If you’ve decided to work with a recruitment partner, the chances are you wanted to save time and money while improving your hiring process. You’re looking for extra capacity and expertise – this relationship should make your job easier. But in the jungle of processes, proposals and promises it can be hard to know whether you are getting what should from your partnership.

We look at how a great partnership can help make you a recruitment hero.

Just do it

Once you have discussed what types of candidates you are looking for, you shouldn’t have to spend much time at all on the recruitment process. It is your partner’s role to ask the right questions and understand what is needed for the process to run smoothly and to secure the right hires for your organisation. This should be your time to focus on – and shine in – other aspects of your role

Openness

An open, trusting relationship is key. You always need to feel comfortable and familiar with how the process is running. To achieve this, your partner should be sharing the development in the process as often as agreed, plus any additional information you request. By having this visibility, you have a chance to ask the questions if something isn’t running as planned, and to trust that your provider is using their tools and expertise to change those things.

Reporting and analysis

Regular reporting is key to achieving your goals and to continually improving your recruitment processes. Your partner should analyse throughout to understand if anything needs to be changed. You should also receive a full report with extensive analysis at the end of the process, including information about applicant numbers, where they heard about the role and the drop-out rate. If you’re concerned about diversity objectives this could also contain gender split, educational backgrounds and ethnicity. This analysis helps to highlight learnings and development areas for future recruitment. It also means you can add value by reporting successes and areas for improvement back to your business.

Brand building

A recruitment partner can act as an extended branch of your own team or business. They will campaign and find candidates on your behalf, which means they will act as a brand ambassador. We know from our research that candidates value a company’s people and culture as most important when choosing a graduate role; you must feel comfortable that your partner can reflect these aspects successfully to find talent that’s the right fit for your culture. A strong brand presence through the recruitment process can lead to new hires who feel engaged and included from day one.

Candidate communication

Our research shows that 45% of Bright Network members have given up on an application because the process was unclear, too long or too hard. Candidate experience is key in such a competitive market, so you’ll want a partner who can help you get it right.

Having a recruitment partner to take on candidate communication through the process is a huge benefit, freeing up time and resource for your in-house team. But with great power comes great responsibility – nothing reflects more directly on you as a business than how you communicate with candidates. Your reputation as a leading graduate employer is at stake. A good partner will enhance and improve the experience, creating a smooth process in which candidates have been able to perform at their best.

A good recruitment partner can be a true extension of your team, understanding your needs and seamlessly fitting in with your brand and in-house processes. Get it right and you’ll feel supported and enabled, ready to become a recruitment hero within your business.