Do recruitment agencies really suck?
James | May 27, 2011 | Comments 6
I’m a recruiter, I recruit for a living for some truly wonderful companies and I love recruiting, I love the challenge and more than anything the impact it can have on another human beings life.
But, I don’t like the recruitment industry. It is such a closed industry that is devoid of any entrepreneurial spirit or innovation. There are a number of people that I have met in both a face to face and social media sense who I think really understand what needs to happen for the ‘recruitment industry’ to survive.
There are people out there pushing massive innovation in technology and having been lucky enough to watch the entire #recruitinginnovation conference recently, I have to say that it’s amazing what is happening in the World of recruitment, it’s just a shame it isn’t aimed at the Agency model.
@FishDogs for example, showed how you can use Geographical Apps such as FourSquare or Gowilla to build talent networks. It makes perfect sense; you know where your target audience work and you know they drink Starbucks…so go to Starbucks.
It’s amazingly simple, but uses the technology to help you harness the ability to communicate with your next placement. Or the amazing use of technology by the guys at Hodes who showcased the ability to use Alternative Views that shows a person stood outside an office how many vacancies are available in that office.
This type of technology is not only changing recruitment but it’s changing the world we live and operate in. Agency recruiters have to learn how to build the new relationship.
So, with anticipation I attended an event (well, half an event) organised by the knowledgeable @louisetriance of UKRecruiter. The event in question was designed exclusively for decision makers in the agency business and was there to showcase Technology in recruitment. I have to confess that I didn’t make it past the first half so my points might not be reflective of all exhibitors.
The showcase was lead by Gary Watson, current CEO of Investigo who gave an overview of the last three decades of recruitment (of which he spent 24 years at Michael Page). We travelled from the rolodex to the CRM, and discussed the importance of the telephone to the agency business model more than once. Gary is clearly a successful guy who is head of an incredibly successful recruitment based business, but it scares the life out of me that figure head speakers at an event aimed at showcasing technological advancement still believe that the phone is the most important asset a recruiter has. I agree, more than ever that your relationships are your most valuable asset, but recruiters are dealing with about the only product in the world that cannot be created or improved.
Recruiters can’t create candidate 2.0 in the same way that Apple make a new iPhone or a car manufacturer that constantly improves their cars design. We are dealing with the same information over and over again and candidates are controlling the flow of information like never before.
Candidates/Job Seekers do not like agencies, they never have, they never will. I mean they know the score right? You can’t make £5,000 – £35,000 out of someone and them not feel a slight resentment to you. I know that the fee is not reflective of that actual process; it pays for the time, the effort and the investment made to ‘win’ the client and for all of the placements that don’t happen for whatever reason. Does the candidate understand this? I don’t think so; one bit…all they see is a commission lead sales person with a desire to be your best friend for as long as it takes to pay for the next vacation. When the job’s done most recruiters simply move on to the next candidate and start the process all over again.
So the event yesterday? I am not going to run through the companies I saw yesterday, but one deserves mention because I think it shows a real lack of understanding of the very industry you’re trying to assist. Innovate CV is a great looking product, and I like the standardisation of the look as there are some truly horrendous CVs out there.
But I don’t think for one nano second my clients want to receive a URL that sends to a branded portal that holds the ‘new CV’. We live in a world of mobile communications; iPhones, BlackBerry, iPads, Laptops and recruiters need to make it as EASY as possible to review the information you send over. I fail to see how this solution will increase the chances of a client short listing my candidate over another and instead will make the clients life more difficult, and surely that is the whole point of investing in new methods, tools, technology or ideas? Surely true innovation would involve a solution that didn’t require a CV at all? I certainly don’t think including a photocopy of a candidate’s passport to confirm eligibility to work is a selling point at this stage of the process.
A recent tweet that caught my eye was the story that showed a new trend with Chinese Graduates who are sending 140 word Microresumes. They are hard hitting, they cram your story into an easy to review paragraph. As of last Friday there were than 17,000 Microresumes posted on Weibo.com website. This is innovation, it’s exciting, and it’s different.
I think the agency business needs to wake up; it’s selling itself short and taking on companies driven by RPO, Procurement and efficiencies. Whilst as a recruiter I don’t like this, it is a fact of life.
We submit via online portals, people we don’t know or speak to make decisions on shortlists and communication is conducted via email and automation. Dressing up a dog and teaching it to meow doesn’t make it a cat, and unless we start to see real leaders and pioneers deliver real solutions to the agency model then I simply don’t think the Permanent recruitment market will last through 2020 in a lot of cases.
Cost per hire is expensive, inefficient and in a lot of cases if you were to ask nearly any HR contact if they could find a way of recruiting themselves without paying agency fees, I think you’d be horrified at how out of date your business is.
From what I’ve seen, there is no ‘new’ technology in the agency business and whilst the corporate world invests heavily in talent attraction, retention, and development the agency model is trying to find easier/simpler ways to conduct the same business.
If you want confirmation just read the recent blog article from @RecruitGal who tells you to your face that they’ve had enough and she’s not the only one.
It’s sad, but I don’t think Recruitment Agencies can say they haven’t had their fair share of warning shots.
On a personal note, I’d like to thank @LousieTriance and whilst the event wasn’t for me it was a great location and was very smoothly run.
Any views, opinions or critique would be welcome
Filed Under: Featured • Online • Recruitment
James
I’m sorry that the event wasn’t for you.
My personal opinion is that not all recruiters suck (well, I would say that!) but that some are not quite as “ahead of the curve” as others.
Many recruiters are still tackling some basic “IT” issues; others want to be sure they have the basics right.
There are plenty of social media/innovation events – many which are superb.
Maybe it’s sad but the basic, every day operational, stuff still needs to be addressed and that was partly the aim of our event.
I personally think you should be glad that not everyone is at your stage of development. It will give you an edge in client pitches and in locating those hard to find candidates!
Louise
Louise, thank you for your comments. I must stress that my article was in no way aimed at your event.
I think you’re right, but I am simply amazed that this is the case. We live in a World where everything is there, at the click of a button, in your hand the phone or some other variety.
I was totally blown away by some of the things being said, I had never heard of Gary but some of the comments were almost as if LinkedIn hadn’t just had a $8.5Billion IPO valuing it at around 5 (I think) that of Monster.com and people are still talking about telephones (as in desk phones).
I think if that is the state of the agency business model then they’ll get eaten for breakfast in the coming years.
Right…here goes (and this is a personal experience, so appreciate not everyone has the same issues)
1) firstly there are many recruiters that ask you in to register, claiming they have roles at your level (I have been a PA, working my way up to Snr EA for the last 14 years) Then when you put aside the time/take time off work to meet up, they say the role you applied for has been filled. Ultimately you are filling a target quota of new registrations, and then you hear nothing for ages.
2) Being contacted for roles that are very junior to your last 7 years experience & then when you turn the role down because it’s not challening enough, being told the agency won’t help you further.
3) Being pigeon-holed into 1 sector or industry. I have worked in IT, HR, Finance & FMCG. That reflects personal & professional flexibility.
4) Not registering with an agency & being called for an interview that I knew nothing about. I hadn’t even applied on-line for these roles.
5) Putting down an emergency contact on your agency form, then having your contact called when he is in Zurich in the middle of a board
meeting! When i questioned the agency concerned, they just said that as I hadn’t returned 1 call, they had no choice!! This was an agency I hadn’t spoken to in months!
I could be here all year relaying my experiences.
At this point I would just like to say that there are some very good agencies that work with you to understand your career wants & needs. So these comments are by no means a ‘sweeping statement’. I do think, however, that a few ruin it for many!! All I want is to be treated like a human being and NOT a target on the board.
James,
If it’s one thing we love about our industry, it’s engaging with true recruiters – those professionals who possesses a very real passion for what they do, have candidates’ best interests at heart, and a deep concern about our industry’s direction. We know that your comments are motivated by the purest interests, and that you’re open minded. When that’s the case, any debate is welcomed and can only be of benefit.
We are sorry that you didn’t have the chance to stay for our presentation, where we explained the Innovate CV concept – with a special emphasis on the first word in our name!
We were grateful to have received a very positive response from the audience.
Innovate CV exists to make the recruitment process easier for everyone – clients, recruiters…and of course, the candidates.
You’re the client. From one agency, you receive a mish-mash of different word CVs, online profiles, essays etc. From another, you receive a number of agency-branded CVs. Each CV is perfectly standardised, and may include (for example) ratings on relevant skills and attributes and embedded videos where candidates have answered key relevant questions.
Which agency stands out? Which candidates stand out? Screening and interviewing times are dramatically reduced for client and recruiter. After all, the recruiter or client doesn’t need to waste time sitting through countless interviews to get a ‘feel’ for every candidate.
The whole system can be perfectly integrated into recruiters’ own CRM databases, so putting together this impressive presentation is fast and easy, and the recruiter can have a client-ready CV very quickly. As it is standardised, it can also improve the recruiters search results. The Innovate CV platform has many additional benefits specifically for recruiters such as metrics and tracking, so consultants can focus their time more accurately.
Candidates also feel as if the recruiter is truly investing in them. They appreciate the multimedia tools that enable them to truly sell themselves by embedding documents, presentations, videos, social media links, images (etc) as appropriate. With a single click, their old word/pdf CV can be converted into an Innovate CV, or they can always import their Facebook or LinkedIn profiles to use as the building block to their more encompassing CV. Additional benefits such as CV advice, and ease of putting a CV together are also very popular.
Clients are impressed. Candidates are confident. And of course, the whole process is utterly simple from the recruiters’ perspective. Innovate CVs can easily be accessed anywhere, on the go using our App, or from any computer or tablet.
James, we’re just touching the surface of course. I’d love to offer you a succinct demonstration of exactly what we’re bringing to the table, and why we think it’s a great step forward – what do you say? Let me know the when and where is good for you!
Thanks for providing a fantastic forum for debate!
All the best,
Adam Lewis
Innovate CV
Hi James. Great post! There is not enough dialogue around the real issues in our industry and this lack of innovation/denial is a biggie. There are so many lame comebacks from recruiters who cant see the writing on the wall.
One of the reasons that the lineup might have seemed underwhelming is that generally, the recruitment industry doesn’t invest in technology unless it really has to. Over the years I’ve been involved, both as a recruiter and also as someone on the technology side, the industry has had to be dragged kicking and screaming into each new trend. And if it involves spending money, then its even more difficult.
As Gary said at the event – they love the phone so most cant understand why they should spend money on anything else. One look at where the innovation has been in technology terms shows you it isnt with the agencies. And as customer demand drives innovation, the issues speak for themselves.
I dont see this changing. The mainly sales driven, stack it high recruiting organisations are not all of a sudden going to start thinking more innovatively or, more importantly, be tempted to put their hand in their pockets and invest.
And Adam, I can see the concept, but whatever you do, candidates are never going to ‘feel as if the recruiter is truly investing in them’ sorry!
James,
A very interesting article. There are a few points made that I would love to discuss with you in more detail and following a recent conversation, may be of interest.
Feel free to find my details on LinkedIn http://uk.linkedin.com/in/samcooper1985
Thanks
Sam