It is well-known within the recruitment industry that there is often animosity between Human Resources departments and external recruiters. Perhaps the internal department feels like their role is being usurped by a stranger from the outside; perhaps they think the candidate being offered by the recruiter may not be suitable. What we have to ask is this – do HR departments forget that recruiters are only doing their job?
It is often the case that recruitment consultants bypass HR departments altogether when looking to place a candidate, and go directly to the relevant line manager or department head. As the HR department’s role is to assess the suitability of a candidate for a role before reporting to the line manager, it’s easy to see where tensions may arise. However, what a HR department may fail to understand is that the recruiter is not ignorant to the skills and suitability of a particular candidate for a certain role; nor are they ignorant of the business practices of the company in which they are attempting to place the candidate. While the priority of recruitment firms is to place candidates, that does not mean – as HR departments seem to believe – that this is done at the expense of the company making the hire.
What’s more, recruiters are aware of the fact that HR departments may have concerns about being ‘out of the loop’ – that’s why part of the job is to ensure full and complete candidate suitability before making contact. There are multiple benefits to the recruiter of bypassing HR and going straight for management – and let’s not forget, they’re simply doing their job!
In fact, recruiters are actively encouraged to go straight to line managers as it’s easier and more useful to be referred down than to attempt to go through HR from the outset. For recruiters, this is the number-one way to ensure they’re getting the most from their accounts.
Some internal recruiters also believe that external firms send the same candidate to multiple companies at once, making recruitment processes muddier. While this may well be the case, it’s no different than a candidate who applies for multiple positions at the same time – plus, no recruiter ever sends a candidate out for a job they’re not suited to.
So HR folks, if you’re reading this, give recruiters a break – they’re doing their job and doing it well.
