There are many misconceptions about working with a boutique recruitment agency. The most obvious one is that it is just as easy to do it yourself. A good PA agency will enable you access to the best PA / admin talent in London, quickly, with no fuss and be able to guide you carefully through the recruitment process. Recruiting top PAs for your business can be time-consuming and even frustrating at times and the impact on your business of not getting the right PA support can be a very negative one.
Here at Oriel Partners we only employ recruitment consultants who are highly experienced within the PA / admin market and have proven success rates of placing outstanding PAs with even the most demanding of clients. Whatever industry sector our clients are in, from start-up boutique finance houses to large creative businesses, we will have an active and passive pool of PA / admin candidates who are right with regards to skill set and fit for your organisation, all who have been carefully screened for your specific needs. These connections are built up over many years and give us direct access to PA candidates who would not otherwise be within your reach. With regards to the private PA roles, these positions are often confidential and a good recruitment agency will be able to select a strong shortlist discreetly without having to make a public search.
Likewise, PA candidates will have access to job opportunities and careers that would never have been presented to them if they had not registered with a top PA recruitment agency. What is also thought by many PA and admin candidates is that the agency can only assist them with their next career move, not realising that an experienced recruitment consultant can guide them through difficult situations such as negotiating a pay rise and securing a promotion. They can also guide the employer with regards to salaries and market conditions.
Another common misconception about working with a PA / admin recruitment agency is that they do very little for their fee. This is certainly not the case here at Oriel Partners. Two senior recruitment consultants will visit your offices at the beginning of the recruitment process to carefully access your support requirements and learn about your company structure and culture. This enables them to put forward a shortlist of carefully selected PA candidates. Each PA candidate will have already been telephoned interviewed and had face to face meetings with our team and skill tested appropriately.
Before being selected the PAs / Administrators will have been given a detailed job brief on the PA role and your company, making sure that all aspirations will be met from both sides. If we do not have PAs / administrators with the right experience that you require, we will go out to the PA market using our extensive network and will also advertise on your behalf. All advertising will be done confidentially and we will act in partnership with your leadership team. Once the PA shortlist is submitted, which is equivalent to your first round of interviews, we will schedule interviews, gather feedback, put forward offers and acceptances and generally make the whole process seamless and quick. We can also help with contracts, package negotiations and talent management.
It is sometimes thought that a PA / administrative agency can be too target focussed and not consultative in their approach. At Oriel Partners we pride ourselves on long term relationships and personal recommendations and believe a transparent and considered approach is the best way forward. Our recruitment consultants are not given targets to meet therefore ensuring that their time is spent getting to know the organisations they partner with. This also allows them to spend a good amount of face to face time with their candidates to gain an excellent understanding of their work history and what they want from their next PA role. Unlike the majority of PA and admin recruitment agencies, we insist on all of our consultants enjoying a good life/work balance.
We do not expect our consultants to work long hours and we offer them the flexibility of working from home one day a week. We believe that if we invest in our consultants and allow them to work in a relaxed yet professional environment, this will have a positive effect throughout our recruitment agency and keep staff turnover to a minimum. We provide a recruitment service and both candidates and clients want a consistent and high-quality service and enjoy building up relationships with the same people over a long length of time.
Another common misconception about a recruitment agency is that they can only assist with temporary PA and admin candidates. This is certainly not the case at Oriel Partners, having a large pool of permanent, temporary and contract workers looking for their next PA roles, short term or long term we can assist with all your support requirements. The temp to perm solution has become more popular over the years enabling both sides to fully appreciate what they are committing to before signing contract agreements. We not only provide you with temporary candidates but also offer a payroll service to all our clients.
And lastly, perhaps one of the largest misconceptions is that we are all the same. This is absolutely not the case, like everything in life there is good and there is the bad, and having a good reputation is everything to us. Most of our business comes through recommendations and our PA candidates come back to us time and time again throughout their careers.
Looking to hire? Learn more about our approach or get in touch.
