Finding the right person for a role is one of the most consequential decisions a business owner makes, and yet the recruitment process itself is often treated as an afterthought. A job description gets written, an agency gets briefed, and then it's largely a waiting game. The reality is that the businesses who get the most from their recruitment partnerships are the ones who understand what good looks like and hold their agency to it.
So what should a recruitment agency genuinely be doing for you?
Getting to know your business properly before anything else
A well-written job description is a starting point, a recruitment consultant worth working with will want to understand considerably more than a list of required skills and a salary range. They'll want to know how your business operates day-to-day, what your team looks like, what kind of person has succeeded in similar roles before, and just as importantly, what kind of person hasn't. That level of understanding is what makes the difference between a candidate who fits the role on paper and one who fits the business in practice.
If an agency is quoting you turnaround times before they've asked those questions, it's worth pausing to consider what exactly they're turning around so quickly.
Bringing you the right people, not the most people
One of the clearest signs of a strong recruitment partnership is restraint. The value a good agency provides isn't in the volume of candidates it sends across, it's in the quality of the thinking that went into selecting them. You should expect to receive a small number of well-considered candidates, each of whom has been properly screened, spoken to at length, and genuinely assessed against your requirements.
That means less time spent reading CVs that miss the mark, fewer interviews that go nowhere, and a much higher likelihood that the person you hire is the right one. If you find yourself regularly filtering out the majority of what an agency sends you, the brief either wasn't taken properly or wasn't listened to carefully enough.
Communicating honestly throughout the process
Recruitment doesn't always go to plan, and the best agencies are upfront about that. If the market for a particular skill set is tighter than expected, you should hear about it early, along with a realistic conversation about what that means for your timelines or your brief. If a role is proving difficult to fill for reasons that weren't initially apparent, a good consultant will tell you rather than quietly keep trying.
Clear, consistent communication throughout the process isn't a bonus; it's the baseline. Knowing where things stand at every stage allows you to plan properly and make informed decisions, rather than being left chasing updates.
Staying involved after the placement is made
The point at which a candidate starts is not the point at which an agency's involvement should end. A consultant who follows up in the first few weeks, checking in with both you and the new hire, is far more likely to catch any early concerns before they develop into something more significant. That kind of continued engagement is also what allows a recruitment partner to build a genuinely useful understanding of your business over time, making each subsequent hire a little more straightforward than the last.
Acting as a genuine partner, not just a service provider
The businesses that get the most from recruitment agencies are those that treat the relationship as a partnership rather than a transaction. That works both ways. The more openly you share information about your business, your culture, and what you're really looking for, the better placed your consultant is to find someone who truly fits. Over time, that relationship becomes one of your more valuable business assets, a trusted contact who understands your organisation well enough to represent it accurately and advise you honestly when the situation calls for it.
At Jobwise, that's exactly the kind of relationship we've been building with businesses across the North West for over four decades. We take time to understand what you actually need, we're selective about who we put forward, and we remain involved long after a placement is made.
If you'd like to find out more about how we work, we'd be glad to have a conversation.
