BIG doesn't always mean better...

Just because they're big and they can talk the talk, it doesn't necessarily mean that they can walk the walk.

What I mean is this:

A lot of the time, companies will choose to partner with large and more global recruitment companies that have hundreds of consultants as they feel that a bigger company will have: more exposure, more resources, and more relevant sourcing skills.

In many cases, this could be the case, but broken down....is this really true?

When you break it down, and really assess what your needs are, then you can put it into perspective. You might have a niche requirement within your team and feel that a large company must be able to reach out to relevant candidates quickly. When you think about it....

How many 'specialised' consultants do they have in that very niche field?...Perhaps one...maybe two. So are they really as 'big' as you initially thought?

How many other vacancies are they recruiting for at the moment?...I can tell to you. Probably hundreds... So do they really have the time to put all of their efforts into your vacancy? Is yours really a priority?

Can they be flexible? If you wish to work a different way, are there too many management hoops to jump through?

Will you receive calls from several different consultants regarding the same positions? Or now that you're working with them, will other areas of their business try to reach out to you constantly? You might not always get 'One Point of Contact' which can sometimes be frustrating.

Now as a small recruitment agency owner myself, I can assure you that at certain times, you will see a much bigger benefit using larger companies. Small recruitment agencies often cannot handle receiving large requirements i.e. filling a 20 person project in a short time-space etc. But where we may have the advantage is:

Specialisation - a smaller company is more likely to take a niche specialisation. They are therefore likely to know their industry/market inside out and can therefore react quickly to source you relevant candidates

Flexibility - smaller companies are more likely to be able to flex their services and adapt for your specific requirements. There is less likely to be the chance of 'hoops to jump through' or internal company politics ... or whatever you want to call it?

POC - it's more likely that in a small company, it is easy to keep internal communication efficient. Therefore, you can avoid receiving tens of calls from random consultants and can keep that ' One point of contact' for all of your recruitment needs. In a smaller company, you are also more likely to be speaking to someone of a more senior level, you can therefore know whom you need to reach out to if things need escalating.

Now, I'm in no way trying to make sweeping generalisations. Of course, every company is different and I know of some great larger recruitment companies that have excellent specialisation, flexibility and internal communication (if you need a large company, I'm happy to refer you to them). I also know of some smaller companies that are terrible in the areas above. These are just some questions that you could ask yourself when choosing recruitment partners - or areas that you can speak to the consultants about to gauge whether they are the right partner for you.

Hope that this helps some companies when assessing their recruitment strategy.

For a discussion around this subject, feel free to get in touch.

alexander@al2s3.com