this area and could be required to fill a role that they don’t have much knowledge about. This is why going to a specialist recruitment agency will save you the cost of poor decision making.
Organisations who do have an internal recruitment team, or an HR Manager should not be afraid to outsource their recruitment from time to time. Looking for candidates in certain areas, who require a very specific set of skills and experience can require technical knowledge and become difficult. Approaching an agency who specialise in specific areas such as IT, will understand the jargon and have more knowledge of the position you are looking to fill.
Many of you probably think recruiters’ source their candidates the same way you do, with a job ad. Yes, initially this is true, however the database is everything to a recruitment consultant! Over time they will have built an extensive database filled with quality candidates, specialising in the role you may be looking to fill and regardless of whether these candidates have found a new role, most of them tend to be open to hearing about new opportunities!
The database is by far the strongest resource that an agency will have over an organisation. They will also have access to LinkedIn Recruiter and Seek Talent Search, giving them the ability to take on some serious headhunting!
