You'll be surprised to hear me say that using a recruitment agency should be your last resort. I've had a long career in sales and management and in this time I've managed the P&L of several companies. I've learnt that when it comes to growing the staff potential of your business there are three key stages before you should even think of using a recruiter, writes Clive Jefferys, Managing Director of telco recruiter JMA Network.
Firstly, you must develop your company brand so that it attracts attention from direct applicants - be that by job advertising or welcoming approaches from your competitor's staff.
Secondly, you should fully exploit the network of contacts that your current people bring to the company by using, for example, incentive schemes for referring a friend. Asking for help in this way often leads to potential hires.
Finally, you must keep your own contacts on-side - people you've worked with before will often know someone that will suit your vacancy.
It is only when you have exhausted all these avenues that you should engage with a recruiter.
There are many reasons as to why recruitment agencies produce the 'magic candidate' even when the task seems impossible.
Your principle motivation should be to gain access to their private network of potential hires.
In the last 20 years the whole field of recruitment has been made incredibly complex by a proliferation of solutions.
That's why clients and candidates should be listening to our advice to create the perfect match.
In this day and age, most recruiters operate below the line, under the tip of the iceberg, as the candidates seen on jobsites are an absolute minority of who's really looking for a new job.
As a specialist recruiter, we have been building contacts for years with the industry. We make it our business to try to know everyone!
What you really pay for is our ability to know exactly who to have a quiet word with about your job.
Niche recruitment exists within a world where everyone has an opinion about everybody, so it's our job to dispel myths, highlight opportunities and give our recommendations.