Manufacturing successful partnerships

When I joined Dyer we had a scattergun approach to recruitment. We used many agencies, different rates, temp to perm contracts, spent a fortune on fees and a high employee turnover rate. What did I do? I knew we had the intention to grow our headcount over the next 5 years so I asked all the agencies we worked with to tender for the work.

When we first went to tender, our goal was clear: to find a single-source supplier that we could build a strong partnership with, one that would help us enhance our employer brand and attract top talent. All agencies were given the same opportunity. We made our choice because we believed we would receive a more dedicated service, greater focus, and more favourable terms. While we agreed to ring-fence HR, Finance, and Marketing (as these weren’t their areas of expertise), along with some strategic hires, we intentionally kept the agreement flexible to allow for open and honest collaboration.

We also moved our model to permanent positions only. We did for a few reasons but mainly we wanted to offer stability. I also know that a talented person isn’t going to give up a permanent role for a temporary one.

Over the past 18 months, we’ve cultivated a strategic partnership with them. They now manage almost all of our recruitment, recruitment marketing, our employer branding, and even host our microsite. They’ve taken the time to understand our culture, and during recruitment campaigns, both blue and white collar, our roles are prioritised, giving us first refusal on candidates that align with our culture. In the last 12 months; we’ve appointed 41 positions, time to hire has reduced to 4 weeks (average) and we’ve only lost 4 people in that time (leaving within 4 weeks). We have a happy and settled workforce. 

What I hadn’t fully appreciated until recently is the broader impact this relationship has on our positioning in the labour market. Key Talent is now approaching our partner asking to be kept up to date on our roles.

This partnership has been running successfully for 18 months. So, why does it work so well? My answer was simple: the partnership is built on trust, and the company we work with has learned our values. I know I can pick up the phone, request a Sales Engineer, provide a salary band, and within the day, I’ll have at least two candidates to review (this happened yesterday). I know I can forward a speculative CV and get a response from Callum saying, “I know this person, I know their work history, and I haven’t submitted them to you because they wouldn’t add value to your culture.” I know my roles are prioritised because we don’t ‘spread our net wide’ or play recruitment consultants off against each other. 

We trust them to do the job we’re paying them to do.

“We used the retainer service from Theo James for a senior position in the business, as we needed a quick recruitment of a high quality candidate. The service we received was fantastic. Within 3 weeks of the initial discussion, Vicki had pulled together 5 exceptional candidates whom she had already pre-interviewed with a video of each, this made our decision on who to interview much easier and hassle free. I would highly recommend this service.”