The HR Guys

Your manager is more important to your health than your family doctor! It’s a bold statement, but when you pause and reflect, it makes a lot of sense. The environment you work in, the culture you experience, and the leadership you follow directly affect your stress levels, mental health, and overall well-being. A supportive, respectful workplace can help you thrive, while a toxic one can gradually chip away at your confidence, health, and enthusiasm for work. https://lnkd.in/dyAVE9cH

Why Are Recruitment Fees So Expensive? When it comes to recruitment fees, the age-old question arises: why are they so expensive? The honest answer is—it depends entirely on what you expect from your recruiter. It’s not necessarily about cost; it’s about value. If you’re looking to hire a senior professional for your business and you want your recruiter to manage the full recruitment lifecycle—sourcing candidates, conducting interviews, providing an exceptional candidate experience, building your employer brand, and managing rejections and offers—then a 20% fee sounds pretty reasonable. You’re paying for expertise, time, and a comprehensive service designed to find the perfect fit for your business. On the other hand, if what you really need is someone to simply wang over a few CVs for you to review, then yes, a 20% fee might feel excessive. It’s understandable; you’re not seeking the full package, so paying for it would feel disproportionate. https://lnkd.in/d62AQDuZ

At The HR Guys, we’re always looking for ways to enhance our service offering, making it more transparent and effective for everyone involved. One idea we’ve been exploring is shifting from the traditional percentage-of-salary recruitment fee model to a fixed fee approach. A fixed fee model can provide clearer expectations, simplify budgeting for employers, and increase transparency throughout the hiring process. It removes the ambiguity often associated with percentage-based fees and fosters stronger, more collaborative relationships. We’d love to hear your thoughts on this. Is it time for the industry to move towards a fixed-fee model? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments below!

From Chaos to Clarity: The Case for Exclusive Recruitment Partnerships The recruitment industry often faces criticism for high fees, poor communication, and inadequately screened CVs. These issues are largely attributed to the contingency recruitment model, where multiple agencies compete to fill the same position. In this post, we’ll explore why moving away from this model can benefit your business. The Multi-Agency Contingency Model In a multi-agency contingency model, agencies typically have a 25% fill rate, meaning they need to register four vacancies to make one placement. This approach often turns recruitment into a numbers game, prioritising quantity over quality. The model persists due to how employers purchase and agencies sell recruitment services. However, there is a straightforward solution: vet your recruitment partners carefully and choose one to deliver like any other professional service. You wouldn’t hire four accountants to compete over your accounts, so why do it with recruitment? The Advantages of an Exclusive Recruitment Model 1) Building a True Partnership An exclusive arrangement allows you to work closely with your recruitment partner. Instead of multiple agencies selling their candidates, a single recruiter can collaborate with you to find the best candidate. This approach fosters more honest discussions about each candidate’s strengths and weaknesses, improving the overall candidate experience. 2) Competitive Fee Arrangements Multi-agency recruitment often leads to high fees, sometimes 25-30%, because recruiters are compensated for both successful and unsuccessful efforts. Exclusivity can significantly improve fill rates to over 90%, allowing recruiters to offer more competitive fees and dedicate more time to each assignment. Commitment and Delivery Exclusivity and/or retainers increase commitment from both sides. Recruiters can spend more time crafting quality advertisements and thoroughly screening candidates. This contrasts sharply with the rushed, volume-driven approach often seen in multi-agency models. When you vet your recruitment partners, focus on their core skills. Are they true recruitment practitioners or skilled salespeople? The latter often results in poor delivery of your assignment by less experienced staff. Conclusion Exclusivity or retained arrangements in recruitment come down to mutual commitment. This approach, traditionally reserved for senior executive hires, is beneficial at all levels. Quality recruitment should be a priority for any business serious about finding the right talent. An experienced recruitment partner will craft compelling job adverts, create a clear recruitment timeline, and provide well-rounded candidate shortlists. They will manage the offer and feedback process, ensuring a smooth transition for new hires. By moving away from the multi-agency contingency model, you can improve the quality of your hires and enhance your overall recruitment process.

Candidate Experience: What Job Seekers Want. In today’s difficult recruitment market, where job seekers face numerous challenges, candidate experience is more important than ever. It’s not just about attracting top talent—it’s about showing courtesy and respect throughout the hiring process. Job seekers want a process that values their time and effort, leaving them with a positive impression of your organisation, regardless of the outcome. A clear, well-communicated process without unnecessary steps is crucial for a respectful candidate journey. Here are key ways to enhance your candidate experience: 🔹 Personalisation: Tailored communication, like acknowledging specific skills or experiences, shows candidates they are genuinely considered and valued. 🔹 Transparent Communication: Keep candidates updated at every stage. Clear timelines, feedback, and next steps build trust and reduce frustration. 🔹 Streamlined Application Processes: Simplify applications by reducing unnecessary steps and making the process mobile-friendly. Time is valuable, so make it easier for candidates to apply. 🔹 Embrace Technology: Use tools like chatbots to answer common questions but ensure that meaningful, human interactions are still at the heart of the process. 🔹 Focus on Employer Brand: Showcase your company culture, values, and employee experiences across your website and social media. A strong employer brand can influence people's decision to apply. 🔹 Feedback for Continuous Improvement: Gather feedback from candidates after each step to identify areas for improvement and refine your recruitment process. Incorporating these strategies not only improves your candidate experience but also attracts top talent and builds a positive employer brand. How do you improve the candidate experience in your recruitment process? #CandidateExperience #Recruitment #HR #Hiring #EmployerBrand #JobSeekers #Transparency #HRTech

💡 How Can Recruitment Professionals Help Build More Inclusive Candidate Pools? As recruitment professionals, it’s our responsibility to ensure we’re presenting diverse and fair shortlists to employers. It’s about more than just filling a role—it’s about creating a balanced and inclusive hiring process. Here are a few ways we can help: ✅ Write inclusive job ads that attract candidates from all backgrounds ✅ Cast a wide net and use diverse sourcing channels ✅ Use blind recruitment techniques when possible ✅ Always keep diversity at the forefront while identifying the best candidates for the role Recruiters can make a huge difference in supporting DEI goals while ensuring companies access the full spectrum of talent available. 💼🔍 Our retained HR recruitment service uses a 2 stage assessment process to incorporate a blind CV review and a structured interview process to ensure a fair and inclusive shortlisting process. Ask us for more info 👀 #Recruitment #DiversityInclusion #Hiring #DEI #HR #TalentAcquisition #CandidateExperience

💡 Candidate Spotlight: Experienced Chief People Officer with Expertise in Life Sciences and Knowledge-Based Sectors 💡 We are pleased to introduce an outstanding candidate for senior HR leadership roles – a Chief People Officer with a wealth of experience in both established global leaders and fast-paced, high-growth environments. Key Highlights: Location: Cambridge/London/UK (Flexible with weekly commute options) Salary Expectations: c. £160k +/- depending on opportunity Availability: Flexible for both interim or permanent roles, with adaptability to various working styles and locations This candidate brings a wealth of expertise from the Life Sciences sector, with a proven track record of driving business growth and transformation across EMEA, the US, and Internationally. Their leadership has been instrumental in scaling businesses, managing complex change processes, and partnering with executive leadership to build high-performing cultures. Check out more details below: #hrrecruitment #hr #humanresources https://lnkd.in/dVVczYQZ

Knowledge Sharing in a Remote World: Helping Early Career Candidates Thrive The rise of remote work has undeniably transformed the modern workplace. With the flexibility to work from anywhere, employees enjoy a better work-life balance, reduced commuting time, and greater autonomy. However, this shift to remote work isn’t without its challenges, particularly for early career professionals. While remote work offers numerous benefits, it can also leave them feeling isolated and disconnected from the valuable knowledge and mentorship that is crucial to their development. In this post, we’ll explore how early career candidates can continue to benefit from knowledge sharing in a remote world and what steps employers can take to help them thrive in this new environment. https://lnkd.in/dRijGjH6

Hi, I’m Paul, Director at The HR Guys!   With two decades of experience in HR recruitment, I specialise in connecting businesses with exceptional HR talent across knowledge-based sectors in the UK and EU.   I split my time between Cambridge and Innsbruck, focusing on the HR markets in Cambridge, London, Dublin, Munich, and Vienna.   At The HR Guys, we believe that the pursuit of ambitious business goals and treating your people with courtesy and respect are not mutually exclusive.   In fact, they are both key to commercial success   HR is pivotal in helping organisations succeed while building stronger, more inclusive communities.   We’re committed to promoting workplace equality by ensuring diverse, fair, and inclusive recruitment processes.   If you share this vision, I’d love to help you find the right HR people to meet your business needs. Paul Withers https://lnkd.in/d5Cgba_6 #hrrecruitment #hrrecruiter #thehrguys

Introducing an immediately available HR Manager - Very personable, smart and highly capable. Cambridge/London area, c75k+ Most recently, they served as HR Manager for a global Software business , overseeing the end-to-end employee lifecycle for a diverse workforce across multiple regions. Their contributions included: Developing and implementing a comprehensive People Strategy for global deployment, resulting in increased employee support and enhanced performance metrics. Leading significant organisational restructuring, focusing on employee engagement and support, which resulted in a 23% increase in performance. Managing payroll processes, ensuring compliance and accuracy while optimising systems to improve efficiency. Conducting training needs analyses and implementing tailored learning programs that increased employee skill sets and satisfaction rates. This candidate represents a superb opportunity for your organisation to enhance its HR management team. With a proven ability to navigate the complexities of human resource management and a genuine commitment to fostering an inclusive workplace culture, they are poised to make a significant impact from day one. https://lnkd.in/dWnJN_2y