Gap between what businesses want from recruiters and where the best service is being delivered still substantial.

Market knowledge of available talent and a clear understanding of candidate role ranked as top priorities by employers. Employers say that the recruitment industry still needs to improve its market knowledge of available talent and develop a better understanding of the roles they recruit for, shows research by BrightPool, the specialist contract and permanent recruiter. BrightPool says that research it undertook amongst the UK’s largest employers showed that whilst the recruitment industry is seen as performing well in many areas, there is still significant room for improvement in two areas that most employers regard as crucial. 100 percent of employers in Brightpool’s research stated that having the recruiter possess a clear understanding of the job role is a high priority. However, only 67percent of employers ranked recruitment companies’ performance in this area as ‘satisfactory’ or ‘good’ and no participants rated them as ‘excellent’.Market knowledge of available talent was labeled a key concern by 89 percent of employers. 89 percent regarded delivery in this area as ‘satisfactory’ or ‘good’ but only 11 percent ranked it as ‘excellent’.

Angela Hickmore, Managing Director at BrightPool, comments: “A full understanding of the job role and a comprehensive working knowledge of available talent is a threshold requirement for recruiters to deliver values. As an industry we need to brush up our performance on these basic criteria. Whilst employers have recognised a reasonably good standard of delivery across the recruitment industry on these two categories there is still some room for improvement. Unless we as recruiters have a more through and in-depth understanding of what a job entails day-to-day, we are not going to be able to screen out candidates who are ill-suited. We need to ensure that we are communicating with employers to completely understand which skills are required. Knowing where to find the right candidates is also crucial – there is a perception amongst employers that recruiters don’t really know where the talent is and are perhaps a little disappointed by the shortlists they are presented with. It is not about being passive and waiting for the best people to present themselves- we need to be able to actively source the talent.”

Several other areas covered by BrightPool’s research revealed a gap between employer expectations and the performance of recruiters.Background checks and pre-screening on skills and experience, for example, were ranked of high importance by 78 percent of employers. Overall, 33 percent expressed satisfaction with recruiters’ performance but only 11percent rated it ‘good’. No participants described it as ‘excellent’ and 11percent actually labeled it ‘poor’.Angela Hickmore adds: “Once potential candidates have been identified, any detail which would mean they should be ruled out needs to be picked up as quickly as possible. This will ensure that no time is wasted on candidates that might not be a good fit for the role.”

Employers also rated both conveying their brand values to candidates and protecting their own brand image through efficient communication as important concerns. Ninety percent of employers felt it was ‘very important’ that a recruiter effectively communicated the company’s brand values to a candidate, to help ensure the right cultural fit. 50 percent expressed a level of satisfaction with delivery in this area but only 20 percent rated recruiters’ performance highly. Additionally 80 percent of employers said that it was very important that recruitment companies protect their brand by communicating professionally with candidates and keeping them up-to-date on the process. Only 40percent ranked delivery here highly.

Angela Hickmore comments: “Projecting and protecting their brand is extremely important to employers.  A recruitment consultant that can convey a company’s brand to a prospective employee is more likely to ensure the right cultural fit between the candidate and the employer. Similarly, any element of the hiring process is handled in an unprofessional manner – even for those who are not selected, it will reflect badly upon the employer. If an organisation is to attract and retain the best talent, we need to make sure that the recruitment experience is a positive one from start to finish. Desirable candidates will often be in high demand. The best could easily be deterred from taking up a position if they found the recruitment process frustrating or lacking in transparency.”

The research by BrightPool revealed that employers have different priorities when recruiting for short periods or specific campaigns. Over half of all employers identified the consistent quality of candidates as a top concern (considered a high priority by 57 percent of employers). Also ranked highly was the planning and co-ordination of candidate resource requirements (considered a high priority by 43 percent of employers). Retention activities, including candidate liaison and care post-appointment, came third alongside ensuring that a recruiter meets all candidates (both were considered a high priority by 29 percent of employers).