How do I find competent recruiters who can recruit overseas or locally in UAE to work with my business?
We answered this question from a client and I want to share my reply in full. It illustrates how easy it is to recruit overseas and support businesses and also the 4 different types of recruitment service which a modern, skilled executive recruitment agency should be able to supply to you.
Firstly, we need to categorise the type of job you are seeking to recruit. Not all roles are the same nor do they require the same approach to the market and the recruitment processing. Determine the best recruitment practice to follow and then identify the best supplier of that practice.
We recommend a basic matrix to determine the best recruitment practice to follow for each role or job family across the business in order to provide the quality and cost advantage required by our clients.
- Critical to the business, Difficult to fill
- Critical to the business, Easy to fill
- Not critical to the business, Difficult to fill
- Not critical to the business, Easy to fill
Let me run through each of these and show you how a skilled executive recruiter works to fill your vacancy.
Critical to the business, Difficult to fill
Critical roles which may directly impact business strategy and bottom line outcomes require comprehensive and thorough identification and extensive assessment processes. In this case, the business cannot afford to get it wrong, the business risk and loss of opportunity are high. The criticality of the role directly suggests the focus on assessment and transparency of selection through due diligence. We recommend a comprehensive assessment process including competency based interviews and references; psychometric tests; qualifications; criminal checks etc.
This is not the time to restrict your choice of candidates from networks, either yours or the recruiters’ data base, but to ensure that you have the very best the market has available to offer you. Where these particular individuals are difficult to source, then expansive research and market mapping is recommended.
Where we deliver the market mapping to our clients at a fixed price it enables our client the potential to fill other roles from the data gathered. The data gathered is yours: Lists of potential candidates and companies who are relevant to your particular industry. Look for this transparency with your next supplier of executive search.
Critical to the business, Easy to fill
Where critical roles are easier to source, such as Head of Sales, the assessment process is once again of greatest importance and focus. However, advertising on job boards and networks is recommended as search and market mapping is an unnecessary expense. Dependent on the nature of the role, ie specialist or generalist, such as Technology or Human Resources you can select the most relevant job boards. Ensuring the assessment processes are right for these roles is reflective of the critical nature of the role.
Not critical to the business, Difficult to fill
Non critical roles are where you may save on costs of recruitment, they require a lighter touch in regards to assessment protocols and reduced associated costs.
However where they are difficult to find, for example a specialist skill set or in limited supply such as an actuary, then we recommend that you build a market map of potential candidates and develop a pipeline of talent for future vacancies. In this instance you would request the market mapping and utilise a standard structured assessment program.
Not critical to the business, Easy to fill
Non critical roles which are easy to fill, ideally are standardised light touch and low cost assessment and advertising processes. These candidates respond to standard online advertising and can be assessed in a streamlined manner. We refer to this as the “no frills treatment” where you can save your money. These are generally the majority of roles in the organisation and may include administration, marketing, finance, HR assistants etc.
Finding the best executive recruitment service
So how do you select the most appropriate recruiter?
Decide on the nature of the role according to the matrix provided above. After determining where the roles across the organisation fit within the above matrix and the percentage of roles within each, recruiter’s processes are able to be selectively applied to produce the best outcomes.
Most recruiters can provide these results via the internet which opens up the scope of those to choose from. Our practice for examples offers marketing research to organisations around the globe at a fixed price. We are able to conduct our interviews either in person or via skype for senior roles and for general level roles, we utilise an online video interview platform.
Read our Case Study of a Customer Service Manager recruitment process. The entire elapsed time from starting the process to job offer was 5 days, including a weekend!
You deserve the best recruits the market can offer. As a business you need good support services and so by researching online you can find expertise outside your own country who can still service and support your local recruitment needs – that’s the wonder of the modern internet and executive recruitment services.
