Does your organization employ contractors (aka temporary or gig workers)? If you work for a Fortune 500 (or even 1000) company, government agency, or large financial institution – especially if you’re in IT – there’s a good bet you do. The reasons for this are two-fold for both the contractor and employer alike. For one, working as a contractor is good work when you can get it. A fact we’ve addressed in one of our previous blog posts, “The Many Benefits of Contract Work.” And two, by utilizing contractors, employers are able to reduce overhead, improve organizational flexibility, and increase the diversity of their teams (“Why Contracting is Here to Stay”). In a world that’s seeing a stark rise in the number of contract workers, it’s best for your professional career that you familiarize yourself with the profession. Because if you find yourself in a managerial position, there’s little doubt you’ll at some point need to utilize them.
And who supplies contractors, you may ask? It’s staffing firms/recruitment agencies – like PSCI.
So, as the title of this post suggests, in the below space we’ll be talking about how to build a successful recruiter/employer relationship. In other words, how you (the employer) can get the most out of your relationship working with and alongside staffing firms (recruiters). We’ve addressed the benefits of partnering with a staffing firm on this blog before (“The Benefits of Partnering with a Staffing Firm”) but we’ve never addressed how to make those relationships work. Here, then, is a how-to guide on appropriate communication, setting boundaries and expectations, and why the partnership is a two-way street.
Communication is Key
There are a multitude of developers, programmers, engineers, etc. who all work within technology but have a wide array of differing responsibilities. That’s why, for a successful staffing partnership to exist, communicating exactly what you need to your staffing partners is key. Give a brief overview of the general responsibilities the contractor will be responsible for, list the technical skills needed so that the contractor can hit the ground running (sorting the required skills from the desired), and set a bill/pay rate commensurate to industry averages. In short, the more information you can provide to your staffing partner the better. This will help them (us) fine tune their search and deliver to you candidates who are capable of performing your job needs. If you don’t, prepare for a longer hiring process – more back and forth and further job clarification requests – costing your organization both time and money. For as skilled as staffing firms, like ours, are at finding and identifying talent, our work is based off of the information you provide us.
And also, make sure you’re providing your staffing partners with proper and timely feedback on the resumes they’ve submitted. Let them know where they’ve missed the mark and why you’ve decided to pass on a candidate, or conversely, what it is you liked about a particular resume/candidate. Again, the more information you provide to your staffing partners the better the likelihood of them being able to accurately identify candidates who match what you’re looking for.
Set Expectations
The IT hiring marketplace is an extremely competitive place – now more than ever. The most talented IT professionals are not on the market for long and the breadth of opportunity available to them makes retention a major concern. That’s why, if IT hiring is a major priority, you need to set expectations with your staffing partners. Let them know when interviews for positions are expected to take place, how many interviews as well as the types (phone, video or in-person) are to be expected, and when feedback (for both resumes and interviews) will occur. This way, your staffing partners can pass that information along to each job candidate, keeping them in the loop and excited for your opportunity. Silence breeds contempt and that’s the wrong message to send to prospective employees. And an even worse one to your business partners.
It’s a Two-Way Street
The recruiter/staffing firm relationship with employers is a two-way street. Why? It’s simple. Our success is tied with your success. If we can find you the top talent you’re looking for, your projects will not only stay staffed but will most likely be delivered on time and under budget. This, in theory, will keep you coming back to us for more. And since we make our money by staffing your positions, that’s critical for our sustained success. If we weren’t there to assist in your needs, that means you need to devote more time and resources to finding the talent on your own – a full-time job in itself. Instead, by partnering with firms like PSCI, you’re giving your organization access to our vast database of IT talent as well as to devoted professionals skilled at finding them.
So don’t delay and contact PSCI today for all your IT hiring needs.
