In-house vs agency recruitment – Which is best for you?

In-house vs agency recruitment – Which is best for you?

A warm welcome back to our blog! In this article, we would like to discuss four aspects you can consider when deciding whether an in house or an agency recruitment is better for your business. Even if you already have an in house recruiter, you may consider an external recruitment agency depending on your needs and resources. 

What is best for you depends on how fast you need to hire, how many you need to hire, what skills matter to you more in hiring and how you wish to spend for the recruitment. As there are benefits and costs to both types of recruitment, we will go over what each has to offer with respect to the time, scale, fit, skills and cost each requires and offers.

Time and scale of hiring

If you need the position in your business filled quickly or you need to scale up your team fast, then an agency recruitment may be the better way to go. Given an agency’s resources, networks and database of candidates; you are more likely to get a qualified candidate(s) through the door in a quicker time frame. 

Due to the volume and diversity of hires they make, agency recruiters are more skilled in attracting candidates, having negotiations and closing the deal. They are also able to fill multiple positions at a time given they have a wider access to the talent pool.

However, you may not be too pressed for time and able to scale your staff over a certain period. Your business may also be a small business where you do not have the resources for an agency but you have someone on the team who can recruit new employees. Then in-house recruitment may be a smarter move where your recruiter can take their time and undertake a more thorough hiring process to find a candidate.

Culture fit or diverse talent

An in-house recruiter will be better versed in the company values, goals and culture. This will help in finding someone that is better suited for the way your business already works. Moreover, after the hire, that person will be a colleague of the recruiter so they will pay more attention to the ability of the candidate to fit in with the company and team. 

On the other hand, you may not want to stick to a certain culture. You may be looking to expand diversity or find talent that is positively disruptive to help your team move towards new perspectives. You may also be happy to overlook a culture fit if the candidate is at the top of their game. 

In this case, an agency or external recruiter will provide you with a diverse pool of candidates. Given they have a more specific market knowledge on the industry you are recruiting from, they have a better chance of finding you someone more diverse and technically capable.

Cost savings

Depending on your hiring needs, both an in-house recruiter or an agency can save you costs. If you hire often but can afford to take your time, then an in-house recruiter will save you more given that you will not have to pay them commission each time. 

On the other hand, if you hire seldom, want to hire quickly or many at once then an agency can save you costs in terms of saving you time and only providing you services when you need it rather than paying the salary of an inhouse recruiter(s) longterm. When comparing costs remember to weigh the cost of lost productivity during the time it takes to find a candidate vs the cost of hiring an external recruiter.  

What’s best? 

Ultimately, what is best for you is determined by your requirements and resources as mentioned above. Both have their costs and benefits and choosing what is right for you based on your needs will help you save costs and reap the advantages of either recruitment option.

If you liked this article and would like more information or advice, feel free to contact us and one of our experts will be happy to talk to you. AJ Connect provides first class recruitment services for SMEs and businesses in the UK.