What is more profitable: a recruiting agency or a freelance recruiter?
Anyone who has searched for Hadoop or Erlang developers at least once knows that such searches require a lot of time and effort. In order to optimize the work and get the maximum result in the least amount of time, complex vacancies are often outsourced. Accepting the need to hire a contractor, the company faces a major choice, which will determine how further work will proceed. Who better to hire: a recruiting agency or a freelancer? Which of the options is more profitable in terms of the ratio of investment and the result? Who will close the vacancy faster and more efficiently?
Traditionally, freelancers (not only recruiters, but also designers, programmers, copywriters and everyone else) are chosen for one reason: the budget. Freelancer services are always cheaper: it works without VAT, it does not need to pay for office rent, transfer funds to a pension fund, etc. According to statistics, choosing a freelancer reduces the recruiting costs by half. This is a big plus, but freelancers have their drawbacks.
The first and main one is the lack of processuality in the work . The freelancer is forced to perform not only their direct responsibilities for finding candidates, but also to take on other people's functions. He is his “sales person” (looking for new orders, offers his services), himself a manager (looking for a way out of difficult situations, coordinating the process), a PR man himself (trying to appear on important industry events, writing actual posts on the social network, writes for publications). All this takes time and is to the detriment of the recruiter’s main occupation - the search for candidates.
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The second is isolation from the professional environment . Communication and cooperation are created to make work more productive. A specialist working on his own cannot contact his colleagues for help in a difficult situation, which makes it harder for him to solve problems. In addition, it is more difficult for an autonomous recruiter to grow professionally: a freelancer learns only from his own mistakes, being in some sense divorced from recruiting trends.
The third is relatively modest resources . Freelancer - an independent combat unit. He uses only his own database of candidates, the size of which can not be compared with the databases of agencies. This means that many qualified candidates remain outside his field of vision, and the client’s choice is limited.
Sometimes companies have to pay twice for choosing a cheap contractor - if not in money (turning to another provider), then by time, losing a few extra weeks or even months. In addition, in business, time always has a monetary value.
Speaking of "recruiting agencies" in this post, we mean companies with specialization in specific areas of the market : the selection of IT personnel (such as iChar ), sales managers, top managers, marketers, etc. The specialization confirms the expertise of the recruiting company in the selected area and to some extent serves as a guarantee of results. As a rule, candidates know the brand of the agency and readily consider the vacancies offered to them.
The main reason why companies are not in a hurry to enter into an agreement with a recruiting company is, again, the cost of services. Paying more would be pointless if, as in popular advertising, there was no noticeable difference between the agency and the freelancer. But it is - and for that there are also several reasons.
The first number in the list of advantages is the processuality that freelancers lack. Turning to the services of a recruiting company, the client can be sure that a whole team will work with him systematically. The entire recruiter’s working day will be devoted to finding candidates, the key account manager will take care of the project, and for PR there is a separate specialist. The structure is the elder sister of efficiency, and with her in recruiting companies everything is fine.
The second reason is the recruitment agency resources. In a specialized company, there is always a proprietary base of candidates for years to which all recruiters have access. This is a private search channel that allows you to find a candidate who is not looking for work right now.
The third is the professionalism of recruiters , their stay in context. Revolving in the industry day after day, they constantly improve their professionalism, learn from the experience of their colleagues, and can turn to them for help at any time. It happens that agency recruiters go to freelancing, but companies try to keep the best of them in their staff.
Working with an agency always implies guarantees that the recruiter cannot provide on freelancing. So, when a particularly difficult job is closed, his colleagues are connected to the specialist responsible for it. When working with a recruiting company, it ceases to be a threat of force majeure (a sudden recruiter’s illness, his life circumstances), because one worker replaces another if necessary. In addition, the client always has several levers of influence on the recruiter. Any question can be solved both through the team leader and through the account manager - communication with them provides additional opportunities for solving complex issues.
Anticipating controversy, we anticipate objections that may arise from those who support freelancers.
Recruiting services are paid after the employee leaves for work. The mindset of the objector is as follows: until the freelancer closes the job, he will not receive the money, while the agency’s recruiter has a salary. So freelancer is more interested in success?
Not. Agency recruiter receives a bonus for closed vacancies, and for him financial motivation does not lose relevance. Think about it: does anyone really choose a contractor, thinking that he will either do the job or die of starvation?
Agency recruiter along with freelancer works on a personal brand and creates a reputation for himself. Moreover, recruiter agencies are controlled by the manager and KAM (key account manager), which serves as an additional incentive for him.
A normalized working day is not about recruiters. Both the freelancer and the specialist from the agency are equally unable to afford to finish the job at exactly six in the evening. Recruiters are always trying to adjust their schedule for clients and candidates, knowing the specifics of the business in which they work. If a candidate can communicate with the recruiter only at 9 pm, both freelancers and the agency employee will agree on these conditions with the same enthusiasm.
It's right. Indeed, among freelancers there are very professional recruiters with experience in consulting who are able to get anyone from outside the ground without any help. But they are few. There are various reasons for leaving the agency - not only the achieved career and professional growth ceiling.
We have not opened any americas. The choice between the agency and the freelancer still depends on the client's willingness to pay (or risk) and on the desire to have guarantees. If the need for savings is stronger than the threat of risk, nothing prevents the company from choosing a freelancer. If the means and requirements are high, the priority contractor is still the agency.
We visually compared freelancers and recruitment agencies in this table:
Option 1: Freelancers
Traditionally, freelancers (not only recruiters, but also designers, programmers, copywriters and everyone else) are chosen for one reason: the budget. Freelancer services are always cheaper: it works without VAT, it does not need to pay for office rent, transfer funds to a pension fund, etc. According to statistics, choosing a freelancer reduces the recruiting costs by half. This is a big plus, but freelancers have their drawbacks.
The first and main one is the lack of processuality in the work . The freelancer is forced to perform not only their direct responsibilities for finding candidates, but also to take on other people's functions. He is his “sales person” (looking for new orders, offers his services), himself a manager (looking for a way out of difficult situations, coordinating the process), a PR man himself (trying to appear on important industry events, writing actual posts on the social network, writes for publications). All this takes time and is to the detriment of the recruiter’s main occupation - the search for candidates.
')
The second is isolation from the professional environment . Communication and cooperation are created to make work more productive. A specialist working on his own cannot contact his colleagues for help in a difficult situation, which makes it harder for him to solve problems. In addition, it is more difficult for an autonomous recruiter to grow professionally: a freelancer learns only from his own mistakes, being in some sense divorced from recruiting trends.
The third is relatively modest resources . Freelancer - an independent combat unit. He uses only his own database of candidates, the size of which can not be compared with the databases of agencies. This means that many qualified candidates remain outside his field of vision, and the client’s choice is limited.
Sometimes companies have to pay twice for choosing a cheap contractor - if not in money (turning to another provider), then by time, losing a few extra weeks or even months. In addition, in business, time always has a monetary value.
Option 2: Recruitment Agencies Specializing in a Specific Area
Speaking of "recruiting agencies" in this post, we mean companies with specialization in specific areas of the market : the selection of IT personnel (such as iChar ), sales managers, top managers, marketers, etc. The specialization confirms the expertise of the recruiting company in the selected area and to some extent serves as a guarantee of results. As a rule, candidates know the brand of the agency and readily consider the vacancies offered to them.
The main reason why companies are not in a hurry to enter into an agreement with a recruiting company is, again, the cost of services. Paying more would be pointless if, as in popular advertising, there was no noticeable difference between the agency and the freelancer. But it is - and for that there are also several reasons.
The first number in the list of advantages is the processuality that freelancers lack. Turning to the services of a recruiting company, the client can be sure that a whole team will work with him systematically. The entire recruiter’s working day will be devoted to finding candidates, the key account manager will take care of the project, and for PR there is a separate specialist. The structure is the elder sister of efficiency, and with her in recruiting companies everything is fine.
The second reason is the recruitment agency resources. In a specialized company, there is always a proprietary base of candidates for years to which all recruiters have access. This is a private search channel that allows you to find a candidate who is not looking for work right now.
The third is the professionalism of recruiters , their stay in context. Revolving in the industry day after day, they constantly improve their professionalism, learn from the experience of their colleagues, and can turn to them for help at any time. It happens that agency recruiters go to freelancing, but companies try to keep the best of them in their staff.
Working with an agency always implies guarantees that the recruiter cannot provide on freelancing. So, when a particularly difficult job is closed, his colleagues are connected to the specialist responsible for it. When working with a recruiting company, it ceases to be a threat of force majeure (a sudden recruiter’s illness, his life circumstances), because one worker replaces another if necessary. In addition, the client always has several levers of influence on the recruiter. Any question can be solved both through the team leader and through the account manager - communication with them provides additional opportunities for solving complex issues.
"But…"
Anticipating controversy, we anticipate objections that may arise from those who support freelancers.
“But freelancers have better motivation.”
Recruiting services are paid after the employee leaves for work. The mindset of the objector is as follows: until the freelancer closes the job, he will not receive the money, while the agency’s recruiter has a salary. So freelancer is more interested in success?
Not. Agency recruiter receives a bonus for closed vacancies, and for him financial motivation does not lose relevance. Think about it: does anyone really choose a contractor, thinking that he will either do the job or die of starvation?
Agency recruiter along with freelancer works on a personal brand and creates a reputation for himself. Moreover, recruiter agencies are controlled by the manager and KAM (key account manager), which serves as an additional incentive for him.
“But a freelancer works more than just from 9 to 18”
A normalized working day is not about recruiters. Both the freelancer and the specialist from the agency are equally unable to afford to finish the job at exactly six in the evening. Recruiters are always trying to adjust their schedule for clients and candidates, knowing the specifics of the business in which they work. If a candidate can communicate with the recruiter only at 9 pm, both freelancers and the agency employee will agree on these conditions with the same enthusiasm.
“But recruiters from agencies also become freelancers”
It's right. Indeed, among freelancers there are very professional recruiters with experience in consulting who are able to get anyone from outside the ground without any help. But they are few. There are various reasons for leaving the agency - not only the achieved career and professional growth ceiling.
Instead of conclusion
We have not opened any americas. The choice between the agency and the freelancer still depends on the client's willingness to pay (or risk) and on the desire to have guarantees. If the need for savings is stronger than the threat of risk, nothing prevents the company from choosing a freelancer. If the means and requirements are high, the priority contractor is still the agency.
We visually compared freelancers and recruitment agencies in this table:
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/294882/
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