Managers - First Class on Virgin or Economy on Ryanair?

If you book a flight with a budget airline, do you really expect to get the same treatment as those who fly First Class on Virgin?

When it comes to recruitment it is exactly the same principle. If you want to pay low prices, you cannot expect the level of service to be the same as those with higher fees. On a daily basis I hear about how all recruiters are the same and they are all money grabbing with no credibility. If this is your opinion, I can take a guess that you are one of those who looks for the best price or lowest fees – hence having a bad experience. It is the same as any industry, taking aeroplane tickets as the perfect example. If you chose to pay low prices on the basis that you can get from A to B with no frills, this is exactly what you will receive (although, in recruitment you may not always get to B, but that’s for another day 😊).

If you are looking for a luxury service where you will be looked after, kept up to date and have access to priority benefits, you will pay a premium for that service. You have to remember, consultants work with candidates and offer a service to secure them a new role for free. As they are in demand in this candidate short market, we are finding more and more are signing up exclusively with agencies to stop receiving 20 calls a day. Again, this will have an impact on the fee, agencies with very low fees will most likely have fewer ‘exclusive’ candidates than ones who charge more.

Ask yourself – Do I want access to the best talent first?

Every industry has a competitor, if your competitor is paying a higher fee for their recruitment service, they will have access to their products first. Many people will see this as a negative, however, if you look at recruitment like any other industry, if you have a product to sell, would you sell it to the lowest or highest bidder? If you take the ‘recruitment’ element away, say you want to sell your house, surely you would look at the top bid first? The principle is the same. At the end of the day, it’s still a job like any other where consultants rely on placing candidates to earn a living for their families.

The agencies you work with should not be determined by the price as this is something paid on successful completion and placement of a candidate. If you use two agencies and have one low fee and one higher fee, you will be able to see the difference in level of service. It is up to the consultants to prove their worth and fill your vacancy. I can guarantee that 9/10 times the higher fee will find you stronger candidates who are best suited to the role, company and your specification as you will have access to their ‘products’ first.

Next time you need to use a recruitment agency, don’t just go with the first one you speak with. Take some time out of your day to speak with a few consultants, this will save you hours in the long run. Working with a consultant who listens, understands and consults with you is the most important thing, not the fee. And guess what, you've just found one! 

Scott Hubball

Tel - +44 (0) 1442 860 547