Recruiter Exclusivity: An Effective Recruitment Strategy for Clients & Candidates
It’s no secret that recruitment agencies favour exclusivity. In an ideal world, recruitment agents would choose to collaborate with a handful of candidates and clients on an exclusive basis. Let’s explore the key benefits associated with exclusivity from a recruiter’s point of view.
Increased Financial Rewards
The chances of successfully filling a role or placing a candidate increase dramatically for the recruiter if there are no other agencies involved. There’s a sense of accomplishment that goes hand in hand with that, but there’s also more to gain financially. As a recruiter would you rather jostle with five other agents to find the right candidate for a particular role? In this situation you’re not sure which agency will find ‘the one’ and therefore you don’t know who will be paid for their efforts. Or would you rather work exclusively with the client and find the perfect candidate – safe in the knowledge that if you do you will receive the financial reward?
A Sense of Pride
We’ve already identified the sense of accomplishment that accompanies a successful placement. That sense of pride acts as motivation – your hard work is paying off and you must be doing something right! There’s also the knowledge that you’ve helped a candidate move forward in their career, and helped a client to progress their business by finding the ideal employee.
The Drive to Succeed
Recruiters are driven to do well, it’s a competitive industry and there’s no better feeling than finding the candidate that gets the job. Exclusivity just intensifies that drive – as the sole recruiter looking after a client’s latest vacancy you feel even more responsibility to search out the best candidate. In the same way, a recruiter working exclusively with a candidate will put their heart and soul into finding the ideal position.
Clients and Candidates Don’t Always Appreciate the Benefits of Exclusivity
While recruiters are quick to spot the benefits of exclusivity, candidates and clients might take a different view.
Clients are often keen to browse a range of CV’s. They will therefore engage with a number of recruitment agencies in a bid to look over the credentials of a variety of potential applicants. Candidates also take the same sort of view – eager to get in touch with multiple agencies to find out about as many interesting job openings as possible. But the corollary of this is that when a recruiter knows that a role is out with 5 other agencies are they really going to prioritise this role over the ones that they have exclusively?
Why Exclusivity is Not a Just a One-Way Street
Exclusivity is not just a one-way street – it could be as beneficial to clients and candidates as it is to recruiters. Exclusivity inspires recruiters – instilling a devotion to the cause and a sense of enthusiasm that’s hard to beat. Exclusivity also fosters:
A First-Class Reputation
A recruiter that tirelessly works for exclusive clients and candidates, and does so successfully, will soon build a first-class reputation. But upholding a respectable reputation isn’t just important to the recruiter, it’s also essential to the client.
A company engaging with multiple recruitment agencies could find themselves spread too thinly. Will every agency fully comprehend the type of employee you are seeking? Do you have time to offer an in-depth brief to each agency and to build a rapport with your recruiter? Your recruitment agency will be representing your firm, so you need to ensure they are up to the job and able to convey the right image and message.
Employers also need to consider how they will come across to potential candidates. Squabbling around and tasking several agencies to look for the best of the best might give the impression that you are employing a rather clumsy approach. One major potential drawback is that the first agency to contact the candidate may not ‘sell’ the role very well and when a better recruiter contacts them it is too late, the candidate has made up their mind not to go forward for the position.
Exclusivity has an air of systematic logic and preparation about it that the finest potential clients may well be drawn to.
Building of Robust Relationships
Exclusivity is also a great way to build trust. Clients get to work closely with a particular recruiter and the two can really get to grips with the shape of the ideal candidate for the role.
In a similar way, candidates can forge a bond with a recruiter too. A familiar face or voice can make all the difference when you’re putting your trust in someone to find your dream role.
Choosing the Right Recruiter
Exclusivity looks like it could be a great way to go for all concerned. If you are a client or candidate and you need to engage the services of a recruiter please do your homework first. Find an agency that understands the market and has a strong network in place.
The ideal recruiter will listen to your needs and work exceptionally hard on your behalf. The job market can be intimidating and overwhelming for both candidates and clients, don’t get swallowed up by it – find a reliable and professional recruiter you can depend on.
