Contractors find recruitment agency reliability in question

Contractors are uncertain about the reliability of information they receive from agencies about work opportunities.

Survey Shows Concern

According to a survey by an independent consultant, about three-quarters of candidates who sought work through agencies felt that they had not received information that was entirely accurate about the chances. This was a survey of 1074 people who had been to a recruitment agency seeking work.

In the survey, conducted by the London-based Web Hires Ltd., which runs the recruiting evaluation web site http://www.HireScores.com, nearly 90% of those surveyed felt the recruitment industry should do more to increase its transparency and more worryingly 56% felt that they had been pressured into going for a role by an agency. Most however felt that using online job boards and forums made the recruitment process easier.

Worrying Reading

Lisette Howlett, managing director of HireScores.com, commented: ''The survey results make for worrying reading for the recruitment agency industry--especially the fact that so many people feel that they were pressured into going for a role.'' It is notable that so many candidates do not feel that they can trust the information that their agencies provide, nor the guidance that they receive from agencies in choosing a role, as the HireScores.com survey shows.

It is notable that candidates sought improved communication with agencies. ''It is not all doom and gloom for the industry though as 85% of people said that they are willing and confident enough to give 'totally honest feedback' on agencies if the companies themselves are willing to listen and a confidential communication mechanism is set in place.''

The evaluations done by HireScores.com have been welcomed by the recruitment industry as a major step to providing feedback on how agencies are performing. There has been some controversy about candidate selection for inclusion in the HireScores.Com surveys, but most observers agree that this is a valuable new channel for the industry, one which will greatly improve transparency.

Some in the industry welcomed the idea. ''Great Idea, if not abused by agencies who have nothing better to do. Honest hard working consultants deserve recognition in what is a very competitive job. It's these people who make the companies what they are,'' says a spokesman for the London-based job board 'On Q' Jobs.

Getting It Right

Others expressed concern that the identity of candidates could not be verified. Says Mathew Porteus at the Altrincham, Chesire-based recruitment agency Ratio: ''Here at Ratio we can still get up to 300 applicants per advert and we put out about 100 ads per week. Thats a potential 30,000 candidates per week that could provide feedback. We of course use the automated response for candidates that we do not put into the short list, however again it seems these are the people that complain. How can any organisation get back to thousands of people on a weekly basis? ''

A previous attempt at candidate rating for agencies was made by the Havant, Hampshire-based job board Jobsite, but reportedly did not achieve an authoritative place in the industry.

Howlett has however taken considerable pains to ensure that ratings from candidates are reliable and are not subject to manipulation from competing agencies.

''It seems strange to think that you can rate hotels, CDs, books, and restaurants, but to date there’s been no open way for job seekers to rate the recruitment industry?'' Howlett points out.