It might be tempting to take the approach of optioning your open job to a bunch of recruiters to see what kinds of candidates you get. You might think, “If we have more recruiters on the job, there is more of a chance we get it filled faster and have more candidates,” or “Recruiters will be more motivated if they know that others are working on it as well.”
However, there are real, practical, tangible benefits to finding a recruiter who knows you, your company, your team, and is the first person you contact when you have a hiring need, or want to start weighing potential options for the next step in your career. Here are six reasons developing an exclusive recruiting relationship will benefit you.
You will reduce your hiring time
When you work with one recruiter exclusively, after a couple of searches, you won’t have to “start over” w/ each opening by having to explain your company, team, need, and personality. Once your recruiter successfully finds candidates that you’ve hired, you’re also likely to have automatic confidence in the candidates sent. Not only does this cut down on the number of unqualified candidates’ resumes you’re having to review, but you’re likely reviewing the best candidates, not just all the available ones.
You will save money
Because you will hire faster, the cost of turnover will be less. Your hiring process will be more strategic w/ the help of your recruiter’s expertise. 4cornerresources.com writes, “When the average company loses anywhere between 1% and 2.5% of their total revenue on the time it takes to bring a new hire up to speed, you definitely don’t want to have to extend or repeat this costly process.”¹
You have a single, trusted source acting as voice in the marketplace and acting as an extension of your brand/ company
Your recruiter will answer the tough questions from candidates/ the market. If your role has been open for awhile, your recruiter will give a seemingly less biased or more neutral explanation. Additionally, your recruiter will be “marketing” your company to candidates who have not heard of your organization and generating interest for you even when you’re not hiring.
You can keep your finger on the pulse of market trends and drive retention
Your recruiter can advise you on what is happening in the market. Should you give your entire team a raise this year to stay competitive? What areas is your team weak in and need support? Is there talent in the marketplace that’s available and in your price range? These are all the kinds of questions a trusted recruiter can assist you with.
Help you prepare for turnover
Your recruiter talks to a lot of candidates every week. They know who has shown interest in your company in the past. He or she will reach out to candidates who have expressed interest if you’re feeling vulnerable to someone leaving your team/ company.
Using multiple recruiters can be bad for your reputation.
If a candidate hears about the same job from multiple sources it can reflect badly on the business. It can make it seem like a company is disorganized or desperate, and no one wants to work for an employer like that. Keeping your opening exclusive makes it feel like a once in a lifetime opportunity, and candidates will be more attracted to roles that feel inaccessible to most others. You don’t want to miss out on great talent because of an inaccurate perception of your team or company caused by multiple recruiters working on your role.
If you make the choice to start working exclusively with one recruiter, that recruiter will feel empowered not to just work quickly and send any resume, but ensuring he or she is vetting good quality candidates. Exclusivity engages your recruiter to work harder for you as they know they have your commitment too and therefore will be inspired to deliver better service and quality candidates that fit your team, culture and environment.