Comments on: Tips on Working with a Third-Party Agency

By: Margo Morgenlander

Margo Morgenlander — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 08:12:00 +0000

Thanks, Frank,

I used your link (‘searchwizardry’)for the ‘free download’ about working with ‘Maximizing Search Firms’, it requires registration, which I did and once that was done, it only led to ‘Buy Now’. So much for your free article..I tried navigating through ‘free download’ and it kept going to ‘Buy Now’. I’m sure you’re not using ERE to build sales, so please explain how this can be downloaded ‘FREE’…thank you!

By: Thomas Mulhearn

Thomas Mulhearn — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 01:37:00 +0000

As I point out to my corporate recruiter friends, there are two kinds of recruiting: Process and Project. Corporate recruiting is geared toward the Process: posting jobs, using the ATS, building a pipeline for similar, ongoing, predictable jobs.

Where third party recruiters excel is Project recruiting. Taking one job, and working it until you identify and facilitate the hire of that person.

I have no doubt that corporate recruiters have the capability to do that, but they simply don’t have the time. With all the meetings, compiling metrics and statistics and all of the other corporate duties, you lose the focus that allows you to make that kind of committment to a specific hire. The biggest comment I get from hiring managers is that HR does not seem to give their job the attention it deserves.

I find myself asking the hiring managers to cut the corporate recruiters some slack, and telling them that is why they called us in to help.

By: Benton Howie

Benton Howie — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 08:02:00 +0000

Tami has covered most of the key issues when engaging third party agencies. However, there are some other considerations when using these resources. In my career as a staffing executive I found that third party agencies where a valuable resource when faced with a short time frame ramp up in a specific area…when I had to hire large numbers of employees quickly, especially when those hires had high-demand targeted skills. I also used third parties to fill niche jobs in specific labor markets where my regular staffing workforce did not have much traction. In each of these cases, speed and a targeted hire trumped cost. When recruiting highly experienced professionals, it has been my experience that the break even point for highly skilled in-house recruiters vs third parties is between four to six hires per year. If cost is key and you are comfortable hiring and managing a highly skilled staffing workforce, in-house recruiters may be the best route. However, due to cyclical nature of business, most companies will still have a need for solid third party partnerships. A number of years ago I obtained a recruiting best practices survey of the top companies in the world. Only two of the best five companies said that their annual staffing planning was effective. In my experience just-in-time staffing still seems to be the default business standard especially for companies that are staffing to support future business or emergent projects. This reinforces the need to have established third party staffing partners.

In all engagements it is critical that the agency be provided the information to find and qualify top level candidates and that the agency have direct experience recruiting in the market. Whether the agency is allowed direct access to the hiring manager depends on how you use your regular staffing professionals. If the staffing is truly outsourced then direct access may work. If the staffing is a supplement, then it may make more sense for the company recruiter to serve as a gatekeeper, ensuring that the agencies keep their eyes on the ball and making sure that all applicant flow and applicant communication is handled appropriately. The agency will use the direct manager contact as a business development opportunity. That is to be expected and is good business practice. If you are ok with this, allow direct contact. However, if you are engaging the agency for a specific project and expect to disengage when the project is completed, you may want to use your recruiters as a gatekeeper. You absolutely want to avoid creating a competetion between the agencies and your own recruiters. Each will do what they can to preserve and protect their jobs and the staffing manager will become a referee in a staffing free-for-all, not good for either party. It is important that all parties understand their roles and responsibilities prior to the commencement of the engagement.

And I urge any company which engages a third party agency to execute a solid written agreement. It protects both parties and avoids future conflicts.

Benton Howie

By: William Uranga

William Uranga — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 05:30:00 +0000

A good subject to bring up. I’ll add:
* Look for opportunities to recognize their contribution in your own organization (i.e. an on-site luncheon)
* Find ways to equip agencies with more than just a description – culture, marketplace dyanmics etc.
* Ask for them to be part of the problem solving situation (is a turn key solution better than hiring a bunch of temps?

etc.

cheers – William

By: Ed Voelsing

Ed Voelsing — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 05:09:00 +0000

Tami is spot on with TPR’s. A good relationship is a symbiotic one, the success is mutual, and great candidates get placed in the right positions and everybody wins. To build that relationship takes in investment in time and trust and open communication. Too often though companies see third party recruiters as the equivalent of ordering a pizza…’Give me a SVP of supply chain & an order of cheesy sticks.’ No time is given to understand the profile, hiring process, etc. They sometimes forget that at the end of the day we are talkng about real people, not a large two topping delivered in 30 minutes or less.
Contingent search firms like mine operate where my time is my dime…until a company makes a hire. I work for the clients that give me a decent shot at ‘helping me help them.’ I prefer clients that spend time on the front end of a search so I have an understanding of the position, the ideal candidate profile, corporate culture, etc. I shy away from the ones who will not invest their time before I agree to invest mine. Consequently, the companies I work with that I come to understand, I have a stake in their success, and they have an advocate for their company who has a different logo on his business card.
My advice to companies thinking about going the TPR route is to build those relationships before a staffing situation becomes one of last resort. It won’t cost much, and having the right list of agencies on speed dial is another valuable tool to have in the tool box.

By: Frank Risalvato, CPC

Frank Risalvato, CPC — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 04:26:00 +0000

Great article Tami. Too many company authorities are clueless as how to properly manage and leverage the relationship with external/search firm partners.

I have a great manual/pamphlet I authored on the subject located at http://www.searchwizardry.com Look under ‘Free Downloads’ and ‘Maximizing Search Firm Success: Why some companies fail while others consistently succeed to derive benefits from search firms’.

Some use search firms as a commodity. Only to cause the recruiters to discover others are working on the same project … and the result is each recruiters decides to abandon the project rather than work on the assignement.

I would add companies often fail to consider hybrid, engagement fee or retainer considerations if they desire better quality service.