How a Specialist Construction Recruitment Consultancy Can Save you Time and Money – Yes Really!
Posted by Steve Thomas , Construction Recruitment Director, UK & Canada on Monday, February 12, 2024
I think I wouldn’t use a recruitment agency myself if I didn’t have to. There I’ve said it – and it may be what you are thinking yourself? Or perhaps you are resisting the need to use an agency at the current time, despite the ongoing desperate need to hire someone that you just can’t find?
I used a recruitment agency in early 2024 to find and employ a Graduate Recruitment Consultant with English and Cantonese language skills because I don’t know any, don’t have any in my network in Leicester and don’t have the time to go searching for one myself because I am too busy making a living filling the vacancies my construction industry clients give me.
One of the realities of being a busy professional working anywhere in the construction industry is that time is short and one of the great ways to success is to specialise in what you are good at and to delegate other important tasks to either colleagues or to your supply chain to successfully complete.
The UK recruitment industry was worth an estimated £43 Billion in 2021 according to the REC so someone must think it is money well spent. But when are recruitment fees well spent and when should engaging a construction recruitment consultancy be avoided? Here are a few thoughts:
Avoid 1 | Trying to Use a Recruitment Agency To Fill an Impossible to Fill Vacancy
Don’t bother engaging an agency to try and fill a job that no one wants to do because the salary is rubbish or the job scope is unclear or impossible to deliver. Look at this checklist here to be sure that your employment proposition is attractive.
Avoid 2 | Recruiting (in any way) When You are Not Serious About Employing
Any recruitment process needs to be undertaken seriously and with intent and in a timely manner to ensure you have the option to secure the best talent and maximise employee utilisation and company profitability. See why there is a need for speedy recruitment for a summary of what can be achieved when you are fully committed to recruiting people – likely with a recruitment partner on the case to assist.
Avoid 3 | When You Only Want Your Internal ‘Talent Acquisition’ Team to Find People
There is a time and a place for internal recruitment and also a time when external recruitment is essential in order to cover the ground and identify additional or specialist skills from outside existing known networks. While Maxim is (to be honest) pretty brilliant at finding construction rocking horses in construction haystacks (apologies for the mixed metaphor) we can’t help if we are not allowed or approved to do our jobs by the HR/Talent/Internal Recruitment hierarchy. I was told off by a major UK contractor’s talent team for successfully finding the business someone they had been unable to find for months, and line management was incredibly grateful for the introduction – but it was the end of the working relationship as we don’t work for companies that are not happy to pay for a job well done (HR did pay but very grudgingly through gritted cheque book).
So, what are the right circumstances in which a Specialist Construction Recruitment Consultancy Can Save you Time and Money?
Time and Money Saved 1 | Speed
When your business doesn’t have a talent team or internal recruitment resources are already overstretched: With the right briefing, approval to proceed and terms agreed, Maxim can drop onto a specialist construction industry vacancy and provide great candidates for interview and employment within a surprisingly short timeframe.
Time and Money Saved 2 | Candidate Quality and Choice of Candidate
When you are not happy with the quality and choices presented: With over 21 years in business, Maxim Recruitment know how to research, shortlist, interview and present qualified candidates for construction jobs. If you are stalling on deciding whether to offer a job to a candidate, it may mean that you are insufficiently impressed and want more choice or perhaps a better calibre set of candidates to choose between.
Unless retained to provide our Dedicated Service or Executive Search service, Maxim does not charge a fee until you the employer are happy, and your Maxim sourced candidate has started work with you. In this circumstance, there is nothing to loose from using Maxim to present you with options. Even a large recruitment fee is a better investment than employing a mediocre candidate that may lead to sub-optimal performance on a project and the need to begin the hiring process again.
Time and Money Saved 3 | Guaranteed Service Levels Needed to Find and Present Suitable Candidates
When finding the right person cant be left to chance and is time critical: For clients needing the piece of mind that an experienced construction recruitment professional is actively focused on filling their vacancy with the best possible candidate, we offer both a Dedicated Service and Executive Search Service .
Please get in touch with me by phone on 0800 689 4841 or submit a contact request if you wish to to discuss this solution further. In summary, we can offer employers that are serious about recruiting premium staff, a premium recruitment service at a standard recruitment agency cost.
Conclusion
It is absolutely the case that using a construction recruitment agency, even a premium one like Maxim Recruitment is a “necessary evil” that in an ideal situation would not be the case. However “Perfect is the Enemy of Good” and in the construction industry pragmatism needs to prevail.
If you are looking for a no-nonsense approach to recruiting premium staff in a tight skills market, please get in touch. The Maxim team based in the UK, Canada and Hong Kong can demonstrate from our actions How a Specialist Construction Recruitment Consultancy Can Save you Time and Money – Yes Really!
Steve is responsible for Maxim Recruitment in the UK. He is based in the Maxim head office in Leicester, Leicestershire and regularly travels to meet employers, job seekers and to attend construction industry networking events all over the UK. With over 20 years' experience in construction and property recruitment he works with a number of repeat clients and engages in search and headhunting assignments for a range of premium UK and international clients.