“Time-to-fill” is a TERRIBLE KPI when selecting a recruitment agency - here’s a better way to select a long-term partner when hiring"
Recently we have been working for an insurance client that wasn’t able to fill a director-level position for nearly nine months. We filled it in 14 days…
• Now, in our books, this time to fill was only 14 days. But for the client, the time to fill was a frustrating nine months and two weeks.
OMNI was probably the sixth, seventh, or eighth (!) agency to work on this and the majority of the regular PSL agencies had already given up on this role as all the usual sources have been covered (Companies like to hire from competitors, so agencies would look at those types of CVs first and foremost).
What we found out is that the type of candidates sent to this client and the type of work/problem the line manager was looking to solve needed a skill not commonly available in insurance, the role was more complex than the average director role, and the level of communication needed for this position was far, far greater than the insurance professionals 'who were willing change jobs' were able to do.
• the niche is like looking for a technical director that is a public speaker and KOL – there are only a few of them in each industry.
Because of that, we ended up looking at investment banks. We believed that people in investment banks at a global level had the type of communication and knowledge required that would allow them to stand their ground against stakeholders.
• We pitched this idea to the HRBP, and they literally said, "Okay, go ahead. We've been looking for nine months anyway."
We found four Directors at ibanks that had strong communication skills and technical capabilities. Pitched them the idea of pivoting to insurance (benefits and downsides) and all four said yes. Three of them were interviewed. Of which two went to finals. The best fit Director got offered and accepted.
Key Takeaway:
• Don’t use “time to fill” to select or assess your best agencies
• The metric itself misses key dynamics of the market and complexity in the search
• It’s definitely great to track internal TA processes and bottlenecks. but take the one our industry advertises with a grain of salt
