It may sound self-serving when a recruiter recommends you don’t work with more than one agency, but they know what they’re talking about. Most employers wrongly assume that having more recruitment agencies onside will give them a competitive edge, but they forget one crucial thing. Competition is ugly.

Working exclusively with a single professional, cooperative and high-quality recruitment agent for your job vacancy always pays off. It’ll greatly improve your business relationships, public image, and the company as a whole.

Your relationship with recruiters

As you know, it’s in your business’ best interests to maintain a good relationship with the recruiter who will deliver amazing people to your company. But what you may not realise is that, by using multiple recruiters, you sever any real bond you could’ve made with the agency.

Yes, they will be glad of your custom (if they end up getting paid). But by failing to give a single recruitment agent exclusive rights to the role, you could portray yourself as a bad business partner and potentially miss out on the top candidates.

Every recruiter has a handful of ‘Rockstar’ candidates up their sleeve. But they’re the kind of perks that are only offered to loyal and recurring clients in order to cement the relationship. It makes sense – if your company is likely to continue giving the agency exclusive accounts, they will want to do everything they can to make your relationship a great one.

Many wouldn’t choose to waste their champions on a casual, fly-by client that may never be seen again. Exclusivity to your role means you can build trust and a connection with your recruiter. They’ll be more eager to make a good impression to keep bringing you back again.

It also shows your chosen recruiter that you respect their judgement and expertise when you rely solely on them to fill your vacancies. Working with one agency on an exclusive basis also allows you to fully collaborate on the search and work together to achieve the best outcome.

Not all recruiters were created equal. And in thoroughly researching one agency instead of taking a stab in the dark with a few means you can ensure the quality of their work. With a single agent on board, you can also make sure they have a solid grasp on what it is you actually want and need from the hire. A partnership with plenty of communication means everyone is on the same page.

How candidates see you

Recruitment agencies aim to attract the very best candidates to your role. But could you be shooting yourself in the foot by using multiple recruiters? Having your vacancy advertised lots of different places can make you look disorganised, or worse, desperate.

Having hundreds of agencies advertise for you suggests to candidates that you’re frantically trying to fill the role. This leaves them to assume no one wants the job or that the company has a very high turnover. People’s minds naturally jump to the worst possible conclusion; therefore, potential applicants will be turned off applying to your company.

Some candidates use multiple recruiters themselves yet, more often than not, they have one that they cooperate with more than others. The best recruitment agent take their time in really getting to know their applicants. That means they will trust this recruiter’s judgement. By working with one firm exclusively, you will make their candidates feel more confident about your company.

Your business

Using lots of recruitment agencies to fill a role puts unnecessary pressure on your HR department and/or hiring manager. If your business doesn’t have either of these, the burden will fall on you. Multiple phone calls from various recruiters asking the same questions can be exhausting. It wastes time and takes attention away from the everyday running of your business.

Managing numerous recruitment agents may mean important messages are missed or not followed up. This could result in your company passing up on a potentially fantastic candidate.

Using one recruitment agency also saves you and your staff from the excess paperwork of entering agreements and contracts with multiple recruitment companies. They say too many cooks spoil the broth, and by using various recruiters for the same role, you actually make more work for yourself.

The ironic thing about all of this is that recruiters are often willing to negotiate their fees in order to work with you on an exclusive basis anyway. It really is a win-win situation.

Recruitment is a fine art if you want to get the right person, and competition between agencies never ends well.  Do your research, and trust in a recruiter who will focus solely on making sure you get the best possible outcome for your company.

To discuss how Maxwell Stephens can fill your role, please call 0207 118 48 48 or email enquiries@maxwellstephens.com.

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