5 things agencies should focus on while talking to the clients

5 THINGS AGENCIES SHOULD FOCUS ON WHILE TALKING TO THE CLIENTS

The emergence of recruitment business has given an ever increasing need to establish a relationship between a recruitment agency and its clients. Carrying a trusted relationship is always a key for a recruitment agency to grow in this industry. But before taking any project, it is crucial for agencies to carry out a detailed meeting with the prospective clients and understand their requirements.

We recommend agencies to read it just before stepping into the meeting.

1. Understand the client first The first step of any recruitment process is to understand the client – industry, business and even their target market helps in understanding the type of roles the company can have. Ask for the employee size and locations of offices.

Most importantly, do not forget to ask – why the candidates should join the company and what makes current employees attracted enough to stay. This will help the agencies to sell the opportunity better to the candidates.

2. Understand the timelines Before starting on any recruitment process, try to understand the urgency of the new positions to fill. For how long the position has been open and expected time to fill it. Do not hesitate to ask how fast company can schedule interviews, timeline for further rounds and when can they give the joining. If company has multiple positions, better to understand if other agencies are associated as well, how many positions already filled, lined up for interview etc.

Framework for a good business opportunity has just started.

3. Understand the Job Requirements When you have planned to start on this project already; it’s time to understand the client requirements for the job at hand. What are the technical skills and/or soft skills they are looking in the candidate. Any specific domain knowledge or ‘must have’ qualities in the candidates they are looking for. If the job is permanent, what salary they

are offering, and if it is contract based, what are their rates. Most importantly ask the client if they are willing to increase their compensation if the candidate is most suitable.

4. Understand their process Time to understand the recruitment process the client would be following. Make a note of the point-of-contact (POC) from the company. How many interview rounds they are going to have and the type of process they follow (assessment test, telephonic, skype, face to face etc.). Is it going to be a recruitment drive of bulk hiring or fewer positions only. Most importantly, what is their turnaround time to reply feedback for a sent resume.

5. Don’t make promises you can’t keep When all set, make sure agencies are also transparent about their working. It is always good to deal with clients who fall in the target group. Agencies should reveal clearly the industry they serve, what kind of clients they have handled till now and for what locations they are expert at. Make sure to give a clear number upfront for the number of candidates agency is capable of for scheduling interviews in the given timeline. A good advice for agencies, if the project seems out of capacity for now, save time of both the companies by saying ‘May be next time’. As once done wrong the word of mouth is not going to be good. Confirm your Client’s contact info, job title, address and email.

For recruitment agencies it is recommended to implement an online applicant tracking system in their organization.

Through this tool, agencies can connect online with prospective clients at one place. When a client creates an opening, system ensures they have entered complete job requirements and provides on-time feedback for each applicant. The best part, agencies can track the movement of each candidate into various hiring stages at client’s company.