Everyone with experience in recruitment knows it can be a challenging job finding the right candidate and a time consuming one at that. It can be difficult to promote one's company but also to judge what grade of competence is needed. Therefore, someone from the outside might be able to make a more qualified decision.
Another important fact to keep in mind is that a recruitment consultant won't have any biased or personal grounds from which they work, which may be the case if there were a personal connection with the candidate, and therein a risk for a biased decision.
So what are the concrete advantages of hiring a recruitment consultant?
That the person in question:
- Saves you time: The consultant becomes your extended arm in the organisation. A skilled consultant handles the recruitment in a manner that saves you time and work whilst still keeping you updated and informed.
- Knows the playing field and knows where to find competence. Importance lies in the experience of the consultant in that particular field, gained from recruitments of people with similar profiles to the one you seek. If the correct person doesn't come forth of his or her own accord, the consultant will know where to look.
- Makes objective assessments based on a long experience of recruiting people with the competence you are seeking and is used to making assessments of individuals.
- Makes sure you are clear with what competence and person you are seeking by asking you and your colleagues' questions that you may not have thought of.
These are but some of the reasons as to why recruitment consultants can be better, and faster, at finding and hiring candidates than the company itself. It is important to remember that the recruitment firm should bring new perspectives and act as a support for HR. If these ends are met, there is a high probability of finding the right candidate.