Why Small Business shouldn't shun IT Recruitment Agencies – Get the best of best

While it is now common place for large organisations to use IT Recruitment Agencies to meet their staffing needs, the decision to use an agency remains a difficult one for small business owners.  For those who may have built their business up from scratch, paying an external agency to find staff can feel uncomfortable but there are many good reasons for using an IT Recruitment Company particularly where SME's are concerned.

It is not uncommon for small business owners to resist paying external recruitment companies but when it comes to IT, using a professional recruiter is well worth the investment.  A company's growth is critically linked to having the right staff and a small business will remain small if they do not invest in finding the best candidates. 

IT recruitment consultants use a wide range of processes to develop their network of candidates.  They very often use social networking media such as Linked In and Twitter to develop a vast web of professional contacts.  Before you have even spoken to a recruitment consultant about your vacancy they will have spent months reviewing the market and identifying suitable candidates for similar roles.  It is true that IT recruitment agencies use job boards to search for candidates and that job boards are accessible to anyone for a fee.  However, if you are considering using a job board yourself bear in mind that an IT Recruitment Agency will have access to a vast number of job boards at any one time.  Furthermore, job boards don't review responses for you and vet candidates, they simply return CVs matching your criteria.  If your criteria isn't quite right a job board will not advise you and if your advert isn't written in the right style it may not even appear on a search.  An IT recruitment agency with an excellent reputation in the marketplace is more likely to attract add responses.  They will then identify inappropriate workers, strip out weak CVs and vet everyone they send to you.  If they use and advert they will ensure that it's at the top of every search and attracting the maximum number of replies.

The greatest resource in an IT recruitment company's arsenal is their in house database.  Recruiters spend years developing their candidate databases and guard them closely which means they have access to candidates who are not available elsewhere.  The market also has to be considered when it comes to IT recruitment.  IT professionals have specific skills in niche areas and if they are good they are in high demand.  A good candidate will be known to recruiters and is likely to receive phone calls from recruiters on a weekly basis.  The best candidates aren't looking to move companies and rarely reply to job adverts.  They simply don't have to because they are in regular contact with recruitment agencies and can hand pick suitable opportunities.

Increasing staffing numbers or simply replacing an existing member of staff is an important decision for and SME.   While costs savings are high on everyone's agenda, hiring the wrong person or taking too long to hire the right person can cost a small business greatly.  IT recruitment consultants are trained to spot problems before they occur. They work hard to flush out potential time wasters and will manage the recruitment process for you.  A recruiter's job is managing the offer process and ensuring you get the right candidate within your budget.  They manage the candidate's expectations from day one and will advise you about market conditions.  Furthermore, it's within their interests to provide you with the best candidates and ensure they are likely to stay with your long term.