As the United Kingdom returns to work we look at ways a recruitment agency can bounce back from being shutdown.
When your company has come to a standstill or seems to be in somewhat of a slump, it can seem impossible to get out of.
You should know that all hop is not lost just because you are going through a tough patch and you can almost always bounce back.
You should know that you are not alone, and in the time of the global pandemic, almost all businesses, regardless of their size, have faced interruption on some level.
We want to walk you through how you can get your recruitment agency back on the right track and achieve more success than you ever have before.
Ways for your recruitment agency to bounce back?
The announcement of its route out of lockdown has been communicated from the UK Government. For many businesses, the planning of a strategic return to office working. How will working from the office again impact recruitment?
Now the reinstatement of the office culture is back this may create opportunities in many sectors. Recruitment agency businesses needs to help clients integrate new hires with returning staff, but not forgetting your recovery strategy for getting colleagues back in-person as well.
Lets take a look at how recruitment agency owners can bounce back following the lockdown of UK businesses.
Make a detailed plan
Creating a plan is perhaps the most ideal way you can get yourself back in the right head space. Consider where you are at this moment and precisely where you need to be. regardless if you are a start up recruitment agency or setting short, medium and long-term objectives can assist with keeping your agency on target.
With each stage of progression within your plan, iron out some key expectations and objectives so you can judge whether it’s working or on the other hand in the event that you need to change your means.
Try not to worry, as even though it may feel like you are completely starting over, you are actually giving yourself a second chance to get things right this time around.
Create one key goal to aim for
This could be something like surpassing a main competitor of your business. Possibly you have a turnover achievement as a top priority. Or then again maybe you simply need to get your business back to where it was during a more successful phase.
Whatever your definitive objective is, setting one can be a great approach to motivate yourself and start moving in the right direction.
It may appear to be totally impossible at the present time, yet it assists you with discovering your concentration and will ideally reignite your enthusiasm for your work. These are all things that will benefit your recruitment agency goals in the long run.
Investigate new specialisms
Venturing into another area of expertise could be only the lift your business needs. Or then again you may decide to begin enrolling temporary members of staff.
Set aside the effort to do your examination prior to diving in, so you can distinguish any specialties that could hold new reinvigorating opportunities for your venture to take on.
You then, at that point need to consider how to take your proposition to market, how might your current clients and customers alike about your new pursuit? Consider the multiple options available to you and spend a decent amount of time weighing everything up before proceeding in a certain direction.
Review how you spend money
A decent method to ricochet back is by taking a gander at your overheads and seeing where cash can be saved across different areas of the business. Keeping your costs low is always good practice yet can be difficult to maintain inside the recruitment sector.
Have a look at each cost exhaustively to see whether it very well may be eliminated or replaced by something more reasonable.
On the off chance that you’ve been working for only a short amount of time, it’s an ideal opportunity to return to fundamentals and minimise expenses like an enrolment startup.
Is there anything you’d be better off outsourcing?
If you are feeling a little worn out by the rut your business venture currently sits within, think about what time rethinking certain administrations could free up for you.
Feeling the need to do all that yourself is normal when you’re running your own recruitment agency, after all you need to keep all expenses at a low level, as we have already spoken about.
In any case, outsourcing certain elements of your business can save time, cash and provide a better experience for both clients and candidates (in addition to your own work/life balance).
Re-evaluate your processes
Investigate the journey that both your customers and competitors follow, are there ways it very well may be improved?
Becoming client driven, which means putting your client needs at the core of your recruitment agency, can be an effective course to take. How might you adjust how you work to make it a more extravagant and more sure experience for your customers and competitors?
Working in another manner can be incredible for those you work with, yet you may likewise profit with the change in case you’re feeling stuck.
Work on your brand and image
Putting resources into marketing may appear to be a low need in case you’re attempting to financially recover, however it could truly assist with taking you to that next level.
Think about your brand and your image and how you speak with your market through the use of it. Do you have to acquaint new channels with your advertising technique or totally re-evaluate your image?
Analyse how your rivals are doing get thoughts of ways you can cut out a special spot for your image. Whatever approach you take it can assist with giving your business a lift and shows the market you’re digging in for the long term.
To stand out from the crowded marketplace of competitors, it is essential that you have a strong brand image. In simple terms, brand image is the consumer perception of your business, based on their own interactions with it. This means that it can develop over a period into something completely different; it doesn’t always involve customers buying your products and services. Since the customer perception of your brand can change, it is imperative that you are constantly looking to keep your brand image top notch.
Business owners spend an awful lot of time moulding a brand personality and voice to help with their company’s positioning in the marketplace. All of these contribute to the way a customer interacts with and perceives your brand, which culminates in brand image.
Familiarise yourself with industry changes
If it’s been a while since you last worked with clients within your industry, you may need to get your knowledge back up to scratch. Things will likely have changed if you have had 12 months or more away from the sector, so you’ll need to familiarise yourself with any changes.
This will inform you on things such as the impact Brexit has had, any Coronavirus-related difficulties that have become an issue, competitor performance rates, and more. It’ll should also shed some light on government policies, such as furlough and other COVID-19 based issues.
Keep your clients informed
Once you begin to reconnect with clients, you should bear in mind that they may not have been prioritising hiring lately. They will want you to fill them in with any hiring trends within their industry, some come prepared with up-to-date information and knowledge. If you can share a handful of key points that will provide clarification, you will gain your clients appreciation instantly upon your return.
They may have questions surrounding remote hiring and onboarding processes. If so, you will need to offer best practise tips that will help to encourage and support any clients, as they begin to undergo a different type of hiring journey in this modern world.
Recruiters can often take advantage of quieter periods in hiring, as it opens up time for them to prepare for the future where activity will once again become boosted and pick up. By using your time wisely, you can put yourself in a decent position to prepare for the next hiring boom.
Show off your expertise
Recruiters have a unique insight into the market, and therefore have a decent opportunity to develop their personal brands in the right moments. Conversations with clients provide recruiters with up-to-date and useful information on workplace trends. These trends can include a wide range of things such as, remote working, workplace diversity, and inclusion.
With your expertise in hand, you could begin writing articles, recording a podcast or video series, or anything else you can think of that holds creative value. Start producing your own content and you may just find that new opportunities and experiences present themselves to you more frequently.
Prepare you candidates
When speaking with candidates of your own, it is often a wise idea to give them an indication of when you expect the market to pick back up. This way they can ensure they are preparing for it and ready for the next challenge. You should then work through their CV with them. Ensure all candidate resumes are up to date, have no errors in them, and list all relevant information that is needed.
Then practice some basic interview questions with them to aid their preparations even further. This will help them with explanations when speaking with a potential employer during the interview process.
The competition for jobseekers is always high and fierce, though it is even more so now, after the difficult period we have all gone through during the past few years. You should ensure that candidates remain well-informed on the situation; tell them that you will likely be moving extremely quickly from receiving a job spec to sending out a shortlist. Therefore, your candidates will need to dash over to any and all opportunities that catch their interests.
Take advantage of the talent pool
There has recently been a large influx of fantastic candidates over the past 12 months, which has set recruitment agencies on high alert. You would be wise to register as many of these candidates as you possibly can. Once this step has been completed, you will have access to a strong pool of talent to pick from, allowing you to easily pull candidates when jobs are called in.
It is to a agencies advantage to have a large database of candidates, it also shows that your recruitment strategy is working.
Communicate regularly with people that are already on your radar to take best advantage of the situation. This way they will be able to inform you on how their job search is going, where they have been for interviews lately, and give you an updated understanding of the current market.
It is essential to develop strong bonds with your candidates in order to gain their trust and loyalty. These things will be extremely important once the market begins to open up once again.
A better future for the recruitment industry is on the way. Once COVID-19 restrictions and social distancing has been fully removed, the sector will once again soar. You need to be ready for this moment in order to take advantage of it, so make the right preparations and better, busier times will be on their way to you shortly.
Alternatives to bounce back business loans
There are a number of alternative types of finance available to recruitment agencies. The use of unsecured funding options are suited to businesses of all sizes, but may be best suited to a smaller company, since they’re more likely needing funds to help with their return.
The funds you receive can work to cover all recovery action you need to take in order to return your company to normality. This kind of business interruption loan scheme is one that will help ventures that have been stuck in a state of inactivity and have been victim to an unfortunate lack of funds.
Recruitment Invoice Factoring
For a recruitment agency that has gone through somewhat of a slump during recent times, recruitment finance is your best bet. We are well versed in aiding recruitment business’ structure invoice factoring facilities that will certainly meet the distinct necessities of your business.
If you are a recruitment business looking for a recruitment invoice factoring option in initial circumstances, contact us today. Invoice-Funding for recruitment companies can including payroll & back office at highly competitive cost from the recruitment funding experts.
Seasoned professional with a strong passion for the world of business finance. With over twenty years of dedicated experience in the field, my journey into the world of business finance began with a relentless curiosity for understanding the intricate workings of financial systems.