Making sure your business is getting the best administration talent can be time consuming, expensive and frustrating. If you decide to partner with an admin recruitment agency to assist with the search for new employees, ensuring you select the right one can be a challenge and comes with many considerations. It should offer guidance, expertise, introductions to the right type of admin candidates and oversee the lengthy recruitment process for you. Here, we assess the advantages of hiring an admin recruitment agency and discuss the key considerations as you carefully choose the right one for your business.
Listening to popular opinion
An agency that comes highly recommended to you is one of the most successful ways of choosing an admin recruitment agency. There is already a common bond between the client or candidate and the admin recruitment agency, and this works well from everyone’s point of view. Peace of mind that the recruiters can deliver what they promise and have the type of high-calibre candidates that your business requires is already proven and leads to a more trustful and transparent partnership moving forwards. More than often if a client has been recommended to an admin recruitment agency then they will go above and beyond pulling out all the stops to make sure this client is not disappointed.
One of the most obvious things to consider when a company is choosing an admin recruitment agency is by what they specialise in. What you are looking for is an agency that solely works on admin and personal assistant (PA) support roles such as PA, executive assistant (EA), private PA, team PA, team assistant, virtual PA or receptionist. This allows them to have a deep pool of suitable active and passive candidates.
The size and culture of an admin recruitment agency is also something to think about. Larger, more high-street admin agencies tend to work well with the large corporate size companies which require high volume temporary candidate turnaround. They can even place a consultant on-site to manage these temporary staff on behalf of their client, as an extension of their HR departments if necessary. Meanwhile, more boutique admin and PA recruitment agencies can offer an enhanced tailor-made service for their clients and can have a stronger alignment with small to medium-sized organisations which reflect their own core values.
Here at Oriel Partners, we only hire the very best consultants in the admin recruitment industry sector. All our consultants have more than five years’ admin and PA boutique agency experience, within London, before coming to work with us. The consultants work on only a few briefs at any one time, allowing the client the best possible level of personal service at all times and the fact that we have deliberately created an environment free from sales enables us to focus on maintaining strong relationships with our clients and building on our already extensive candidate network. Our recruitment consultants have a good understanding of the London admin and PA market and are able to guide and advise on packages and benefits to attract and retain the best talent.
Choosing an admin recruitment agency that is Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC)-accredited means it is part of the largest UK recruitment agency body. It abides by the best code of practice and has access to all the latest recruitment and employment legislation and industry updates. This gives you, the client, peace of mind you are dealing with an ethical and professional admin recruitment agency.
Get involved in the specifics
Selecting an admin recruitment agency that specialises in the admin and PA support sector yet works across multi-industry sectors is also a wise choice. Skill sets across different sectors are very transferable. Although there are circumstances when relevant industry experience is paramount, there are fabulous candidates out there whose talent can be tapped into if your admin recruitment agency works across both creative and corporate sectors. The right ‘fit’ for your organisation is key and a good admin recruitment agency will be able to introduce you to the best candidates who otherwise might have been overlooked. At Oriel Partners, we have a strong selection of clients which includes boutique private equity, finance and banking, executive search, property, management consultancy, hospitality, media, digital, luxury retail, charity and non-for-profit, private family office and private household.
Another important factor when deciding on the correct admin and PA recruitment agency for you is whether the agency can provide both permanent and temporary / interim candidates. Having an agency that can supply a temporary candidate at short notice or someone to assist on a special project or maybe maternity leave cover, that already knows your business well, will be able to make these transitions that much smoother.
From a candidate point of view, choosing the right admin and PA recruitment agency is just as important. Finding a new job in London can be challenging and time consuming, if not a little bit scary. A good admin recruitment agency will give you the support and opportunities required to make this process a happy and successful one! If you have been recommended by a friend or colleague to a good admin and PA recruitment agency, go in and register with them. The agency will always go above and beyond for a personal recommendation. If you have been recommended by a secretarial or business school, follow their advice. They are well connected with some of the best boutique secretarial agencies in London, including Oriel Partners, and using their contacts will give you an advantage over other candidates.
Looking to the future
A boutique admin recruitment agency will spend the time to really get to know you, your ambitions and motivations and find out what makes you tick. They will want to hear all about your past experiences and what excites you moving forward. The relationship with your recruitment consultant and agency is absolutely key for finding that dream job and if they are good at what they do will be able to assist you continually throughout your career. They will offer you advice on such things as negotiating salary increases and promotions, let you know of other exciting London job opportunities that are coming up and generally offer a sounding board as and when needed.
A good admin and PA recruitment agency is worth its weight in gold …. We hope that you will choose Oriel Partners.
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