At www.talentpuzzle.com we often hear a recurrent theme when speaking to our clients about their recruitment needs. HR departments, it seems face a continual struggle when it comes to managing their PSL list. Among the most common complaints we hear about PSL lists is that they can be hard to manage and produce hit and miss results.
The main problem appears to be that in-house recruiters don’t review their supplier lists often enough and that the traditional approach to managing recruitment suppliers is out-dated. Here are some tips to help you create and manage your own PSL.
Cut down numbers
Many companies have tens, some hundreds, of recruitment suppliers on a PSL. However, this can create big headaches when it comes to managing the list. A quality over quantity approach is best here. This will help you to establish better relationships with your suppliers, as well as giving you more control over the process.
‘Invites only’ for job postings
Only send your job postings to the recruitment agencies you have selected as the most effective and relevant to that role. This will ensure that you get a greater selection of quality candidates.
Use recruitment KPIs
Be consistent in the way you rate your suppliers. Measure their performance through the same KPIs your department is assessed by. For example, cost-per-hire, time-to-hire, candidate quality, response time (to candidates) and rate of mis-hires. Set targets with your agencies and review these regularly in order to make sure they are met. That way, you can directly, and fairly, compare the effectiveness of agencies on your PSL.
Don’t take their word for it
Anyone can claim to have specialist knowledge of your sector – but you’re the expert. So if a recruitment consultancy tells you they understand your industry, test them. Ask them a few questions about market conditions and for specific information about their successes in your arena.
Review your PSL
Although it’s nice to think of a PSL as ‘done and dusted’, just reviewing it annually tends to create inertia and can mean that it becomes less effective. Once an agency is on a PSL it’s widely assumed that they don’t need to do very much in order to stay on it. It pays to keep them on their toes, rather than soliciting an agency that isn’t on your PSL at increased cost if your preferred suppliers aren’t pulling their weight.
Brief your suppliers
If you’re not getting the most from your PSL, it might be a problem with the way you’ve briefed your suppliers. Equip consultancies with the tools to manage your staffing needs. This includes a good understanding of your company culture/values, a definition of a ‘good’ or ‘ideal’ candidate and detailed instructions on how to represent your employer brand. Provide all suppliers with the same guidelines.
Give good quality feedback
Feedback on candidates is difficult, but crucial. It will help agencies to put forward better quality candidates if they are failing to do so, and it will also help protect your employer brand. Candidates may well tell their professional network if a recruiter says that they haven’t heard back from you after an interview, and this may damage your chances of sourcing great candidates in the future.
