It may be the worst recession in decades, but that didn’t stop Bayard Advertising Agency from launching a new recruitment consulting and RPO business.
“Maybe it is a crazy time,” laughs Mark DeChant. “But our clients were asking us for this. There might even be a bigger need now, with HR departments handling so many other things.”
DeChant is managing director of Worklight, LLC, Bayard’s new RPO subsidiary. He comes to the company from CareerBuilder, where he was an area sales manager. His background includes a stint as business development manager at staffing firm Ranstad.
Although Bayard is only the second large recruitment ad agency to branch into RPO (the other is Bernard Hodes) DeChant says it’s a natural extension of the business. “The deliverable at Bayard, without an RPO, is an electronic version of a person,” he explains. Adding the recruiter between the sourcing and delivery to the client simplifies the process for an employer.
It also gives Bayard another service to offer its 1,100 clients. DeChant says Bayard reps are routinely asked to recommend screeners, sourcing firms, RPOs and the like. “This allows us to keep the revenue in house and makes it easier for the client since we already know them and helped them plan their recruiting strategy,” he adds.
Worklight is offering a complete RPO menu from screening of resumes to the complete sourcing and vetting of candidates. Worklight also provides HCM consulting and training. “Sourcing, interview techniques, OFCCP compliance,” are part of the training curriculum DeChant notes.
“Now,” he adds, “with this set of services, when a client asks, we can say, ‘Yes, we can help with that’.”