5 Tips: Getting the best out of your Specialist Recruitment Agency....
Having just very quickly secured 3 new Supply Chain Professional placements for one of our fast-growing SME clients, we asked Craig Gallagher, Senior Recruiter at Beaumont Select, to discuss what makes a successful recruitment campaign. Craig, like all our consultants, has many years’ specialist experience in Procurement and Supply Chain Recruitment and is well qualified to highlight the ‘essentials’ and ‘pitfalls’ of a new campaign for a new client. Here are Craig’s thoughts:
“Speaking to the Hiring Manager and a Comprehensive Brief is critical to a successful campaign”
In this campaign we had the opportunity to take a comprehensive brief from the client. Specific challenges were relatively remote physical locations, specific APAC sourcing experience and competitive, although not exceptional, salary rates being offered. They were looking to fill three roles in various locations: Supply Chain Manager, and two Shipping & Logistics Coordinators.
In this campaign we had the opportunity to take a comprehensive brief from the client. Specific challenges were relatively remote physical locations, specific APAC sourcing experience and competitive, although not exceptional, salary rates being offered. They were looking to fill three roles in various locations: Supply Chain Manager, and two Shipping & Logistics Coordinators.
Time spent communicating with the client, defining the brief and utilising our market expertise, delivered a very ‘tight’ brief, that allowed us to make defined searches and produce comprehensive and targeted advertising.
ISO9001 Quality certified processes integral to our business model, through which concise and targeted advertising was created and checked by our administration team, prior to posting on specialist and generalist boards, as well as our own website and LinkedIn. We undertook targeted searches on our own database of circa 25,000 procurement and supply chain professionals, based on the comprehensive brief.
Intelligent Headhunting, Effective Networking, Targeted Advertising
Through intelligent headhunting, effective networking and targeted advertising, a shortlist of suitable candidates was compiled, and the standout candidates were submitted to the client.
“Due to detailed dialogue between myself and the client in the initial stages, helped me to build up a person profile and select and present an accurate shortlist to the client. The client responded promptly to candidate profiles submitted, with full feedback and effective communication maintained throughout the recruitment process, which was helped by the client’s willingness and ability to quickly interview through a two-stage interview process.”
All interviews were undertaken remotely through Teams, with senior managers/directors and line managers in attendance, further minimizing the risk of losing talented candidates due to time delays and overcomplicated interview process.”
Success, all roles fulfilled!
Three talented candidates found, comprehensively interviewed, negotiated and started work in just a few weeks of accepting their offers.
Top Tips for a successful campaign?
Craig’s and the Beaumont Team’s top 5 tips for client’s looking to secure the very best procurement and supply chain talent:
NO.1: Clear and Comprehensive Brief
“A clear and detailed brief, so the consultant fully understands the unique requirements of the job, the candidate and any specific issues. A clear brief early in the process results in better searches, better candidates and ultimately a better hire”
15 minutes with the Hiring Manager early in the process can save days, weeks or even months in the recruitment process.
No.2: Quick and Efficient Response and Process
“Whether providing feedback on candidate submissions or interview process timelines, quick response, fast and efficient recruitment and on-boarding process, will significantly increase opportunity to secure the talent you need”
Great candidates with very specific skills sets are likely to have plenty of options, so you need candidate facing processes that are efficient and provide timely feedback that gives prospective employees confidence in your organisation and brand.
No.3: Select your Recruitment Agency Partner Carefully!
“Ensure that your chosen recruitment partner has the experience, network, market knowledge and process to reach and present you he very best of talent in the market”
Verify potential recruitment partners by asking them to submit suitable candidates to your overall brief. A recruiter that has the knowledge, network, processes and commitment to secure you superb candidates, will be delighted to demonstrate this.
No.4: Use your Recruitment Partner’s Market Knowledge
“A good specialist agency will understand the market, rates and anomalies. As a client try to be clear about your recruitment objectives, set a clear brief but try not to be too rigid and communicate to your agency throughout the recruitment process”
An experienced recruiter can help you with strategy to help you attract and secure the talent required and help re-adjust to market changes. Good communication, good feedback and some level flexibility will ensure a successful campaign.
No.5: Remote Interviewing is now the norm; your recruitment processes should be quick and slick!
The pandemic and the move to remote interviewing, through Teams, Zoom or similar has undoubtedly reduced recruitment interview timelines. Almost all interviews we have organised in the last 18 months have been undertaken through video conferencing platforms and we believe this will remain the norm.
Securing the best talent is dependent on many factors, but a fast and efficient recruitment process will assist in talent assessment, candidate attraction and overall success rates.
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Source: Beaumont Select Bulletin, 22/07/21
Beaumont Select have 20 years’ experience in matching talented procurement and supply chain professionals, with the needs of major name and SME clients, in Europe and UK.
To speak to Craig or any of our Procurement and Supply Chain experience team, please contact us on:
T: +44 (0)1403 248 448
E: info@beselect.co.uk