8 Inciteful (& Unusual) Questions For Companies To Ask Their Recruiters

Every Consultant in our business has over twenty-five years’ experience, so we speak to a lot of recruitment contacts at companies and the same questions tend to come up regularly.

There are several questions however, that I wish were asked more often by the contacts who are responsible for recruitment within their business.

These questions centre around how we manage the ‘brand perception’ that job seekers have of our clients businesses, our internal pay structure (and why that’s of any relevance or importance to our clients), how we can support with retention plans and areas other than ‘just’ recruitment, referees from their sector or location, the difference between an ‘agency’ and a ‘consultancy’ etc.

Therefore I wanted to share some rather ‘unusual’ questions that may just help you to look slightly differently at your selection process when engaging external support.

Have you ever asked your external recruiters to explain what their ‘pitch’ will be when discussing your role with potential candidates?

Would you be interested as the ‘target’ audience? If you don’t like their approach, discuss this and see how they respond and adapt.

Have you asked how they manage the candidate experiences and view of your business throughout the process?

By ‘rejecting’ a candidate in the wrong way or not giving feedback at all different stages (through from first receiving a CV to final interviews), your consultancy can easily damage the perception of your brand without you knowing.

Have you ever asked whether the consultancy adopt an internal candidate or client ‘ownership’ approach to commission?

I was asked this question for the first time recently and I loved it. VERY few people realise that this can hugely affect the recruitment service they receive so it’s worth thinking about.

Have you ever asked how much information is being provided about your business or the role and at what stages?

Depending on the confidentiality of the role, too little may not position you as ‘the’ employer of choice and too much could breach confidentiality.

Have you ever asked what the consultancy can do to increase the chances of success of the chosen candidate or even their personal development?

Too many recruitment businesses will put in the odd call after a successful introduction but can they do more? A structured follow-up plan, open communication. Consultancies who have given thought into helping the ‘happy ever after’ clearly are doing the role for the right reason.

Have you asked your consultancy what they can do to help in other areas e.g. staff retention, training internal staff members/teams, improving the recruitment processes?

A genuine consultancy can offer additional support in line with a partnership approach. Can they offer advice or even training courses that would benefit your business in other ways? We have a ‘quirky’ usp in that we often join our clients on video calls doing complimentary magic shows (brilliant help with staff engagement over lockdown & Christmas!) and we do regular workshops on other recruitment and retention related topics.

Have you ever asked to see the adverts or material that the consultancy are using in relation to source candidates for your roles?

You have to trust your consultancy to do their job so ask about this when selecting your recruitment partner. Creating a good, successful advertising campaign can be an art. If adverts are merely to be placed on a ‘typical’ job board are full of generic agency words, save money and do that yourself.

Have you ever discussed how the consultancy can add extra value throughout the recruitment process, including how they manage the likely counter-offer and notice period situation when a selected candidate leaves their current role?

There are loads of important questions to ask and whilst so many people start with the cost (which is also VERY important), this doesn’t tell you whether the consultancy will solve your needs

To discuss these or any other questions, ideas and other factors to consider when engaging external recruitment support (along with the strangest questions we’ve been asked!), please get in touch we would love to hear from you!

We hope that the above has been helpful! As a small, niche consultancy who genuinely care about our clients, BondMoran offer knowledge and expertise in multiple areas to help build fruitful relationships.