The Emerging Recruitment Agency 'Superpower'
Recruitment agencies have been around for hundreds of years, offering a wide range of organisations an outsourced recruitment service.
The first known recruiter,
Edwin Miller, co-founded the world’s first recruitment agency in 1650 with Henry Robinson and is widely recognised as the “first recruiter”.
Miller's focus was on finding the right fit between employers and job seekers.
Together, Miller and Robinson introduced a rigorous selection process which included
interviews, references, assessing skills and verifying qualifications to ensure that the candidates they put forward were the best fit for the roles they were applying for. This helped ensure that businesses found the right employees and helped job seekers find work that suited their skills and qualifications.
Miller and Robinson's agency also helped establish the concept of a
specialised service provider for recruitment. By focusing solely on recruitment, their agency was able to offer a higher value service than general employment agencies.
Retention: The Emerging 'Superpower' Agency Service
Partnering or working with an agency who provides all 5 of Greg Savages recruitment service offerings is valuable to any business. But what if that great new addition to your Team leaves after 6 weeks?
We often find ourselves advising newer clients with: “You don’t have a recruitment problem; you’ve got a retention problem”.
More than ever before, businesses are experiencing increased employee turnover, especially with good employees leaving or resigning. According to 2024
ABS data, almost 40% of employees who left their job did so because of poor pay, work arrangements, or to get a better job.
Churn of any kind is insidious and has a ripple effect all the way through to productivity and organisational culture. But losing your good performers can really hurt!
To address this, more agencies are now incorporating
post placement activity which focuses on retaining your employees, particularly the new hires they’ve just recruited for you. The benefits and results for all types of organisations are exceptional and, in some cases, transformative.
Improving retention requires an overlapping range of targeted actions, plans and strategies. Leading recruitment agencies offer a variety of retention services designed to help businesses retain their employees and reduce turnover.
The key retention services provided by top Recruitment Agencies include:
Succession Planning: Agencies assist with succession planning by identifying and developing internal talent to fill key positions in the future, which helps in retaining high-potential employees who see a clear career progression.
Employee Wellbeing Programs: Some agencies offer or recommend wellbeing programs that focus on mental and physical health, work-life balance, stress management, and other aspects of employee wellness, contributing to higher retention rates.
Retention Analytics and Consulting: Recruitment agencies often provide data-driven insights and consulting services to help companies understand turnover trends, identify at-risk employees, and implement strategies to improve retention.
Cultural Fit Assessments: Ensuring that new hires align well with the company’s culture is a key retention strategy. Agencies conduct assessments and interviews to match candidates not just on skills but also on cultural fit, which can lead to higher job satisfaction and retention. Read more about why cultural fit is so important and how to find it in your next employee
here.
Mentorship and Coaching Programs: Agencies help set up mentorship programs where new or junior employees are paired with experienced mentors, fostering a supportive work environment that encourages long-term retention.
Almost all of these services are provided
post placement, requiring a range of different skills and experience from recruiters. Typically, agencies will have Account Managers who not only perform all the recruiting work, but will work closely with an Operational Manager to facilitate implementation of these retention services or sometimes, assist in bringing some old strategies back to life.
If you successfully implemented (or revived) just 3 of these retention strategies, what impact do you think that could have on your business or operation?
The Power of Retention
The nexus between recruiting and retention is naturally occurring. Good recruiters want their candidate to not only last but develop in their role and become a valuable member of your Team. And for supervisors, floor managers and other middle managers who are time poor, having an Account Manager working with them on retaining new or existing employees adds value to operational performance.
A good retention plan will involve targets and measures. Keeping track of key measures with your Account Manager is the objective data you need to assess whether the retention program is working, is on target and whether it needs some modification.
Working with great recruiters and agencies who excel in finding the right people, remains valuable to your business or operation. But having proactive services aimed at retaining those great new recruits is now clearly recognised in the industry as the
‘other half of the job’. It’s the emerging recruitment agency service that really is a
superpower
for your business.
If you're looking for a Recruitment Company who will not only help with finding you the right people, but who puts an emphasis on the retention of these people, reach out to us today!
📞
08 9477 7999
📧 hello@irp.net.au
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