Not all Recruiters are Cowboys

Vicky at Jobsite sent me an interesting bit of research which is a more positive follow on from my recent blog about Cowboy Recruiters.

The key findings are:

• When asked what they currently considered to be most important to them, 30% of recruiters prioritised encouraging word of mouth recommendations and peer-to-peer referrals amongst active and passive job seekers as their most important objectives, taking the largest overall share of vote.  This was placed significantly ahead of making the job placement which attracted just 15% of recruiters.  Interestingly, the second-highest priority of those surveyed was providing a great candidate experience regardless of making the actual placement, which attracted 25% of the vote.
• 10% of recruiters surveyed believe that repeat job seeker business now accounts for over 50% of their business income.  Whilst 27% said that repeat business accounted for between 30% - 50% of their business.  14% of recruiters thought it represented between 10 – 20% of their business.
• In the survey, 23% said they placed 20-30% of candidates in roles other than those they originally applied for, illustrating an additional commitment to candidates including gaining a thorough understanding of their requirements and being proactive in helping them to realise their goals.

As Keith Potts (Jobsite CEO) says “In the past the recruitment industry has been seen as transactional and not always very good at building relationships with people. However what our research illustrates is that the tide has turned and both customer loyalty and customer experience are becoming as important as in the next industry if not more so, particularly in an increasingly competitive and tight employment market."

It's good to hear that a decent percentage of recruiters do care about where they place a candidate, the service offered to them and the organic growth or their own organisation.