Why do employers use recruitment agencies?

[chapeau]

As I said, I would let you know, and the advert has gone in. That's all you need to worry about, you ain't convinced me, and you ain't convinced anybody else. If you need to convince yourself then I can understand that, it's a nasty dog eat dog job you do, cannot be easy to look at yourself in the mirror, but I really don't care

[MrMark]

Try a week of your time minimum, endless telephone calls, endless initial screenings, face to face interviews X 4 for two positions - minimum I would suspect, plus the communication of offers, negotiation, contracts being drawn up, time of other people for second opinion. How much does your time cost? I would suspect it's a lot more than you think when you take on board the fixed costs, and even more when you think about the "opportunity cost" (the cost of you not doing your real job + actual cost of you + fixed costs).

Then you realise that if we spend 2 weeks looking for someone and don't find it, you don't pay anything at all. If you do it, and screw it up (which you ultimately will - I'm confident of that because you think adverts are the way forwards) - then that cost stays the same, and you've still not got the person you need......

I know it's very hard for contractors to admit that a recruiter is right - but the true cost vs. agency argument makes fairly conclusive sense if you work with one that can actually deliver......

I actually understand some of the reasons for using agents, and the time it can potentially save, but time spent on face to face interviews??? These are nearly always only done with the client - agents just don't have the technical knowledge in most cases, and besides the interview with the client would still take place.

[mobi]

Agents are middlemen and leaving them out should always [at least theoretically] save money.

Nowadays, buying airlines ticket direct from airlines give cheapest price.

I bought a Nokia mobile recently and cheapest price was in Nokia's own website!!

Most people use agents as it has always been. But as other members already said, more are more companies are realizing that they better do it themselves.

[George Parr]

TAV, you're digging yourself an ever deeper hole here, I'd stop digging now if I was you.

[chapeau]

Update on the recruiting process for our friendly agent.

Fifty odd CVs in. Vast majority rubbish and excluded within thirty seconds of starting to read. Very very disappointed in the quality of people looking for software development work.

Got three or four ones who are promising but that is all we need. Total time spent about 30 mins. Will see what comes in tomorrow.

So total cost so far £200 for ad + lets say £50 for my time and electricity etc.

[DodgyAgent]

Agents are middlemen and leaving them out should always [at least theoretically] save money.

Nowadays, buying airlines ticket direct from airlines give cheapest price.

I bought a Nokia mobile recently and cheapest price was in Nokia's own website!!

Most people use agents as it has always been. But as other members already said, more are more companies are realizing that they better do it themselves.

Thay are indeed getting better at recruiting themselves. In the scrum for the active job seeker they are picking off people who would otherwise be supplied by agencies. some companies are going even further by mapping the personnel structures of their direct competitors and therfore digging deeper than the contingency agencies. They are doing this by employing former recruitment people (most of who I have to say are failed recruitment consultants-who can thrive without being subjected to competitive forces)

What is interesting is that the likes of Bechtel, Oracle, Carillion and many other large companies have set up their own recruitment agencies. However shorn of competitive forces that invigorate businesses these in house agencies become unpopular with line managers and end up either being sidelined or sold. The same applies to centrally controlled HR which runs a top down "service". Many of these become their own self serving empires and fail.

[chapeau]

However shorn of competitive forces that invigorate businesses these in house agencies become unpopular with line managers and end up either being sidelined or sold.

I doubt that is the real reason that in house agencies would become unpopular with line managers. I would expect they just get in the way.