By Vanessa Rogers on behalf of RecruitIn
A skilled and reputable contingent agency’s role is to stockpile as many CVs as possible for those mid-level positions, knowing that money will only change hands when a preferred candidate you’ve put forward is chosen for the role.
Internal hiring
To stay ahead, you’ll need to know that trend number one, this year, sees internal hiring getting first dibs. With this in mind, it’s worth getting to know a company’s HR manager and making an assessment of the inhouse talent within a firm – before you invest time and energy in providing a barrage of CVs for a particular role that they need filled.
If the HR manager is new, fairly inexperienced and/or inadequately networked, and you’re sure no in-house person properly fits the bill, it’s worth going ahead and conquering that particular role from your contingent agency. “Just bare in mind at all times that internal mobility means lower costs to the company and a faster hiring process. So if you’re skilled at the contingent hiring game, you’ll know exactly when to pounce and when to stand well back,” advises Jeremy Bossenger, founder at RecuitIn.
Pandemic skills
Then, how about alerting the firms who call on you as to the skills your contingent team sought to master over the pandemic, a decided trend number two in 2022 hiring.
Virtual interviewing webinars (and in-person experience); remote talent-advisory training, together with knowledge gained in the field; and how about virtual onboarding skills.
No valued recruitment firm would have steered clear of opportunities to gain talent metrics and to accurately assess mental/emotional/spiritual health in candidates. Plus: the fact that a contingent agency has gone the distance in this way, means they’re all the more worth taking on to find that all-important mid-level candidate, than any other less clued up firm in the niche.
B-BBEE Expertise
And how about trend number three, a contingent agency’s investment in Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) know-how? These days, it’s a no-brainer – candidates want to join a firm that is as diverse, equal and inclusive (not to mention eco-friendly) as humanly possible, and your ability as a contingent agency to make this happen, i.e. the placing of a B-BBEE candidate at a company where their skill and status is considered essential, will put you ahead when you’re making the hiring thing happen.
For the organisations out there for whom contingent agencies are their go-to hiring option, remember that:
A contingent agency –
- Doesn’t get paid unless a candidate they’ve put forward makes the cut;
- Employs speed and accuracy to compete against multiple other agencies, and even your own HR department;
- Has a greater chance of success if they make a name for themselves in a particular field, such as IT or management;
- Is at your mercy, to a large extent i.e. if they send on unsuitable candidates, there’s no need to interview them or pay any sort of fee; and
- May require that candidates complete a range of psychometric tests, to ensure they are ideally suited for the job at hand.
“You can’t deny the value provided by this hard-working and multi-talented portion of the recruitment market,” enthuses Bossenger.
“Our skill is most times way above internal HR. But firms need to know about the inherent value that we add – extensive experience, a wide network, and more suitable/talented mid-level candidates to offer if firms are prepared to make the investment, over and above what their own HR departments are likely to be able to source.”
Vanessa Rogers owns and manages the media agency TextBOX Conceptual, supplying copywriting and media relations services to clients and agencies throughout southern Africa, and beyond. With a motto of remaining professional and kind at all times, we strive to provide opportunities for skilled interns; and aim to stay agile in order to work with the most upbeat, pleasant and dynamic of clients.
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