• The official blog of Abacus Group — a place to share our knowledge and thoughts on trends in recruiting •

Pop quiz! If a hiring manager wants to identify the best available candidate for an open requisition, with how many recruiters should he or she partner?

Your gut might answer, “I should work with as many recruitment firms as possible to quickly receive the best available selection of candidates.” This approach can be very destructive, however.

Although it seems counterintuitive, hiring managers will benefit from working with relatively few recruiters. Successful recruitment is about quality, not quantity. We encourage hiring managers to select a primary or “go-to” agency with one or two alternates. Here is why:

Recruitment Becomes a Seamless Process

Your primary recruitment firm becomes an expert in your hiring process. “The most important piece of working with a recruiter is to explain how you’d like hiring to be handled from beginning to end, which should result in a seamless process,” explains Charles Amato, Partner and Head of Business Development at Abacus Group.

When you collaborate with the same agency on a regular basis, the recruiters are able to flawlessly execute your hiring process. They understand your interview structure, the number of candidates you typically prefer to consider, and the most desirable personal attributes for candidates.

Your Recruiters are Experts in Your Company Culture

Routine visits to your office help recruiters to understand your company culture. When you work with the same agency repeatedly, they develop a strong sense of the types of professionals you hire and your firm’s working style.

A recruitment agency that helps to build a particular team forms close relationships with all of its members. This, too, enables the agency to comprehend your company culture. The recruiters understand the various personalities, strengths, weaknesses, and professional backgrounds of the team.

You’re Partnering with People You Trust

Hiring is a sensitive process, especially if you are trying to confidentially replace an underperforming employee. By working with an agency you don’t know well, private information can reach the wrong person.

A discreet job opening also prevents a bombardment of calls or emails from unqualified candidates or from other recruiters. When your opening becomes public, you’re susceptible to the burden of applications from substantially anyone who is looking for a job. Meanwhile, other recruitment firms who learn about your vacancy will contact you in the hopes of providing assistance.

Your Company’s Reputation Remains Strong

From an employer branding standpoint, there’s almost nothing worse than being known as an undesirable company. Imagine learning that your ideal candidate has been presented with your job opportunity by five different recruiters in the same week. What might that candidate’s immediate reaction be? He or she probably thinks you’re desperate and that no one wants to work for you.

A similarly troubling scenario is that you are working with five different recruiters, all of whom describe the role differently to their candidates. When you meet with the candidates, each of them has a different understanding of the role and the compensation.