Should You Set Up A Recruitment Agency?

There’s a not-so-well-kept secret out there: recruitment agencies are booming. Due to an economy that is on an upward curve (though for how long, nobody is quite sure), there’s a large need for staff. But they don’t want to go through the sometimes lengthy and costly process of finding someone themselves, so they’re turning to the external experts to find them the right person – and paying handsomely for the service. Start your own recruitment agency and you’ll be getting your slice of this ever larger pie. And what’s more, getting it up and running couldn’t be easier. So long as you have a clear idea about some of the essentials, you could be bringing in the cash in no time at all.

What’s Your Cause?

There’s a million and one different job sectors out there. To be a good recruitment agency, you’ll have to focus on one particular industry sector – if you wanted to recruit for all jobs, then, well, you wouldn’t get anywhere. Instead, pick either what you know or what you’re passionate about. If you have experience working with the legal system, then finding staff for law firms would make sense. Similarly, if you’re passionate about the charity sector, then that might be the industry you find the most rewarding to find staff for.

But Also Market Research

With that being said, your own personal interests can’t be the only factor determining what type of recruitment agency you have. You also need to conduct market research to determine which industries are actively hiring in your area. If you knew that charities were showing a general trend of moving away from downtown into areas away from the city, the ones that remain might not be hiring new staff. Pay attention to the companies in your location and what type of jobs are being advertised – it’ll help establish your niche.

The Three Types of Agency

There are different kinds of recruitment agencies, and they all need to be run differently. There are temporary staffing agencies, which provides staff to businesses on a short-term basis (from as little as 1 day to several months), permanent staff agencies (where you place an employee and then exit stage left), or temp to perm roles (these positions start on a temporary basis, but could become permanent).

Dealing with Issues

You’ll soon find that there are issues to running a recruitment agency. Your drive can find clients, but it can be difficult finding reliable employees, especially if it’s for temporary roles; they’re liable to disappear without much notice (i.e. just not turn up to work), which can affect your reputation. Your problem with clients will be payment: you’ll pay your staff weekly, but a client can take much longer to pay. If that happens, a website like www.BusinessFactors.com can help you get the cash to pay your staff. Every now and again, you’ll also find that there are issues that arise at the placement, which can be hard to manage as you’re caught between a client and your worker. Whose side do you take?

Finding a Location

You’ll also need to bear in mind that, unlike most other new businesses, recruitment agencies can’t run from your own home. You’ll need to have a professional office that looks the part. Also, you’ll have much more success if you’re located in the area of the city where the businesses you want to be doing business with are also based. This can sap a large part of your budget, but also remember that the costs of setting up a recruitment agency are lower than that of most other businesses.

New Company Staffing

Though you might have all the drive and energy in the world, you will not be able to run your new recruitment agency on your own, and you’ll need to bring in a few talented members of staff to add to the office. Primarily, you’ll want people who are good at sales. That’s what being a recruiter is sales. You’ll also need people to man the phones, visit potential clients, and take care of the other nitty-gritty details of running a business.

Marketing..to Clients and Workers

Your business is people. That’s it. You need to find clients and also the staff to fill the roles they hire you to fill. As such, you’re marketing to both sides: you want the best clients, but you also want the best workers. Ultimately, your success will depend on placing the right people in the right roles. You’ll need to be a good judge of character and also have high standards if you want to get the best. That means interviewing potential workers, inspecting their resumes to ensure they’re a good fit the job, and keeping in contact during their placement to make sure everything is running as smooth as possible.

Considerations

In the early stages of your new venture, you’ll need to have all hands on deck to try and find clients. Making lists of all the businesses in your recruitment industry and then contacting them with a solid, watertight pitch will be essential, as will being ready to actually fill the positions should you get an order. All in all, it’ll be a whirlwind few days and a real baptism of fire!

A Final Word of Motivation

There’s never been a better time to get into the recruitment game. With more and more jobs being created all the time, you’ll be an integral part of making sure the right talents are able to find the best jobs. What’s more, there’s something deeply satisfying about being involved in an industry that is always keeping you on your toes. You’ll never be able to sit still: the second one client has been staffed, you’ll need to be right on top of the next one. It’s fast paced, challenging, and will throw problems up that you didn’t even know existed: if that sounds good to you, then you might just be ready to enter the game.

Photo Credit: #WOCinChatTech

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