In a scaling business, every hire counts. When you’re working with smaller teams and relying on the people within your business to help it grow, you can’t afford to hire the wrong person. For this reason, many business leaders are often deterred from outsourcing their recruitment process. They worry that outsiders may not understand their business enough to find the perfect person at such a crucial stage in business growth. After all, in small teams, every person has the ability to make an impact, which can be both good and bad.
However, what many newer businesses don’t realise is that outsourcing recruitment at a stage of growth can have many advantages. It’s not something that should be reserved for larger-scale, more established organisations. More flexible approaches to recruitment process outsourcing can give startup and scaleup businesses that critical competitive edge in the war on top talent without spending vast amounts of money. A flexible approach to outsourcing recruitment can be a great alternative to contingency recruitment agencies; using more intelligent and cost-effective methods.
When you’re thinking of scaling your startup business, there are a lot of things to consider. Your small team is probably working in overdrive, trying their best to help you expand and grow. Which is why if you can take the pressure off them in any way and give yourself one less thing to think about, it may be worth it. Imagine being able to free up your team to focus on other aspects of the business? The process of scaling would be much more streamlined and effective from all parts of the company.
But remember, external recruiters don’t just relieve the pressure, but they bring a level of expertise and experience that scaling businesses may not have. It is this knowledge that helps them to play a vital role in the scaling process. When used correctly, outsourcing recruitment can be a saviour to many young businesses.
Here are just a few reasons why we believe external recruiters can help your scaling business to succeed:
They act like marketers
Think about it, if your business isn’t hugely well known the first-time candidates could hear about your business is when they’re applying for a job or contacted by a recruiter. It is your job descriptions and these initial conversations that will play a vital role in promoting you to candidates and bringing your employer brand to life. In a way, whoever is managing your recruitment efforts will take on the part of marketer for your employer brand. They will set the tone for your business and be the difference between a candidate applying or not. In a growing business, it’s even more important that these aspects are correctly managed and can appeal to the right candidates, which is where outsourcing recruitment comes in handy.
Also, having an external recruiter endorsing you as an employer can give your business further credibility. Like reviews for companies and products, the excitement surrounding a job or role sometimes seems more genuine from an outsider’s perspective. Of course, people within your organisation will sing its praises, that’s expected. Candidates will trust that an external recruiter will be more honest with them about your business and what you’re like to work for.
Think strategically
Another benefit of outsourcing recruiters is that they can see the bigger picture for your organisation; they know the industry and market well enough to help you think strategically. While you have other aspects of running a business to focus on, recruiters are learning all about trends and developments in the world of hiring and your industry. You don’t have to use an RPO provider to help you fill vacancies; you can also involve them in your recruitment strategy and take advantage of their expertise and years of experience. They have knowledge which could help to set you apart from the competition in the eyes of candidates. Use external recruiters as consultants for your recruitment strategy; it will be particularly useful to have this guidance as you look to scale your business.
Prioritise diversity
Especially in a world of remote work, recruiters have become advocates for diverse hires. When we aren’t physically in the office, it’s harder for organisations to prioritise diverse hiring as it’s harder to see gaps within your team. External recruiters see your organisation from a different perspective and can objectively identify the types of people you need as well as the roles you should fill; they can think outside of the box. They are trained in managing unconscious biases and will ensure that any prejudices within your organisation don’t stand in the way of hiring the best person for the job.
Also, experienced recruiters know how to reach large talent pools and find talent using non-traditional methods like social media, digital recruitment marketing or even more specialised sources. They’ll understand that after a rise in remote working, hires are no longer restricted by location or fitting a rigid work schedule; allowing your business to source a more diverse range of candidates. Recruiters have their own talent pools too, candidates they’ve contacted before who are looking for another challenge or may not have been an excellent fit for one organisation but could be perfect for you. All of these methods will help you to improve diversity within your scaleup.
Understanding the business inside out
When done right, recruitment outsourcing means that the recruiters feel like part of your business and understand every detail. While concerns over a recruiter genuinely understanding your company culture and mission are entirely valid, especially when you’re trying to grow and keep the essence of your business intact, the right recruitment provider should feel like one of the team. It is part of an RPO recruiter’s role to learn as much as possible about your business and the position they’re hiring for, this includes understanding the jobs market in your area, the industry you’re working in and any other crucial aspects of your business. Having a grasp on the industry will help them to establish you amongst key players and position you as a great career option in the eyes of top candidates in an increasingly competitive jobs market.
Without detailed knowledge, they can’t succeed. Therefore, scaling businesses should have confidence that recruiters will put in the time and effort to learn all about them before they start sourcing talent; just as they would a large-scale corporation.
Create a better candidate experience
Recruiters play a vital role in the candidate experience; they are the main point of contact. When you’re trying to grow your business, it’s hard to expect hiring managers to dedicate all of their time to candidates, be on hand when you need them and get their actual job done. Outsource recruiters can help with this. They can keep in touch and answer candidate questions so that you don’t have to. This will enhance the candidate experience as, let’s face it, no one wants to be kept in the dark when they’re waiting to hear back from a job offer.
Recruiters also understand what differentiates a good candidate experience from a poor one. They’ll have seen companies that offer both standout experiences and terrible ones and can use this experience to help you perfect yours. They’ll know best practices for advertising jobs right through to onboarding. Use their advice not only to influence your current candidate experience, but to drive your recruitment strategy going forward so that you’re always putting the candidate and their needs first. Remember, offering the best possible candidate experience in the scaling stages will help improve your employer brand as you grow. A good candidate experience will set the best possible tone in the business for new recruits and will ensure you’re bringing onboard happy and motivated employees.
Using expertise, knowledge and the benefit of an outsider’s perspective, an RPO provider can help scaling businesses gain that all-important competitive edge and improve their overall recruitment process. Their input could make a vital difference in whether or not top talent chooses to work for your scaleup, and so their role should not be overlooked.
Recruitment outsourcing is not limited to larger corporations. With a flexible and creative approach to recruitment, Talent Works have helped scaling tech businesses to compete for some of the best talent in their market; rivalling more prominent players. If you’d like to learn more about our approach to employer branding, digital recruitment marketing or our sourcing capabilities, please get in touch to start a conversation with our experts.
