RECESSION ?

STAFFING THE CONSTRUCTION AND ENGINEERING INDUSTRY IN TURBULENT TIMES
by Dave Thompson Managing Director of Specialist Recruitment Consultants Huntsman Associates

When many experts are banding around the “Recession” word there has never been a more important time to make sure that your recruitment needs are met efficiently and more importantly cost effectively.

How developing a strong relationship with a Specialist Recruitment Consultant will help fill your vacancies and free your time.

One of the most critical decisions all organisations face is finding the right calibre staff. Whether your recruitment is driven through expansion or through an employee leaving, the impact of a bad placement is time-consuming and costly. A wrong decision can cost your organisation up to twice the annual salary for that employee, according to research.

A company facing a recruitment situation must plan effectively to ensure minimum disruption. One of the options open to them is using a recruitment agency. Most companies will have used an agency at some point or other and most will have some tale to tell. However, one must never underestimate the benefit of using a “Specialist Agency”, especially if you know how to get the best out of them.


The benefits of using a Specialist Recruitment Company

The first thing to point out is that recruitment consultancies give immediate access to a larger number of potential candidates. This information will give you an idea of the type of candidates available and their salary expectations, allowing you to benchmark against market forces.
Agencies can advertise on your behalf – either through local or national press or online – and administer the response, leading to great time-savings. If the position you are recruiting for warrants a press advertisement, an agency will usually be able to secure a prominent space at great cost saving.

Local agencies have good local market knowledge – you may only make one hire a year but they do this every day of their lives and understand what candidates are looking for in a new role and the typical type of package/benefits available to them. You don’t want to miss out on the best candidates because you are not offering remuneration in line with others.


How to control the process.

The recruitment process can in some cases take anything up to three months and it is important that during this time, potential candidates are kept informed so that they don’t lose interest or indeed take another job. It is in the recruitment consultant’s interest to keep in touch with you and it is in your interest to keep both the consultant and the candidates informed.
Industry specific recruitment firms operate in your specialist field and you should use this experience. If your expectations are not realistic, a good consultant should be able to direct you or offer you alternative solutions.


They should also be able to identify good candidates beyond the CV. The best candidates don’t always have the best CV’s and vice versa. A shortlist for interview should never be decided based purely on a CV. A good recruitment consultant will interview all candidates and assess not only technical ability, but also drive, enthusiasm and ambition – the traits that really get someone the job. In most cases additional technical ability can be taught, personality can’t.

Most specialist recruitment agencies charge between 15 to 25 per cent of the starting salary as a fee. It may sound a lot, but for your money you get access to specialist candidates (some of whom may not respond to direct adverts so would not be accessible) and a rebate period (usually up to three months on a sliding scale). Remember, you are paying a fee for the agencies ability to find you the right candidate, it may have taken months even years of hard work for the consultant/agency to have the right CV on their database. CV’s don’t just appear they are sourced, advertised for, referred or hunted down over time. The best candidates may well be happily employed by the competition and not in the market, with this in mind you may wish to enlist the services of a Specialist Regional Headhunter (Check out next months article).


Why you should choose an agency carefully

A reputable agency should be keen to come to meet with you to take a full briefing on the position and get a feel for your organisation. Take this opportunity to ask them what they know about your company, what other companies they have recently recruited for and at what level they specialise. You can perceive a lot by the questions the consultant asks. They should be interested in the company as a whole, what your background is and the team environment. They should also be asking about the career progression opportunities for the successful individual. Use this meeting to review who your using to represent your company – a good agency will mirror your style, professionalism and company ethos when selling your vacancy to prospective candidates.


They should be specialists in their field.

General ‘high street’ recruitment agencies may have lower fees but if the position is business critical (don’t forget your reputation may be judged on this new employee), it may be a false economy. Typically, these agencies don’t have access to the best candidates and few of their candidates are registered exclusively with them. Specialist agencies make a point of pro-actively searching for candidates with sought after skills by networking in the industry and establishing key contacts.


How to get the best service

If you want to get the best service from your agency, agree to work with them exclusively for a specified period of time... it could be as little as 48 hours exclusivity per vacancy but make sure you stick to it. Agencies easily find out if you have assigned their competitors too. By agreeing exclusivity, the consultant will be able to take time to select the best candidates for you, without having to worry about competing against another agency to get them across to you first. Also, you can be sure that your position will be given special attention as the consultant will know that you are relying on them. For permanent positions an exclusive period of one week is reasonable or until the first round of CV’s have been delivered.

Some questions to ask
• What makes your company a specialist in its field?
• Can you supply references for your company?
• How do you source your candidates?
• Have you met with every candidate your putting forward?
• If required can every candidate be specifically re-interviewed against the criteria for this role?
• Who will be working on sourcing for this role and what is their background?

You will have I am sure experienced speaking to one consultant one week only to find your speaking to someone else next week – it sounds obvious but when choosing your recruiter try to find a consultant/company who are experienced and can prove it.
It’s also a good idea to plan the recruitment process together and in advance. This could include setting dates for first and second interviews at the outset, along with other details such as the names of everyone who will be involved, as well as how many candidates you want to consider at each stage, whether any testing will be involved and so on. The best way to do this is to work out when you want the person on board and work backwards, taking into account the likelihood of the successful candidate having to work a notice period.

You should also ask the consultant to talk you through every candidate, giving reasons why they have been selected and shortlisted for you. These reasons should include softer skills and career aspirations.

The aim of all recruitment consultants is to achieve accepted job offers. Remember, without achieving this, no payment is made/no job is filled so it is to everyone’s advantage that you work together. By selecting the appropriate agencies and by establishing expectations in advance, you should be able to maintain a productive and mutually beneficial relationship.


If you have any questions on the recruitment process from a Specialists point of view or you wish to request a future article topic please contact Dave Thompson direct on 0870 2403910/01670 789949 or email dave@huntsmanassociates.co.uk


Profile: Dave Thompson has over 9 years construction recruitment experience in the North East of England. A former Regional Chairman of the REC (Recruitment & Employment Confederation) for 3 years, Dave is one of the most experienced recruiters in the region combining traditional recruitment with headhunting he has achieved an enviable reputation for producing results.