There is a common misconception that partnering with multiple recruiters will help you hire people faster and more efficiently. With over 27 years of experience, Oakstone International knows this is not true.

Companies often choose more than one recruiter to pit them against one another to encourage healthy competition to try and get the ideal person on board quicker, or they hire multiple recruiters to target different geographic regions or technical disciplines; however, this is not best practice.

Here are 5 reasons why you should never use multiple recruiters:

Using multiple recruiters is bad for your reputation

Using multiple recruiters will waste your time

Using multiple recruiters will shift your recruitment focus

You can lose control

Multiple recruiters will give you low-hanging fruit

Using multiple recruiters can harm your brand and reputation. If multiple recruiters approach the same people for your role (which, if they are good, they will), it makes it seem as though your company is disorganised and/or desperate. In a market where competition is high, it is important for candidates to have a great first impression of your company.

Working with multiple recruitment firms means spending more time catching up and communicating with every one of them. You could be discussing the same candidates and the same issues whilst juggling your day-to-day tasks. Having an effective recruitment partner should free up time for you to focus on other tasks; however, this could have the opposite effect if you are working with more than one recruiter. Streamline your recruitment process by working with one recruitment firm you trust.

The strategy of using multiple recruiters to compete against one another to speed up your recruitment process does not work. By choosing one recruitment partner, they can take the time to qualify candidates properly so they can put forward the best profiles that match your requirements, which, in the long term, makes the recruitment process faster and more focused.

Different recruitment firms have different strategies, and you should align your beliefs and values with the one that best matches yours. The issue with using multiple recruiters is that you must keep up with every strategy involved, making it difficult to manage and stay on track with everyone you are working with. You also lose control of how your company is being presented to potential candidates, which could also harm your brand.

Using multiple recruiters will encourage those recruiters to rush to reach the easy-to-find people they already know; when what you should want them to do is invest the time required to find the difficult-to-reach, better people – to do the job well rather than fast.

The chosen one

Our advice for choosing one recruitment partner is to ensure your focus, values and cultures are aligned. Your recruitment partner should always take the time to get to know your company and your recruitment needs so they can take a focused approach to your goals. Avoid the scattergun approach and recruitment agencies that simply advertise your role publicly, as this strategy attracts low-quality candidates. Using this strategy only targets a very small percentage of the market and misses out on passive candidates who could be ideal for the role.

If you have multiple roles in different regions or technical areas, choose a recruiter who can support you in each area you need. Creating a strong relationship with one recruiter who is committed to your company and who knows you and your company will be much more beneficial.

Oakstone International, CEO, Paul Rayner gives these ABCD tips for choosing the right recruitment firm:

• Availability
  They are ready to take on an assignment immediately, whenever you need them.

• Bandwidth
  The recruiters, infrastructure and resources to handle individual hires or large teams.

• Coverage
  Sector expertise and geographic reach

• Delivery
  A ‘no fail’ assurance that the right candidate will be found

Retaining a high-quality recruitment firm should also lower the overall cost of hire. With the certainty that a retained relationship brings, recruiters can afford to provide a far more effective service and delivery capability at the same fee level.

Exclusive agreements are beneficial for everyone involved.