What to do if you aren't happy with your recruitment partner.
Great recruitment is so much more than just a transaction.
A quality recruiter will embed themselves in your organisation and support you in the long-term with workforce planning and development, as well as both immediate and long-range hiring needs.
The expertise of an experienced recruiter can add significant value to your recruitment process and to your organisation overall. But what happens if you’re not seeing the results you hoped for?
Prevention is key
Prevention is the key to avoiding a recruitment dilemma. Here are a few things both recruiters and hiring managers can do up front to prevent problems from occurring.
Communicate openly
From the initial briefing through to the onboarding stage, communication between the recruitment partner and hiring manager should be open, honest and timely.
Make sure you set expectations around timelines, objectives and any challenges from the beginning of your partnership.
A good recruitment partner will provide you with an update on your project every 2 to 3 days. These checkpoints are an opportunity for you to ask questions and share feedback if you’re not happy.
Expect questions
When you partner with a recruiter, you need to be ready to answer questions about your organisation and the talent you need.
Expect a quality recruitment partner to ask a lot of questions that look beyond the vacant role to understand more about your employer brand, including the employee experience you offer and what values drive your team.
We’d even go as far as suggesting you shouldn’t work with a recruiter who doesn’t ask a lot of questions. They may be making dangerous assumptions instead.
Think partner, not supplier
Good recruitment is a collaborative process. Both the recruiter and the hiring manager have a role to play in ensuring a successful outcome.
Like any partnership, the more you put in, the more you get back. This means that you need to treat your recruitment partner like a partner and be willing to work collaboratively with them.
By working with your recruitment partner, you can be a part of the hiring process from start to finish with plenty of opportunities to guide your experience and influence the results you achieve.
Tell it like it is
A good recruiter wants your feedback. We promise!
Research suggests customers don’t speak up when they are unhappy with a service out of fear of ruining the relationship. But giving honest feedback means your recruiter isn’t navigating blindly and can make improvements in real time. If anything, this will enhance your relationship.
A good recruiter isn’t just looking to get it right. We want to knock it out of the park, so never be afraid to share your feedback along the way.
Ask about the process
When recruiting, there really is no such thing as a dumb question.
If you’re not sure about something, ask your recruitment partner. A good recruiter will have an effective talent acquisition strategy and should be able to talk you through the process they’ll follow in great detail.
This can provide you with better clarity on what it takes to attract and retain great talent, as well as reassuring you that the process is running smoothly.
It’s time to speak up
So you’ve done what it takes to prevent a problem from occurring. Now it’s time to speak up.
Throughout any hiring process, there are many checkpoints and opportunities for intervention. If you’re not happy, use your voice, and give honest feedback whenever you can.
If you feel more comfortable, you could give your recruiter a heads-up via email before delivering the feedback over the phone or face-to-face.
Remember, feedback is fuel. A good recruiter is not afraid of your comments. They will use feedback as fuel to drive future performance.
Wondering what to expect from a recruitment partnership?
If you want to learn more about what you can expect when engaging a professional recruitment partner, check out more content on the Heart Talent blog.