Organizations choose to work with a staffing partner to make their lives easier. They’re looking for benefits such as convenience, better candidates, cost savings, faster time-to-fill rates, or best of all, all of those things combined! But not every HR partner is the right fit for every business, and partnering with the wrong provider can eliminate these positives — or even turn your ROI upside down!
Check out eight signs you might be working with the wrong HR partner, and find out how Randstad is different.
1. their candidates don’t fit with your team dynamic
Your HR partner might speed through the recruitment process to deliver seemingly qualified candidates in record time. But if those new employees don't mesh well with your team culture, you may regret that they landed so quickly. Even the most technically qualified candidate can throw off your production, employee morale and customer experience if they're bumping up against other personalities or fail to find their groove within your team. A recruitment partner that takes time to understand those dynamics and looks at potential candidates through those lenses is invaluable to the long-term growth and bottom line of your business.
2. their candidates don’t stick around long-term
Keeping employees around longer can save your business up to millions of dollars, according to some estimates. But even the most conservative numbers say the average cost of replacing an employee is at least 1.5 times their annual compensation.
The point being that you can't afford a recruitment agency that doesn't strive for the happily-ever-after. Employees that pop in for training and experience before moving on to a new opportunity cost you money. Certainly, not every candidate will stick around for decades, but you should be looking for recruiters who can find people who are genuinely interested in growing with your business.
3. your time-to-fill rate is longer than normal
If you can fill a position as fast or faster on your own than you can when working with a recruiter, what are you even paying for? If your HR partner isn't adding efficiency value to your hiring processes, they may not be the right fit. Know your metrics and make sure that your staffing partner is able to match (or better yet) beat average time-to-fill rates in your sector and across core job titles within your company.
4. they create more work for your internal HR team
You're paying for HR services, so you definitely don't want to double up on the expense by making more work for internal HR teams. The right staffing company takes work off your HR team, hiring managers and executive leadership — all without taking control away from these critical internal players. The right staffing partner should make your life simpler, not be an extra step for you to manage.
5. they don’t care about diversity and inclusion
Diversity and inclusion aren't simply buzzwords in-the-know HR teams toss around. They're important elements of hiring and human resource management that help you create teams that support long-term growth in any industry. Diverse hiring builds teams that are creative, bring excellent problem-solving skills to the table and help you expand brand credibility. Learn more about reasons you should care about diversity and inclusion — and why your recruiters should too.
6. they’re bad at follow up and communication
The last thing you, or your busy hiring managers and HR staff want to do is chase down outside recruiters for updates. The right partner keeps you updated every step of the way, so you know exactly how close you are to filling a critical position. They’re all about proactive communication and keeping you in the loop - before you have to ask. Whether the hiring process is just starting, you’re deep into candidate interviews, or even after a candidate has been found, your HR partner should always let you know what’s happening and next steps for your team.
7. they don’t offer anything you couldn’t do in-house
Is your outside recruiting agency simply carrying the HR torch qualified in-house staff could carry themselves? If so, you're adding a level of exterior communication, expense and opportunity for error without getting much of anything in return. Instead, consider looking for an HR partner that does more than you can do on your own. Maybe that means they bring additional knowledge, skills or experience to the table. It might mean they offer specialized recruiting options, hiring at a scale you can't support, the ability to source candidates outside your normal reach, or provide solutions that improve efficiencies when it comes to onboarding, shift management or other challenging HR tasks.
8. your ROI is poor
Are you truly getting a return on your investment? If you're not sure, it may be time to evaluate your recruitment partner. A good HR partner should be able to clearly outline how they bring value to your organization. They should be crystal clear on numbers and metrics. If they can’t bring definitive numbers to the table, be wary.
what makes randstad different?
Randstad partners with organizations of all sizes and in a wide variety of industries to bring professional, productive HR and recruiting solutions to workforces. Our goal is never to plug holes temporarily; we strive to find candidates who are a great long-term fit for you. That's why we can boast a 98% talent retention rate — which is just one of the many differentiators that sets Randstad apart from the competition.
Here are a few more factors that make us different:
- We work hard to meet your hiring deadlines so you can focus on running your business as normal without disruption. We can provide a short-list of vetted candidates for you to review in as little as 48 hours in most cases.
- Our recruiters source talent from our extensive database, which contains pre-screened candidates, but we also search outside of our existing network to ensure we find the best possible individuals for your positions.
- Randstad has worked with thousands of organizations across Canada, and we bring our expansive experience to every partnership. We don't just help businesses fill positions; we provide expert guidance for organizations that want to create hiring practices that support future growth, higher revenues and better company cultures.
Interested in working with Randstad?
Check out our guide to working with Randstad to learn more about our team and how we work, as well as plenty of reasons to choose us over other HR solutions!