A significant portion of your reputation as a recruitment agency depends on your ability to not only attract workers with the right skills but the ability to retain them. Operating with a pool of temporary workers you can rely on enables you to react quickly to demands, and control job board advertising for new candidates every week.
So, what’s the secret in retaining your temporary workforce, how do you develop a degree of loyalty which will prevent candidates jumping from agency to agency? We’ve interacted with hundreds of agencies over decades and have identified a pattern with good retention rates, here are some tips:
Be fair
Treating your temporary workers fairly, may sound basic but ensure all your staff are aware of the importance. One of the major criticisms of recruitment agencies is not returning calls and leaving candidates in the dark, so treat your candidates with respect as you would your clients.
Be honest
If you’ve received poor feedback from a client, be honest and constructive don’t avoid or block the candidate. In today’s era of social media and reviews, one poor candidate review could cost you 10 new candidates.
Engage
The recruitment industry is fast paced and pressured, having the time to sit and chat to candidates is a luxury you probably won’t have, but with today’s technology there’s no reason why you can’t set automatic messages, such as birthdays.
Listen
Don’t presume you know what your candidates want, find out what is important to them, and what you can offer to fulfil that need. When was the last time you surveyed your candidates?
Recognition
Depending on what sector you operate within, temporary working can be an isolating option, particularly for the logistics and construction sector when overnight stays are involved. Recognising good work, anniversaries, birthdays or a simple ‘thank you’ goes a long a way and helps build loyalty.