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Summary
The practice of placing students through recruitment agencies is not given too much importance by employers and the agencies themselves. It is proposed that a study be conducted regarding this. The methodology followed is a simple questionnaire with multiple-choice options (closed questions). Prospective job seekers among students, those students who have just been employed, and recruitment agencies will be the respondents. Two suggestions for increasing employer and agency interest have been given. The survey results indicate that this has been well received by all the respondents. Implementing them would definitely increase employer as well as agency interest with regard to student recruitment.
Introduction
Practically every student who passes out of college as a graduate or post-graduate student will have one aim in mind, namely finding a good job in a respected concern. The first preference would be to find a job that is suited to their tastes and abilities. But this might take a second seat because gaining requisite experience is a priority for a fresher is important. In any case, they resort to various methods in their efforts to find a job.
They include answering job wanted advertisements, making use of campus recruitment drives, registering with online job sites, and making use of recruitment agencies. The purpose of this paper is to research the prospect of using recruitment agencies as a key factor in finding employment for students fresh out of college. The research question here is whether recruitment agencies in the country are really effective (as a medium of recruitment) in getting students.
Literature review
Recruitment can be defined as “the set of activities and processes used to legally obtain a sufficient number of qualified people at the right place and time so that the people and the organization can select each other in their own best short and long term interests.” (Richardson, 2). Since there are a number of ways in which students can try to find themselves a job, it has to be seen whether professional recruitment agencies can play a prominent role in this area.
According to a student advisory published by the University of Oxford in the UK, recruitment agencies may not be willing to put too much focus on student placement. The reason is that such agencies are profit-oriented and they charge the employer a certain percentage of the recruit’s salary as commission for services rendered. In the case of graduates, two points stand out which makes them less attractive to agencies. The first is that as fresher graduates, their salary will be low which will also lower the agency commission. The agency will be more focused on jobs that need to be filled quickly, which may not happen in the case of such candidates.
Employers on the other hand may feel that spending on the commission will be an unwanted expenditure since many would already have a recruitment plan and budget using other methods of staffing. In such a case, it would be easier to get graduates employed using the recruitment plan instead. (Using recruitment agencies, 2008). The article also states different reasons why companies may choose to take the services of a recruitment agency. They include the need for anonymity and also for the recruitment of graduates. But companies use agencies for the latter purpose only if an agency takes over the whole process of recruitment.
Such agencies are also used in an emergency or when the company in question is quite small. On the other hand, there are several reasons that a student has for choosing an agency as a preferred source for employment. The segment in which the student is interested to work may rely heavily on such agencies. It could also be when the student wants only a part-time job or does not have the time to go job hunting. There are also some steps that the student should take to see that the attempt will be effective.
The first is to make sure that the agency is a reputable one. The student should see to it that all his requirements are made clear to them. Once the agency has been selected, efforts should be made to build a rapport with the company. If an inquiry comes, the student should respond as soon as possible agencies want posts to be filled up quickly and may not take laziness lightly. The expertise and the knowledge of the agency should also be utilized to the maximum by the student.
Methodology
It can be seen from the literature review that it is the students who have more reason to seek the services of an agency when compared to employers and agencies. This methodology will test an idea that might get the recruitment agencies to be more interested in assisting students to get a job through them. It has been mentioned in the literature review that agencies are primarily profit-oriented.
Agencies also require a percentage of the salary of the selected employee (paid by the employer) as commission. The bigger the salary, the bigger the commission the agency will receive. If an agreement whereby the graduate student also agrees to pay a similar commission from of his own hands (based on salary), the agency might be more interested. This payment could be made once the newly recruited student receives his first paycheck. It is proposed to include this idea in the methodology. Another proposal is to make the agency responsible from preliminary selection to the stage where only the final set of candidates be given the chance to be interviewed by the employer.
This will save employers a lot of time. Moreover, the agencies will be able to handle it since the jobs will be for the post of trainees or junior level posts. The methodology will use a questionnaire aimed at graduate/post-graduate students and newly employed graduates. It is intended to send a postal survey to fifty recruitment agencies. The addresses of these agencies will be sourced from the internet. Two questionnaires one each for the students/new recruits and the agency will be used as the survey instrument. A quick mention of recruiting metrics for effective evaluation of the recruiting method is relevant here.
Recruitment metrics
This is the process by which the effectiveness of a recruitment method is evaluated. This is essential because an ineffective (in monetary terms, costly) method can be dropped in favor of more effective ones.
Cost per hire
This will calculate the average cost of recruiting one employee and is obtained by dividing total recruitment costs by the total number hired. This is a very important matrix that is favored by many HR departments. (Bourdreau, 2005). Some of the other common metrics used are given below. Quality of hire is the rating of the candidate after six months compared to the estimate at the time of hiring. The new hire failure rate is the percentage of new recruits terminated or dismissed within a period of one year of joining. Turnover of new hires is the voluntary quitting of new employees within one year. The acceptance rate is the percentage of accepted jobs from the total offered. (Staffing A- Z, 2008).
Responses from students
Only those graduates/postgraduate students intending to find a job were included. All of them had already registered their names with one or more agencies. The responses of prospective job seekers and those already placed are given separately. The same is the case with the responses from agencies. Internet-based recruiters are considered to be a part of recruitment agencies.
Graduate/Postgraduate job seekers (25 numbers).
- Q.1. What are the methods you plan to use OR used in your efforts at job hunting? (can choose more than one option):
- Recruiting agencies
- Classifieds/advertisements
- Contacting employers personally?
- Any other method.
Every single respondent answered in the affirmative for using recruiting agencies. 85% (21 respondents) will also choose option ‘b’. 20% will also try option c. No one had intentions to use any other method.
- Q.2. Why did you choose/not choose a recruitment agency in your efforts? (can choose more than one option):
- Inexpensive
- Effective
- Saves time
The responses were 88% (22 numbers), 64% (16 numbers) and 76% (19 numbers) respectfully.
- Q.3. In your opinion, how effective are such agencies in placing you?
- Very effective
- Moderately effective
- Not effective
As expected a majority of students feel that they are effective. 24% felt that they were only moderately so and 4% felt that they were not effective.
- Q.4. Do recruiting agencies to see fresh graduates as valuable clients?
- Yes
- No
- Do not know
It could be due to a lack of experience that nearly 28% did not know the answer. Still, 60% answered in the affirmative.
- Q.5. Are recruiting agents helpful and courteous when you approached them?
- Yes
- No
This could be because the agencies were professional ones and good at their job.
- Q.6. Would you be willing to share a percentage of your first salary as additional commission to such agencies?
- Yes
- No
An explanation about our idea was given and the response was very enthusiastic with 88% willing to do so.
- Q.7. Do you believe that the better agencies have the expertise to screen you till the final interview?
- Q.8. What are the disadvantages of taking the services of recruiting agencies over other methods of recruitment?
- No disadvantages
- Will not be taken seriously
- Low chance of being placed
80% did not feel anything disadvantageous in taking the services of an agency.
- Q.9. Which method do you feel/felt was the most effective in placing you?
This was aimed at those already employed and not for job seekers.
- Q.10. Do you feel that employers are serious about using agencies as a method of employing graduate students?
This was also expected and the majority of students were not sure of the answer. Others said that they got this information from those employed.
Responses from employed (former) students
- Q.1. What are the methods you plan to use OR used in your efforts at job hunting? (can choose more than one option)
- Recruiting agencies
- Classifieds/advertisements
- Contacting employers personally?
- Any other method.
Here also, every single respondent answered in the affirmative for using recruiting agencies. 72% (18 respondents) will also choose option ‘b’. 20% will also try option c. 12% (3 numbers) had got jobs through referrals. Hence they have that option also.
- Q.2. Why did you choose/not choose a recruitment agency in your efforts? (can choose more than one option)
- Inexpensive
- Effective
- Saves time
The responses were 88% (22 numbers), 60% (15 numbers) and 88% (22 numbers) respectfully. This was quite similar to the earlier group.
- Q.3. In your opinion, how effective are such agencies in placing you?
- Very effective
- Moderately effective
- Not effective
The experience of placed students shows that agencies are effective as recruiters.
- Q.4. Do recruiting agencies to see fresh graduates as valuable clients?
- Yes
- No
- Do not know
Nearly half said that students were not a priority for agencies. This could have come out or actual experience. It can be seen that students are keener to use agency services and not the other way around.
- Q.5. Are recruiting agents helpful and courteous when you approached them?
- Yes
- No
This is again quite similar to the earlier group response. This indicates the professional attitude of the agencies.
- Q.6. Would you be willing to share a percentage of your first salary as additional commission to such agencies?
- Yes
- No
A lower number answered in the affirmative. This could be because they were already placed and felt secure that they can find alternate employment without paying commission.
- Q.7. Do you believe that the better agencies have the expertise to screen you till the final interview?
A higher percentage answered in the affirmative when compared to the inexperienced group. The interaction with the agency has led the respondents to believe that they are capable. All of them added that this was only applicable to entry-level and low-skill jobs.
- Q.8. What are the disadvantages of taking the services of recruiting agencies over other methods of recruitment?
- No disadvantages
- Will not be taken seriously
- Low chance of being placed
The respondents have understood that agencies do not give high priority to students. Hence the lower rate of response for option ‘a’.
- Q.9. Which method do you feel/felt was the most effective in placing you?
- Agencies
- Classifieds/ads
- Direct approach
The respondents answered according to the method they got their jobs. The referral mentioned in Question 1 was for a second job.
- Q.10. Do you feel that employers are serious about using agencies as a method of employing graduate students?
The experienced respondents were more sure of their answers. The opinion was nearly half and half.
Response from agencies
Only ten out of the fifty agencies to whom the postal survey was sent replied. Considering the circumstances, the response is quite satisfactory. Anyway, the response of ten professional agencies can be considered to be a representative figure.
- Q.1. Do you have graduate/post-graduate students among your clientele?
It appears that only those with student clientele bothered to respond.
- Q.2. How do you rate them (in terms of revenue generation) compared with other jobs you handle?
- Low
- Moderate
- High
As expected revenue from this source was not high for the agencies. The one agency that reported high revenue concentrates on recruiting students only.
- Q.3. How do you find the prospect of additional commission from the students to increase your revenue?
- Interesting
- Not interesting
- Need more details
The idea seems to be quite acceptable to agencies and hence has to be pursued more seriously. If acceptable, this could go a long way in getting the agencies to help more students to obtain placements.
- Q.4. In such a case (above), would you be willing to handle the full interview process (till the final interview)?
Here also, the response is very encouraging. If this idea can be sold to employers, their response rate will be higher.
- Q.5. How do employers view you as the preferred choice for recruiting students?
Only 40% of the agencies feel that employers will use agencies to recruit students to a high degree. 40% would do so occasionally and the rest would do so very rarely.
Conclusion
It can be seen that the students and newly recruited graduates/postgraduates were more enthusiastic about recruiting agencies. Recruiting agencies and employers were less inclined in this regard. But the two ideas stated (commission and total selection process) were accepted well by all the groups concerned. It is expected that if implemented, the rate of agencies pursuing students as clients will go up significantly. These two suggestions should be taken up seriously and promoted among the agencies and employees.
References
Bourdreau, John W. (2005). Talentship and the New Paradigm for Human Resource Management: From Professional Practices to Strategic Talent Decision Science. Human resource planning, 28 (2),17.
Richardson, Margaret A. Managing affecting the recruitment process: Introduction. Recruitment Strategies. 2. Web.
Staffing A- Z. (2008). Staffing.org: Maximum Performance. Web.
Using recruitment agencies. (2008). Oxford University: The Career Service. Web.
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