Guide to Employment Agencies and Recruitment Agencies

Choose which responsibilities to farm out

You may decide that some parts of your human resources functions don't need to be outsourced, and that some portions are best handled internally. For instance, you may want to hire a recruitment or employment agency simply to handle filling temporary employment slots or to manage outreach programs such as college recruiting or job fairs.

I recommend: The Recruitment Process Outsourcing Association provides an online form you can fill out to analyze when to turn to recruitment agencies or employment agencies. For temporary help, try Business.com’s directory of temp agencies and for general HR outsourcing specialists, use the directory of human resources outsourcing firms.

Posting jobs

Look for a firm that will use a variety of sources for job postings. Some HR outsourcing firms have affiliations with certain job posting sites or organizations and will limit their efforts to those.

I recommend: Accolo uses every source possible for job postings — including referrals, job postings and professional organizations — and offers pay-as-you-go plans that are especially suited to small businesses.

Pre-screening candidates

Having someone else pre-screen applicants is one of the biggest time-saving benefits of employment agencies and recruitment agencies.

I recommend: View an interactive presentation of Manpower's online pre-screening tool, which uses custom questionnaires

Using the Web

Make sure that any firm you consider takes full advantage of online recruiting tools to simplify and streamline the process.

I recommend: Recruitment Enhancement Services (RES) uses Web-based applicant tracking, automated online scheduling and a host of interactive sourcing tools.

Staying within the law

Asking interview questions that get the information you need but remain in accordance with hiring laws takes experience, experience you may not have.

I recommend: At TalentConnections.com, a seasoned recruitment professional handles recruitment tasks so you don't get into legal trouble.

Taking advantage of major firms

Although smaller companies may offer more personalized service, large, nationwide recruitment and employment agencies boast certain advantages. For instance, major firms often have voluminous résumé databases at the ready.

I recommend: Spherion, which has more than 2,000 recruiters, boasts a database of more than 2.5 million résumés.

Considering costs

Recruitment agencies and employment agencies charge in a variety of ways, including a percentage of the salary of the hiree, a project fee or a flat fee per hire.

I recommend: Take an online tour of HyrianOnDemand, which is geared to smaller businesses and charges a flat fee per position that averages one-fifth the cost of a search firm.

Using a recruiter for high-level hires

Executive recruiters keep an eye on who’s who in your industry and will identify and approach candidates who may not be actively looking for work.

I recommend: Business.com’s directory of executive recruiters lists many leading firms.