Every recruitment agency is only as good as the talent on its books. So making sure you attract the right talent should be a top priority, especially if you’re trying to build your reputation. Here are a few pointers to help make it easier. 

For years now, the annual Global Recruitment Insights and Data (GRID) survey has highlighted that candidate acquisition is a top priority for many recruitment agencies, alongside the perennial skills shortage. And even with the changes brought about by the COVID pandemic that remains the case – especially for anyone working in niche sectors.

So how can you make sure you attract the right people onto your books? Are there any shortcuts? What’s the best strategy to take?

Here are 5 key things you can do to make attracting talent easier:

Follow the data

The recruitment process itself is crucial, and needs to work smoothly and efficiently. These days, you should have data on every stage of that process. So use the metrics you have available – including application completion rate, qualified candidate rate, cost of hire, time to hire and candidate response rate – to see what’s working well and what can be improved for your recruiting strategies.

Use niche job boards

The saying ‘You have to fish where the fish are’ is all too true in recruitment. If you’re looking for someone with particular skills or experience, you need to go to the right place to find them. So rather than cast the net wide, use niche job boards. You’ll get fewer but better quality qualified candidates, with the skills you’re looking for.

Make sure your posts are accurate

If you’re an in-demand candidate who can pick and choose, you’re not going to go with a recruitment company that looks unprofessional and doesn’t provide a good candidate experience. So make sure your job ads are proof-read, double-checked and accurate to make the right impression and encourage applicants to apply.

Get the interview right

At the interview stage, make sure you put in the extra effort. Anyone who’s in demand will be looking at several options, so you’ll need to sell them the role to make sure they put yours at the top of their list. It’s amazing how many recruiters fall down at this stage and candidates don’t take a job offer.

Make the process quicker

Remember, if a candidate’s ideal for you, they’ll probably be ideal for others too – so don’t take too long to make your decision and keep in touch throughout. If you don’t, they’re likely to lose interest in your agency, move on to someone else or get a job in the meantime. There are many paid and free tools out there that can help you maximise candidate engagement and improve your communication throughout the recruitment process.

While some of the above might seem obvious, it is all too easy to overlook key things when you’re moving quickly under pressure. That’s why it’s often useful to get back to basics – and if it helps you get the right people on-board, so much the better!

At Back Office, we’re here to support recruitment agencies in any way we can, mainly through invoice finance, payroll funding and taking acre of admin. To find out more, just talk to one of our team on 01260 280 290 or send us an email.