Hays: Most companies are underutilising their recruitment agencies

KUCHING: As Malaysia continues to battle against and recuperate from the fallout of Covid-19, it has never been more important for businesses to find exceptional talent.

Many are now trusting specialist recruitment agencies to source the perfect fit amidst market uncertainties, cost- cutting measures and mounting job responsibilities.

But despite investing in expert recruitment agencies, many businesses may be missing a crucial step that would help them get the most out of their investment.

“When a company uses a recruitment agency to help source talent for them, it is common for the lion’s share of the responsibility to fall into the lap of their HR department.

“However, since the final decision often does not lie in their hands, they often end up playing the role of ‘ middleman’ between the candidate, agency and hiring manager,” said Hays Malaysia business director Sarah Tanoue.

While hiring managers are almost always involved with candidate interaction and selection at some point, many are removed from direct interaction with their external recruitment partner. This results in them often becoming detached from the process and leaving critical decision making and feedback for HR to communicate with candidates and agencies.

“The perceived advantage of this to most companies is that of saving time,” Tanoue added. “A hiring manager may think they are leaving hiring to the experts and thus spending their time on their core business tasks.

However, the aptitude, speed and suitability of a new hire will directly impact the performance of their team. By staying distant, hiring managers risk miscommunication, delays, or worse: hiring someone without the right skills or fit – a mistake that could cost them dearly in terms of time and resources down the line.”

Giving recruitment consultants access to hiring managers will not only allow them to do their job more effectively but will radically improve the hiring process in both time and effectiveness.

“Similarly, having hiring managers directly interact with candidates can help build engagement and improve their candidate experience,” Tanoue added.

“To stay ahead of the curve when recruiting in these uncertain times, it is vital for organisations to truly understand that talent acquisition is essential to their business bottom line. This means seeing recruitment as not a function of HR but a responsibility that spans across levels.