Engaging External Suppliers
Appointing one or more recruitment consultants to look after your appointment can cut out much of the legwork, especially if they take on responsibility for press and online advertising. For all but the most senior appointments, agencies generally work on a ‘contingency basis’ – which means you only pay up when a successful placement is made. This can seem an easy way to reduce the amount of time & effort spent on a recruitment process – but remember: for the agency–client relationship to work, you will have to invest time at the start, briefing your consultants and ensuring they understand exactly what you want.
Use your network of business contacts to find out which consultants are rated highly in your local market, and insist at the very least that the ones you approach visit you at your office. Ask yourself what questions you would want to ask if you were acting as a recruitment consultant yourself. This should help you get across the key information to the recruitment consultant, helping to make the exercise as effective as possible.
Some advantages of using external suppliers
- wider marketing knowledge enabling specific targeting for more diverse appointments
- on line applications & sifting tools
- candidate management for interviews
- micro sites holding organisation information
- managing assessment centres and selection exercises
- Their own website that can be used to advertise posts
Be aware that organisations may have specific guidance about the use of external suppliers in this manner. Always consult and adhere to this guidance when present.
Tools
DWP Terms of Reference for Establishing the Requirement for External Resources – an example of a terms of reference for the use of external suppliers
OGC framework – Office of Government Commerce policy and standards framework.