Recruitment Agencies VS Recruitment Consultants and The Importance Of Knowing The Difference

Many people don’t understand what Recruitment Consultants do. It’s a common misconception that recruitment agencies and recruitment consultants are the same. The question of Recruitment Agencies VS Recruitment Consultants is not a case of good or bad. Indeed, both recruitment consultants and agencies provide their clients with invaluable services but the way each goes about it is quite different. It is essential, therefore, to understand the difference to know which one best suits your business needs.

Recruitment Agencies vs Recruitment Consultants: What’s the Difference?

A Recruitment Agent acts as an intermediary between two parties during the recruitment process or negotiation. They do the legwork which enables companies to fill their job vacancies.

Recruitment Consultants, on the other hand, investigate the needs, problems and challenges faced by companies or job applicants. Once they have a full understanding of the situation, they use their expert knowledge of the market to prescribe a relevant solution. 

When to Choose A Recruitment Consultancy over an Agency

For specific roles, businesses may require specific numbers of people on a team to meet the demands of its customers. Consider telephone-based customer service roles, for example. In such a fast-paced environment, team members being absent or leaving at short notice can have a knock-on effect. Not only do staff absences cause stress amongst the rest of the team but they also reduce the production capacity of the business.

These kinds of job openings may not require highly qualified candidates with specialist skills. However, such open job positions need filling urgently to minimise the negative impact on the remaining team and the company’s profits. In this case, staffing agencies are invaluable.

High street staffing agencies are often in high footfall areas. Adverts in their shop windows attract a lot of attention, and they often have a vast social media following. Frequently these agencies have job boards, which enable them to reach a vast number of job seekers quickly.

There are several recruitment agencies with nationally recognisable names within the jobs market. These would probably be the first ones to spring to mind if you need to fill your vacancy fast. Their business model centres primarily around advertising jobs and finding suitable candidates to fill the roles. In short, they are fantastic for getting bums on seats – fast!

When to Choose a Recruitment Consultancy Over an Agency

Unlike recruitment agencies, with a devotion to filling roles quickly, recruitment consultants offer a more advisory-led approach. Their advice-driven service involves obtaining detailed knowledge of the businesses and candidates they work with. Once they have a full understanding of their needs, consultants make introductions that will best satisfy the needs of both.

In addition to satisfying any immediate needs, consultants on achieving outcomes which enable their candidates and clients to achieve their long-term career or business goals.

This style of service is better suited to hiring for permanent roles. In particular, where a specific skill set is required for the business to achieve its goals, recruitment consultants can prove invaluable.

Recruiting the wrong candidate can have a significant impact on the reputation of a company and the individual candidate. Therefore, recruitment consultants do their utmost to avoid this situation because it could severely damage their reputation.

Consultants work hard to develop close-knit, long-term relationships with clients and candidates. Continually seeking ways to improve their knowledge and expertise through conversation, enhances the service they offer. In turn, this enables them to grow their network, thus giving organisations access to a broader pool of talent.

Agency vs In-House Recruitment

In-House Recruiters are employed by a company and are responsible for managing the recruitment process for every single vacancy within the business. They serve as a central point of contact for job applicants and manage the company’s relationships with the agencies and consultants it works with.

Where a company is not large enough to justify employing its own in house recruiter, hiring decisions are made by department managers.

It doesn’t necessarily follow that where a business employs an in-house recruiter, they don’t use agencies. While it’s true that most straightforward roles will be handled in-house, they may still seek the expertise of a recruitment consultant where vacancies prove harder to fill.

Developing Long-Term Relationships with Clients and Candidates

The way agencies work, often prioritises speed over quality. Recruitment consultants, on the other hand, have a commitment to building stronger professional relationships with their clients. They take time to understand what the job requires, their business, their recruitment objectives and develop long-term working relationships.

Recruitment consultants provide a more in-depth service than merely filling roles. They take the time and effort to get to know their clients and the organisation it operates. They get to understand the company ethos, growth strategies, targets and recruitment objectives.

Only after acquiring such in-depth knowledge does a recruitment consultant start advertising a position to potential candidates. Consultants also take time to get to know their candidates and build relationships with them. They take time to learn about their employment history and understand their candidate’s career goals and expectations.

With this advance knowledge, recruitment consultants can be significantly more confident that the client and candidate are a good match.

Ask us Anything!

We hope this article has helped you understand the difference between recruitment agencies vs recruitment consultants. Hopefully, it has given you a better idea of which might be the best for you to use.

However, if you do still have any questions on the subject, please ask us in the comments below, or feel free to get in touch.

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