The software industry has a longstanding tradition of pitting two or more products directly against each other to see which one wins. It can be a very exciting event. When I led sales for a legal practice management solution, we would go up against other solutions at national and regional shows so law firms could narrow down their selection to 2 or 3 finalists who would then come in and compete for the firm’s business specific to the firm’s needs.

On the surface most will say selecting a software solution is completely different that selecting a recruitment firm. I disagree. Ok yes, it is different because I know of many organizations who say they have 10-20 recruitment firms “working” for them at any given time. But the fundamental impact of a recruitment firm is similar, or should be similar, to that of a software solution. Think about it. Your recruitment partner(s) should make a critical impact to your firm’s success. They should bring you talent that will add value now and in the future. As Jim Collins stated in Good to Great,

“People are not your most important asset. The right people are.”

Your chosen recruitment partner(s) can truly make an impact – good or bad – on your organization’s culture, reputation, performance, and overall success.

The question then becomes

“How do I assess the different recruiting solutions out there, and what should be important for our organization?”

Let me suggest…

Have A Shootout!

A shootout can be held electronically or in-person. I suggest having some “live” portion of the process where key stakeholder in your organization’s recruitment process can engage with the recruitment firms. This could be individual hour-long sessions for each firm for them to present directly with your team. If you intend to ask a large volume of firms to compete, may you have an electronic submission followed by live presentations after you select the “top 3.” Of course, if your desire is to build the amount of recruitment firms and not really try to assess the value or how they’ll perform, forget the live portion. I have a strong argument against adding a volume of firms, because it does not equate to added value, added coverage, or increased qualified candidates. It can hurt your candidate flow and your organization’s reputation. But that is something I can address at another time.

If you really want to make it exciting, you could have a live side-by-side shootout all at once, like software companies used to do. Think about the dynamics of that competition. Let’s say 3 recruitment firms are invited. You ask each question and let each firm answer while the others are in the room and listening. You allot a designated about of time for each question and hold the line on the format. You really can get a feel for the firm you’re working with in this environment. While this format is exciting, I’ll admit this may prove difficult logistically unless they are all local to you, or you hold it at a national show all will be attending. A live shootout by zoom may work, but the distractions would be difficult to avoid and could turn into a very frustrating event for all.

Another reason to have a shootout, or even just to ask the questions, is for you to break out of your mindset and see what else is going on in the recruitment industry and with other organizations like yourself. You can get a lot of business intel from a presentation. Also, it’s too easy to get locked into the “this is how we do it” mentality. I’ve experienced a lot of firms lately who say “Here is our search agreement. If you sign it, then you can work on the positions we have posted online that indicate it is open to search firms.” I’m sure you can guess my answer. Let me recap the situation, no relationship, no communication with any hiring managers to qualify the role, dictated terms, and I’ve seen growth in a non-solicitation clause starting when we sign the agreement, and not when you make your first placement. My answer to this arrangement is now a polite no thank you. The activity of asking firms a set of questions where you will learn about them, their process, their expertise, and what some new trends are in the industry builds you a window for learning and even helping you improve your internal process.

Here are 6 Ways to Assess Your Recruitment Partners in a Side-By-Side Shootout

1. What is the firm’s experience in Recruitment and your Industry?

While you want to make each section as objective as possible, every firm will be different. Five years’ experience in recruiting for one firm or person will be different than another’s five years of experience. Some suggested areas to probe under this question include:

What types of recruitment solutions have they delivered? (Temporary, Full-time “perm,” Consulting, Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO))
What is their primary focus today, and why?
What’s their experience in your specific industry?

What’s important in this section is that you get a feel for who they are. You can assess their professionalism, experience, and how they articulate what set’s them apart. My position is that it is more important to know how to recruit and have solid examples behind your story than years of experience or industry specialization. If I’m recruiting an attorney, is it important for me to be an attorney, or to be able to aggressively reach out and connect with an attorney in a way that represents my clients in very professional manner?

2. What is their recruitment methodology?

This is a straightforward question, but most recruitment firm answers may look very similar at a high level. Don’t let them fool you into tagging this section as being a “tie” in the shootout. You’ll want to probe to dig deeper into how they find and engage candidates, and what they believe sets them apart. A few questions that may help include:

How do you find candidates?
What tools, websites, databases do you utilize?
How do you connect and engage with prospective candidates?
What makes you different than everyone else with your methodology and quality?

My position on this section is that you want to know as much about the details as they’ll share. If someone uses the term “headhunt” ask them to define/describe what that means. This is a personal sensitivity for me because that term is thrown all around. To some it has negative implications, and others it just means a recruiter. To me, the term headhunt is a term that describes a very specific method of recruiting that is difficult and unique. I’m happy to share my understanding of that term with you anytime, just ask!

3. How does the firm present a candidate?

With this section, you’ll want the firm to tell you how they know the candidate is qualified enough to be presented to you, and then what you can expect to see when they are ready to present. Maybe ask for their definition of a candidate. Do they send a resume/CV via email? Will it include anything else?

You may want to also ask what their expectations are for the time it will take and how many candidates they will get to you. If a firm expects to get candidates quickly, I’d offer that they may be focused on frontloading their search to find resumes that match your job description and not necessarily finding truly qualified candidates. If you want resume flow, that may be fine. If you want qualified candidates, however, you’ll want a more comprehensive answer on this one.

4. What is the firm’s replacement guarantee?

We’ve seen everything from 60 days to a prorated 6 months. Many times, client organizations will mandate guarantee terms. I suggest not to lead the witness, so to speak. Ask your potential partners a general question so you can see how they answer. Don’t ask “will you agree to a 6-month guarantee?” You can always mandate that later. This is a critical consideration because when a new hire leaves you after just a few months, the disruption to your business is massive and expensive. What you’re looking for in their answer is the confidence in the quality of their search and the candidates they present. A 90-day prorated guarantee reveals a lot compared to a one-year free replacement guarantee.

5. What is the firm’s fee structure and amount?

This is another question where it’s important not to lead the witness. Don’t ask “will you agree to a XX% fee.” Just ask the general question and allow them to answer. If a recruiter is competing on price, it’s often because they have little else to offer, and making cost a factor is a false economy. A bad hire can cost you a lot. The figure can be 3-3.5 times the person’s salary in terms of lost business, workplace disruption, wasted salary and the expense of repeating the recruitment campaign. Experienced, skilful recruiters who have a track-record of placing candidates that stay in the role may cost more upfront, but they save you considerably more in the long-run.

6. What else can the firm do or provide that will benefit your organization?

Another open-ended question for the recruitment firm to answer, but what are your looking for? One thing I’d look for is the quality of the answer. Any firm that adds a lot of “fluff” probably doesn’t have much else to offer. That’s ok (to me), just don’t waste my time or insult my intelligence with fluff. On the other hand, you may get answers would have never known and may be a value to your organization.

Of course, you don’t have to have a formal structured shootout all at one time to assess your recruitment partners. You can apply these questions to the firms you’re currently working with and the firms who are knocking on your door. If you can’t find the answers easily through their performance to-date, ask them. With new firms you can send the questions and ask them to present.

Let Me Jump-Start Your Shootout Process!

If you’re looking to add a recruitment partner, considering whether your existing firm is the best choice, or just interested in why I would write this article, let’s connect for a quick introduction and after our call, I’ll follow-up with my Shootout Answers for CGAVERY’s On-Target Recruitment Solution.

You can schedule an introduction call with me here: SCEDULE A CALL.

I believe modern-day recruitment should not be about speed and low fees, but about accuracy of placement. In the long run nothing is more beneficial to your organization than getting the right employee, first time around.

At a high level, what you’ll get from CGAVERY’s On-Target Recruitment Solution are recruiters that…

Have deep and broad experience in recruiting and how to deliver right-fit candidates for their clients. We have industry experience and know how to identify, connect to, and engage with candidates at all levels.
Have a tight recruitment methodology with true ethical headhunting at its core with results in us engaging candidates who are not actively looking for opportunities and would never hear about your opportunity otherwise.
Present candidates with comprehensive candidate profiles based on detailed assessments.
A “Free Replacement” guarantee up to one-year.
A fee that represents, not the cheapest recruitment service, but the highest quality recruitment service that saves money long-term.
Add additional value to our clients that we can explain when we meet!

If you’re interested in finding an executive search firm that ticks all of these boxes, please SCHEDULE A NO-OBLIGATION CHAT about how we can save you time and money on your next recruitment campaign.

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Looking for a Recruitment Solution? Have a Shootout!