Whether you have a multi-million dollar company or a small, locally-owned business, there is one thing shared between them: the need to hire reliable and qualified employees. Whether it’s because your company is expanding and you need someone to fill a void, or it’s due to turnover and you’re looking for a replacement, any company’s goal is to receive applications from exceptional candidates in their hunt for their newest team member.
However, the world of recruiting and hiring can be confusing if one is not familiar with the various practices and models. When properly utilized, these models can result in success. That said, it’s important to have a firm understanding of them in order to determine which method would best fit your company and its hiring needs.
Connecting with recruitment agencies and exploring their sites, such as manpowerab.com, can allow you to learn how these models are used by hiring agencies to benefit your company. In the meantime, let’s take a look at some of the types of recruitment models and how each model can best work to serve you.
Contingency Hiring
This is arguably one of the most popular recruitment models, particularly when the role you’re hoping to fill is likely to have several qualified candidates. A company may choose to contract several recruitment agencies to help them locate a suitable candidate.
Each of these agencies will search independently for applicants, however, only the agency that is successful in finding an appropriate candidate will be paid the recruiter’s fee. The victorious agency is termed the contingency recruiter in such an instance.
As both an applicant and a hiring manager, this recruitment model is incredibly appealing. Naturally, the applicant is not required to pay for their name to be considered for the position. Additionally, the hiring manager is able to receive input from several recruitment agencies without needing to financially compensate the majority of them.
Therefore, this is a risky model for recruitment agencies to agree to. There lies the possibility that they invest their time and effort without any reward.
Retained Search
In this instance, only one recruitment agency is hired by a company, typically on a retained basis. Around 50% of the recruiting fee is paid in advance before the agency begins to look for a shortlist of candidates.
This is a slightly more intense job search, sometimes even requiring headhunting individuals from competing companies. However, this more in-depth search allows the agency to better understand the values and expectations of the company they’re working for, allowing for greater success down the road.
While not true for all agencies, some may conduct interviews with the candidates on behalf of the company before delivering them a shortlist. The company would then choose the most appropriate candidate from there.
Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO)
This method is essentially hiring a recruitment agency to handle the process out-of-house. From sourcing candidates to conducting interviews to sending out job offers, the recruitment agency would be responsible for every aspect of the hiring process. This option can save companies time and money, as it can relieve pressure on the in-house HR department while also potentially speeding up the process, as the company wouldn’t need to divide their time between recruitment and daily operations.
The one risk with this model is that the recruitment agency may not fully grasp the kind of candidate you are looking for, thus resulting in a new hire that doesn’t quite fit. Therefore, communication between the company and the agency is a definite priority in this case.
Exclusive Recruitment
While similar to the retained search model in that only one agency is hired, this job is not guaranteed for the recruitment agency. Instead, the selected agency is given a set amount of time to successfully fill the empty role. However, if they are unable to complete this task by the deadline, the company will be allowed to open the floor up to other agencies.
This method can be beneficial for recruitment agencies if they are successful in the search, as they will be operating without competition. However, this model also runs the risk of lost income and perhaps even financial penalties if the agency cannot deliver on its promise.
As a business, it’s important you take the time to consider the model options when exploring recruitment agencies. You want to make sure that the one you choose makes the most sense for your company and will have the best chance of yielding good results.