I’ve worked in the bathroom industry since 1987 and since 1999 I’ve held various Sales Director roles for well-known companies in the bathroom sector. I have always been careful with money – whether my own or the company’s. Therefore I typically endeavoured to use the “grapevine” before ever resorting to recruitment consultants.
My biggest disappointment with most recruiters is that it felt like a computer had churned out CV’s of candidates living in roughly the right area and having something close to the required experience.
How did your experience of working with Sharples Davies change your opinion on the recruitment process:
Five years ago, I decided to become a freelance consultant. Whilst I hadn’t previously used Sharples Davies Ltd, I was impress by the raison d’etre of Sharples Davies Ltd. The founder was frustrated by the same frustrations I had experienced, as he too worked within the building products sector. He wanted to start a recruitment consultancy where every candidate had been interviewed and matched to the clients brief. So instead of a client receiving multiple CVs, Sharples Davies effectively undertake the first interview for the client.
What advice would you give to a hiring manager after your spell in recruitment:
I now appreciate the value of a recruitment consultant that works the way Sharples Davies do. I previously resented potentially paying a fee for a candidate I could potentially have found myself. The Sharples Davies Headhunt Search and Selection approach adds value to the process and saves valuable management time for the client.
If a hiring manager wants to get the best out of a recruiter, it’s important that they give the recruiter exclusivity – even if only for a month. The danger of using multiple agencies is the recruiter is forced to send out multiple CVs without undertaking a review of the candidates and sometimes without informing the candidates (not a process ever undertaken by Sharples Davies). Recruiters are forced into this way of working, if they’re up against other agencies as the fee will only be paid if they were first to email the CV.
Additionally if a period of exclusivity is a granted, a consultancy like Sharples Davies won’t just rely on their database but will actively target individuals with the right skills who may not be signed up with any agencies.
Using multiple agencies may feel like it’s the right way to go, but you don’t get the best of the recruiter and its questionable what value they’re adding compared to a post on say LinkedIn. LinkedIn will also get you countless applicants but won’t give you the added value of vetting candidates and saving valuable interviewing time.
What was your experience working with Sharples Davies Ltd
The whole team were great and understood that a recruiter needs to add value to the Process. I loved my time there as a freelance consultant and would certainly recommend Sharples Davies Ltd to any client looking for a proactive recruitment agency who won’t waste your time with unqualified and unsuitable candidates. I used to tell my clients that everyone I put forward will be suitable, it will be more down to who they click with.
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