It’s true, COVID has had a devastating effect on the recruitment market. Understandably as the worst recession was recently announced – organisations are battening down the hatches and doing what they can to protect the staff they have. Jolly good for them for doing so! Great staff are literally worth their weight in gold! So is the sun setting on traditional recruitment agencies?
Is Anyone Recruiting?
Are, or will organisations be recruiting for new staff? In some cases yes and in a lot of cases no! Very, very generally speaking that depends on the sector and the discipline. It also depends on the strategy of any individual business. Will companies be recruiting directly rather than using agencies – same as above – in a few cases yes and in a lot of cases no! In house resourcing teams will be under pressure to reduce costs and in a lot of instances that will mean not using agencies. Sadly – it will lead to the demise of several of the recruitment agencies we all know. It will be a survival of the fittest for sure.
The Dawn of a New Era for recruitment?
However, it’s not all doom and gloom. The positives as an industry should be that we can change recruitment for the better. Many of the sharp practices that have become synonymous with recruitment consultants (some totally unfounded and unfair by the way) will have to end. The great agencies who offer over and above client and candidate expectations will prevail and rightly so! Recruitment has the chance to really clean its act up and together with the hiring organisations we can make a difference and improve the current inadequate processes.
If you don’t use an Agency are you REALLY cost cutting?
In terms of cost cutting – many of the roles that will need to be filled are likely to be business critical. In other words – super urgent! In those instances, resourcing teams would be well advised to seek out a specialist agency. Those roles need filling fast! You need to be efficient with your time and resource. The cost of employing an agency who already has a huge network of candidates in the relevant space is totally counteracted by getting the right person into the business quickly and efficiently.
Use a Specialist Agency:
Specialist Agencies know the people in their market – it is their business to do so. They know who has what skills, experience and their availability. They know how to get in touch with those brilliant candidates quickly and easily and most importantly – efficiently. In the instance of CX Talent Ltd – whatever level candidate you need from CXO to CX Manager – anywhere in the country – we would be confident of getting you someone brilliant within a week to two weeks. Obviously – things can take rather longer on the client side with aligning diaries etc.. but as an in house resource , you could completely leave it up to us to find you someone whilst you get on with other tasks.
Getting candidates into business critical roles – especially now, quickly, is cost saving in itself!
So Sunset or Sunrise?
To conclude – though things are a bit grim at the moment, they won’t be forever! In House Resourcers and Recruitment Agencies will continue to work together. Relationships between agencies and companies should be strong and mutually beneficial. We should be using this time to make sure that all candidates as well as clients have a good recruitment experience. This will improve recruitment for all (genuinely – please believe me on this!) – but that’s a whole new subject for another day!
Those agencies who continue behave well, add real and tangible value, treat candidates with respect and try to help wherever they can – will prevail! I am certain of that – even in my darkest hours (and I’ll be honest there have been quite a few as job after job gets pulled) – I have never considered the prospect of CX Talent disappearing into the ether. So – best foot forward, chin up, and keep on keeping on!
For any Customer Experience or customer related roles – please do get in touch with us at CX Talent Ltd. We care about finding you the right person for your role and the right role for our candidates. Get in touch today. www.dennyandsons.co.uk. jovr@dennyandsons.co.uk