BLOG SERIES: Recruitment Solutions

BLOG SERIES: Recruitment advice from ARU’s Employability professionals

ARU have a dedicated Employability Service who not only add value to the student experience by providing guidance on all aspects of careers, employability and job searching, we also offer expert advice to the business community.

In a series of blogs we will deliver essential assistance to anyone attempting to navigate the student or graduate recruitment landscape, build a talent pipeline, raise brand awareness, close skills gaps or upskill your workforce.

The sixth and final instalment in the series will focus on:

 RECRUITMENT SOLUTIONS

Now you know a bit more about market trends, timelines, candidate attraction/screening and creating talent pipelines, it seems natural for us to now talk about what support you can access to facilitate effective recruitment...

Recruitment Agencies

Outsourcing your recruitment to a team of specialists can be a very wise move especially if you lack the internal resources or infrastructure to dedicate the time and effort required, not only to recruit but to undertake essential employment admin, onboarding and payment of your new recruits. Here are 5 reasons why you should consider it:

1. Specialised expertise

Recruitment agencies are constantly abreast of the ever-changing job market and they understand the nuances of different industries, job roles, and candidate profiles. Whether you're hiring for entry level positions, niche specialties, technical or executive roles recruiters can offer insights and guidance to ensure you find the right fit for your team.

2. Access to top talent

It’s an agency’s day job to build and maintain extensive networks and resources to tap into when sourcing candidates. They have access to a diverse pool of talent that may not be reachable through traditional job postings. Candidates are also more likely to engage with trusted recruitment agencies over a business they’re unfamiliar with.

3. Time and resource savings

Recruiting can be a time-consuming and resource-intensive process. Partnering with a recruitment agency allows businesses to offload a considerable amount of the burden, freeing you up to focus on core business activities. Recruiters offer a fully managed service including advert creation and promotion, shortlisting CVs and arranging interviews. There are additional services dependent on the type of recruitment you opt for (see below).

4. Streamlined hiring process

Recruitment agencies are skilled at identifying and assessing candidates who are not only qualified for the role but also align with your company culture and values. By leveraging their expertise in candidate evaluation and selection, recruiters can help streamline the hiring process and identify the best-fit more efficiently whilst providing a positive experience for both parties.

5. Long-term partnerships

Building a strong relationship with a recruitment agency can yield long-term benefits for your business. Recruiters take the time to understand your company's unique needs, culture, goals and constraints allowing them to provide tailored solutions to meet your staffing requirements. They can adapt to your evolving needs, providing ongoing support and guidance to help your business grow.

Recruitment agencies tend to break their business down into two types of jobs – permanent and temporary:

PERMANENT HIRES

Recruiting candidates on a permanent contract is a long-term investment in people and business growth. It can help to achieve best cultural fit, reduce turnover and enhance the brand. However, hiring permanent staff is a huge commitment which is difficult to renounce should there be need a to, even with a ‘probation period’. Added to this the potentially lengthy notice period some permanent hires may have, it can add to the strain of recruiting.

As standard, the agencies service will take care of all recruitment stages right up until it comes to providing a contract of work and onboarding to their HR systems. Perm hires are directly employed by the business and all relevant compliance, such as right to work, checks, referencing etc, is the responsibility of that business. Recruiters charge their clients a percentage of the candidate salary in order to cover their service.

One of the major benefits of using a recruitment agency for permanent hires is the rebate period whereby a portion of the introductory fee is refunded (usually on a sliding scale) if the candidate terminates the contract within a certain amount of time (usually 12 weeks). Recruiters can also help to keep perm hires ‘warm’ during their notice period – this is a time when they could receive other offers or be counter offered by their current employer. Recruiters are the middleman so candidates feel safe being honest with them, if they are considering renouncing their job acceptance, a recruiter can talk them through it and help them to make the right decision – remember, recruiters want to fill your job as much as you do!

TEMPORARY WORKERS

Temp workers are useful for businesses seeking to recruit large volumes of staff and/or at short notice. Recruiters have access to huge numbers of candidates who are work ready meaning your positions could be filled within a matter of hours. Temp recruitment is particularly useful during peak trading times to flex up your workforce to meet demand. When demand decreases, so too can your temp staff numbers. There is no minimum or maximum commitment to temporary workers, you can terminate the placement as required even if this is before the works proposed end date.

Agencies will provide a fully managed service from vacancy promotion to processing payroll for the successful candidate/s, removing a considerable amount of admin and compliance from their client. Temp workers are essentially employed by the agency and placed into the business, they are paid by the agency and the business is invoiced for the cost of hours worked. Charges are calculated on the hourly pay rate which has National Insurance and Annual Leave added plus the recruiters admin fee. VAT is usually added at invoicing stage.

TEMP TO PERM

Businesses can significantly benefit from the flexibility of temp to perm recruitment rather than committing to a permanent appointment from the outset. It can be particularly beneficial for graduate or entry level roles because these individuals are likely to have much less previous professional experience for you to assess. Similarly, it can be especially useful to smaller businesses without the experience or infrastructure to recruit efficiently and effectively.

Recruiting and onboarding any new hire is an expensive process which requires investment and the hope that they will remain in your employment long enough to reap the rewards. Temp to perm mitigates that risk because candidates aren’t directly employed by your business until you’re sure they’re the right fit. After 14 weeks in post, you can offer the candidate a perm contract at no additional fee from the recruitment agency. During that time the agency takes care of payroll and you will be invoiced for the cost of hours. At any point if you feel the arrangement isn’t working or if something has changed, you can terminate the placement with minimal to no notice.

Additional benefits include a wider candidate pool because recruiters have access to many more applicants than one business can reach. The downside is, some candidates may overlook temp to perm roles because they are seeking more security – this could certainly be true for experienced hires but grads and entry level applicants are much more likely to engage with temp to perm work especially if the advert and recruitment process clearly cites the intention for a perm contract after successful completion of an initial temporary appointment.

Something to be aware of with any temporary workers is Agency Worker Regulations (AWR):

From Week 13 agency workers will be entitled to a number of additional equal treatment provisions in respect of pay and basic working conditions. These entitlements are pay (relating to work undertaken on assignment), duration of working time, night work, rest periods, rest breaks, annual leave and paid time off for ante natal appointments.

Recruitment agencies should make you aware when a temp worker is reaching AWR so you can prepare for the change to the pay/charge rates. Pay rates will stay the same if there is no permanent equivalent role in the business. Charge rates will increase if the businesses annual leave entitlement is more that the statutory amount, it’s usually a nominal amount.

In summary...

There are lots of options open to you in your quest to recruit top talent. Think about what you want from the experience, what you are capable of how your business will be affected and what obstacles you might face along the way. Use that insight to make informed decisions and then reach out to those around you for help – ARU is always on hand to offer free advice. Good luck!

Useful resources Agency Worker Regulations (AWR)– Guidance for Recruiters

Candidate viewpoint – 5 reasons to use a recruiter in your job search

This blog article completes the series ‘Recruitment advice from ARU’s Employability Professionals’ we sincerely hope you have enjoyed the read and found it useful. We aim to release this guidance as a complete document – if you would like a copy, please get in touch with us at [email protected].