Hiring People_ Recruit and Keep the Brightest Stars - Kathy Shwiff [13]
Employers looking to expand the diversity of their workforce will find these numbers appealing: According to the Defense Department, “18 percent of active-duty personnel are African-Americans, 9 percent are Hispanic, and about 15 percent are women.”
If you are interested in recruiting veterans, there are numerous online sources, such as The Compass Group, Bradley Morris, Inc., and the Destiny Group, which maintains a large database of people transitioning out of the military.
SOURCE: “Detroit Forum: Motor City Likes Veterans” by Eilene Zimmerman, New York Times (June 18, 2006).
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If you are concerned about spending corporate dollars for a job you could arguably do yourself, bear in mind that recruiters offer a full range of services. In addition to finding potential candidates, most firms will actually prep job seekers before presenting them, then solicit feedback from both parties afterwards to evaluate the interview. Recruiters are also in a position to perform more thorough reference checks. Once you’ve made a hiring decision, recruiters will help you prepare your offer, including the salary and benefits package. They can also guide the new employee through any transition difficulties. As you can see, with third-party recruiters, you get a lot of hiring bang for your buck.
There are two basic types of recruiters to consider: retainer firms, which are at least partially paid upfront and work on exclusive assignments, and contingency firms, which are paid only after successfully placing someone and rarely receive exclusive assignments. Whether or not a retained-search firm places a candidate, they still receive a monthly retainer fee, and as a result are typically used to find high-salary, executive-level candidates. Most will also observe a year-long moratorium on recruiting employees after placing them with your firm. Contingency firms, which are often faster and offer a larger number of candidates than retainer firms, are useful for filling lower-wage or midlevel positions.
Retained-search firm fees currently average about 25 percent of first-year compensation. But always negotiate the recruiter’s fee—especially if it is your first time using the firm. In such cases, the agency is likely to give you a better deal in the hope that you will use them again. In addition, ask for a guarantee—that is, if the candidate does not work to your satisfaction for at least 90 days, the recruiter will either find a replacement at no extra charge or return some or all of fee.
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THE BOTTOM LINE
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RESULTS FIRST
During the late 1990s, when it was clearly a “seller’s market” and skilled job seekers could virtually name their price, retained recruiters’ fees averaged about one-third of a candidate’s first-year compensation, according to an article in the Wall Street Journal’s CareerJournal.com. These days, however, corporations are more results-oriented; they are loath to pay retained recruiters for supplying candidates that might not make the grade. This has led to what is now called a “container” or “retingency” plan—paying retained firms only when they’ve met a specific goal. Charlie Polachi, president of Polachi & Co., a retained-search firm in Sherburne, Massachusetts, is seeing this change firsthand—some clients now ask for a list of potential candidates or interviewed candidates, or link their payments to a candidate receiving an offer.
SOURCE: “As Talent War Resumes, Recruiters Jump Hoops to Earn Their Fees” by Perri Capell, CareerJournal.com (May 3, 2005).
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When you enlist the help of a recruiter, be sure the firm understands your company’s culture and has a clear idea of what background, experience, and skills you’re seeking in a candidate. See to it that the recruiter is able to meet with key staff members during the initial analysis of your needs. You also need to know how any confidential information exchanged during the search will be treated and whether