Third-party recruiting companies can vary wildly. If your company is looking at partnering with an external firm, it’s important to do your homework. Though they all may work toward the same end goal – hiring great talent – the quality and style of their services can vary dramatically. It’s important to consider the unique needs of your business and what you want out of a talent acquisition service. Every company will tell you that they’re the team for the job…but we all know that’s not the truth. Let’s take a look at some key differences.
The Different Pricing Models of Third-Party Recruiting Companies
There are a variety of different pricing models in the world of third-party recruiting companies. The most common are contingent and retained. Contingent is great if you’re looking to hire at a high-volume or if quality isn’t a primary concern.
- Contingent firms will be most profitable when making a lot of hires fast. Since they're paid on commission, they may even lose money if they take too long. As a result, this model emphasizes speed and quantity over quality.
- Retained search firms are more effective in delivering quality hires. Unfortunately, this model is also typically associated with high upfront costs. You have to pay a start-up fee despite there being no guarantees of a hire or quality submittals. If the partnership isn’t working out, you may have no way to recoup those losses.
- Hourly firms are becoming more popular with third-party recruiting companies as well. We’ve actually used an hourly pricing model for 20 years now. There’s no start-up fees or minimums, meaning you can use our services for as little or as long as you like. If you’re not finding our recruiting solutions valuable, you can stop at any time. Furthermore, without commissions, our recruiters are able to focus entirely on finding quality hires rather than rushing the process.
In sum, make sure the pricing model is going to support your unique objectives for talent acquisition. Every model has its pros and cons. Make sure a third-party recruiting company's model fits what you’re looking for.
The Different Selection Tools of Third-Party Recruiting Companies
For decades, recruiting firms have relied on resumes and “gut feel” to select the right candidates for open positions. Unfortunately, these methods are notoriously unreliable for predicting success. Factors such as education and prior experience are actually very flimsy predictors. These factors often mislead us into thinking the wrong person is the right fit. When you’re looking into third-party recruiting companies, consider their processes for vetting candidates. How do they structure the interview process? Do they leverage any unique tools for candidate selection? People analytics are becoming increasingly valuable for companies seeking to make the right hires for the right reasons. By using validated analytics platforms, companies can select candidates who will mesh with their specific teams – not just the person with the “best” resume. In short, take a critical look at how third-party recruiting firms select candidates for submittal. Are they leveraging any validated selection methods, or just relying on gut feel?
The Different Sourcing Tools of Third-Party Recruiting Companies
Back in the day, companies hired recruiting firms because they had a broad network of contacts. Essentially, you were paying someone for their big Rolodex. With LinkedIn, job boards, and other online resources, we all have access to a lot more candidates. Why pay a recruiting firm for their network when you can find the same candidates yourself on LinkedIn? You shouldn’t just be paying a recruiter firm for their time – you should be paying them for their ability to do the job better than yourself. And with an ultra-competitive talent market, it’s essential that we find larger talent pools to recruit from. Ask any third-party recruiting company how they source candidates – and if they source candidates that others can’t reach. Here at Qualigence, we leverage the largest in-house recruitment research team in the United States to uncover talent. It allows us to find more candidates for your reqs, and connect with candidates others are missing. If a firm doesn’t offer a unique competitive advantage in this area, they might not be the best choice.
Find the Talent Partner That’s Right for You
We’d love to tell you that we’re the right third-party recruiting company for your company. And we might be! But the truth is that every company has different needs when it comes to talent acquisition. Regardless of your industry, company size, or unique culture, you need to find that the recruiting firm that’s right for YOUR business. If you're interested in learning more about the customer journey when working with a recruiting firm, check out this video!
