A growing business can have several vacancies and still be unclear about the help it needs. Before comparing recruitment providers, look at the work your team can handle and the parts of the process that repeatedly lose momentum.
Describe the problem behind the request
“We need more applicants” is a starting point, but it needs examination. Perhaps few relevant people see the vacancy. Perhaps they see it but cannot understand the role. Perhaps suitable candidates apply and then wait for a response.
Walk through one current vacancy with the hiring manager and the person handling recruitment. Write down what happens at each stage, who owns the next action and where the process becomes difficult. This gives you a more concrete brief than a general request to increase hiring activity.
Include the practical limits on your own team. A manager may have time to interview candidates but little capacity to review every initial application. An internal recruiter may need support with campaigns and creative production. Different gaps call for different types of help.
Agree what a suitable candidate looks like
Review the role’s responsibilities before turning them into selection criteria. Which capabilities are essential from the first day? Which can be learned with the support available? Which requirements are preferences that should remain open to discussion?
Go2Blog’s guide to building a structured, skills-based hiring process offers further context on defining relevant criteria. For a supplier discussion, turn those criteria into a practical brief that both the recruiter and the manager understand.
Ask prospective partners how they would use that brief during screening and how they would share useful information with the manager. The answer should describe an actual process rather than rely on a general promise to send better candidates.
Check how communication connects with delivery
Advertising, employer branding and recruitment can be managed by different people. That can work, provided each handover is clear. The person contacting applicants needs to know what the campaign promised, while the campaign team needs feedback about the questions and misunderstandings that appear in conversations.
Ask who will produce the vacancy content, manage the advertising, handle enquiries and follow up with candidates. Establish how these people will share updates and when they will review the work together.
If a provider handles only part of the process, identify who will own the rest. Otherwise, work can fall between two teams even when each has completed the task it was assigned.
Compare scope before comparing fees
Two proposals with similar prices may cover different activities. Check the stated deliverables, the expected workload and the responsibilities retained by the employer. Confirm how advertising expenditure and additional creative work are treated.
Discuss what happens when priorities change. A business may need to pause one vacancy and focus on another, or improve an existing campaign after learning more from candidates. The agreement should explain how that work is prioritised and how any changes are discussed.
A fee structure is only one part of the choice. The working relationship also needs clear points of contact, a useful review rhythm and a way to resolve decisions that require management input.
Ask what the first review meeting will cover. A useful agenda includes current candidate conversations, decisions waiting for a manager and any information that needs updating in the vacancy. It should be possible to leave that meeting knowing which action belongs to the provider and which action belongs to your own team.
Consider an integrated team under your employer brand
SocialFind combines recruitment strategy, creative content, advertising, sourcing, screening and candidate follow-up. Its team works under the client’s employer brand and can support an existing recruitment function.
Through SocialFind’s RPO service, employers can discuss how this work fits their organisation and which responsibilities the external team should take on. The model uses a fixed monthly fee without placement fees, while the employer retains the final hiring decision.
That makes SocialFind a strong option for businesses looking to connect attraction and follow-up within one delivery approach. The useful next step is to work through a real vacancy together, including the information needed, the people involved and the first decisions to make.
Choose a partner whose proposed way of working addresses the gap you identified. A clear division of responsibilities gives both teams a better foundation for doing the work and assessing what needs to improve.
