Guidelines for Hiring A Contract Recruiter

Reprinted with permission from Personnel Journal Magazine, October 1988, Reprint # 1777

GUIDELINES FOR HIRING A CONTRACT RECRUITER
Ed Lawrence, Contract Recruiter

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     Talk about quantity versus quality and results versus activity. If the employment program operates in a large-volume hiring environment in which the hiring managers prefer to see a highly visible recruitment staff, perhaps the contractor's priorities should be set so quality and results (although still important) fall below quantity and the level of activity.

     The contract recruiter moves through numerous corporate cultures and as a result won't have an automatic understanding of what is expected of him or her in such areas as dress, on-site work hours and personal decorum. Brief and direct statements, such as "We expect our consultants to be appropriately dressed in business attire" and "They should exhibit a professional manner at all times," are usually all that's needed to make certain the contractor conforms to company expectations. If the contractor's on-site presence is important for visibility and activity purposes, again, a brief statement explaining required work hours and days is in order.

     If budget conditions are such that 50-65 hour weeks would drain the till too quickly, advise the contractor and agree to a mutually acceptable level. Keep in mind, however, that few contractors are willing to work less than 30 hours a week; and few contractors can successfully fill requisitions during a nine-to-five schedule. Remember that evenings and weekends are standard in this business.

     Good record keeping in vital during and after an engagement. Outline the reports, files and all other records you wish the contractor to maintain and, most importantly, where and how they are to be kept and by whom. If applicant flow information is important for departmental reporting purposes, make certain the contractor is aware of this and is given proper instruction in the proper handling of your system. Make the contractor a participant in your system, as opposed to the reverse. A clear and easily documented audit trail of the contractor's activities should be left upon his or her departure.

Also, determine how the contractor is to track and report work hours and weekly activity. Some engagements use a weekly "billable" hours reporting form on which the contractor files a time sheet showing off-site and on-site hours worked. This should be submitted weekly or biweekly. Periods beyond these lose their effectiveness in terms of providing timely decision-support and reporting assistance.

The weekly "billable" hours report also could contain sections that report all travel for the period, resumes received, interviews conducted, EEO/AAP data and, very importantly, all resumes routed and interviews conducted by named hiring managers. This last item can be important when producing intra-company reports.

The contractor's invoice usually accompanies the hours report. In most cases this is done on a biweekly cycle, with payment due net 10 or 30 days. Whatever the case, make certain these are paid on time. If your accounting department subscribes to what appears to be the common practice of pushing all payables out 10-15 days after their due date, intercede in this instance and make certain the contractor's payment date is consistently met.

In the case of contract recruiting, your vendor is not delivering a consumable widget to your loading dock and departing to await payment. He or she is there beside you daily, and you will not want to lose momentum in the recruiting process because an invoice has not been paid. Very few things impair a working relationship quicker than money owed. Remember, to the accounting department it's just another accounts payable -- to the contractor it's a paycheck. Make it your personal responsibility to see that he or she is paid on time, every time.

Additionally, define your desired protocols for how the contractor will handle the hiring managers, third-party vendors, applicants and advertisements. For example, if you prefer not to have the contractor deal directly with your employment agency vendors, establish that fact during the pre-assignment discussions.

Before making the final selection, involve all human resources department staff in the decision.

Obtain their input and reactions and incorporate them (where appropriate) in the objectives of the engagement. This helps curb contractor resentment, which is one of the biggest problems a contract recruiter usually faces during an engagement.