Are you getting the greatest value from the contractors in your database?

Being successful in recruitment is all about the strength of your ‘little black book’. The greater the depth of your talent pool, the more opportunities you will have to pair ambitious clients with eager contractors.
While many recruitment agencies have a lot of connections however, far fewer are exploiting their full potential. Ultimately, business growth is not achieved by how many contractors you have in your network – it’s how many placements you can secure for those professionals. Achieving good results depends on leveraging the full value of each and every contractor.
With some simple adjustments to the way in which you manage your contractors and supporting services, you could place more people and drive greater revenue for your recruitment agency.
Let’s take a look at some straightforward ways to glean the greatest value from the contractors in your database…

Mobilise to organise

One reason that recruitment agencies fail to realise contractors’ full potential – which can be easily avoided – is simple disorganisation. If candidates are not managed in a central, co-ordinated manner then it’s easy for the perfect person to slip through the net.
And even if recruiters have a well-functioning database in place, the way in which contractor data is logged can also have a big impact on how their skills are utilised.
As we discussed in our recent whitepaper on The Future of Recruitment, many industry leaders are now focussing on skills rather than experience, using Artificial Intelligence tools to scan profiles and compile shortlists. This type of technology identifies suitable candidates using keyword searches, making it an efficient way to find the most appropriate people for each opportunity.
Often, turning to technology results in suggestions that seem left-field at first, but turn out to be the best recommendations for the role, based on your client’s skill shortages.

Understand what contractors can do – not what they’ve done

Leading on from this, an important point to note is that databases can only search for candidates by strengths if you’ve created a comprehensive contractor profile. Too many recruitment agencies simply upload people’s CVs without checking to see how informative or up-to-date they are.
Focus on understanding what skills each contractor has, rather than listing where they’ve previously worked. As we’ve already mentioned, this will give you the opportunity to suggest alternative candidates to employers, who can ultimately deliver far greater value using their natural capabilities.
Combining skills-based searches and technology is also a good way to get rid of any bias in the recruitment process, as sometimes contractors can be ruled out because of their age or years of service – when they have the approach and mindset needed to do that particular job well.

Spend time getting to know the person

Many recruiters invest time in building client relationships but are less committed to forming the same bond with contractors. The more you understand about each person on your books, however, the better you are able to build chemistry with potential employers.
One of the reasons that recruitment agency workers struggle to spend more time with contractors is everyday admin dominating your workload. While there are certain tasks that need to tick over – managing timesheets, submitting invoices etc. – this is low value compared to nurturing stronger relationships.
Like with talent searching, technology can play a major role in improving this side of the recruitment industry. Recruitment back office software automates essential processes to ensure they run efficiently, freeing agency staff to focus attention on clients and contractors.
By shifting the balance of power away from admin, your team will be able to devote more time and energy to contractor management. With greater knowledge of exactly who is on your books and the skills they possess, you will be in a strong position to make hiring recommendations and pairing companies with the exact right person to do the job in hand.
ETZ automates back office processes to help recruiters reduce the admin burden on your business. Book a free demo to see how our software works.