Excellent Customer Experience is Key to Growth – REC

Less than half (47%) of all HR decision-makers who have used a recruitment agency have been asked to provide feedback on the recruitment agency’s services, according to the latest publication from the Recruitment & Employment Confederation (REC), The Scale Up Workbook: how to deliver customer service excellence. 

The workbook explains that focusing on excellent customer service, including collecting feedback to measure satisfaction, leads to improved financial performance. 

More than a quarter of HR decision-makers (27%) think the process of working with a recruitment agency would be improved if there was an opportunity to provide feedback to the agency during the process, according to the YouGov survey, conducted as part of the REC research. 

Asked about what would improve the process of working with recruitment agencies, the survey of 400 clients found that:

• six in ten (60%) think it would be improved if the agency understood their business and brand better 

• half (50%) think it would be better if agencies sent fewer speculative CVs

• one quarter (23%) think it would be improved if the agency provided market intelligence and research.

This workbook is the second in the REC’s series of Scale Up publications for recruitment leaders seeking to grow their recruitment business. Each chapter has key questions and practical examples, and a final checklist provides guidance to help recruiters take steps to improve interactions with clients.

REC chief executive Kevin Green says:

“We’re an industry that revolves around people, so the fact that so few recruiters are asking their clients and candidates for regular feedback is madness. If your staff are engaged with providing great customer service, they will keep clients and candidates happy, and in the long term this leads to superior financial performance.

“If we want to be taken seriously as a professional service industry we need to get better at delivering excellent customer service. You’ve got to measure your client satisfaction and candidate experience to set yourself apart from the competition. 

“This workbook is packed with practical hints and tips about what to measure, how to reflect on the data and how to engage your people in improving your customer service and candidate experience. This is a great tool which if deployed will make your business grow both revenue and profit.”

The Scale Up Workbook is free for REC members to download at www.rec.uk.com/customer

Ends

Notes to editors:

1. YouGov surveyed 553 HR decision-makers between 9-17 February 2017. 400 of these had used a recruitment agency to recruit a candidate. The sample size for the questions below is 400.

 Has a recruitment agency ever asked you for any feedback on how you found the process of working with them?

Yes, they have	47%
No, they haven’t	44%
Don’t know/can’t recall	9%

Thinking about using a recruitment agency to recruit a candidate for a job role, which, if any, of the following do you think would improve the process for HR decision-makers when working with a recruitment agency?

If the agency understood our business and brand better	60%
If the agency sent fewer speculative CVs	50%
If there was an opportunity to provide feedback to the agency during the process	27%
If there was more frequent communication between the agency and the HR professional	25%
If the agency provided market intelligence and research	23%
If there was more frequent communication between the agency and the candidate(s)	21%
If there was an opportunity to provide feedback to the agency at the end of the process	19%
Other	6%
Don’t know	4%
Not applicable	7%

2. For more information, contact the REC Press Office on 0207 009 2157/2192 or pressoffice@rec.uk.com. An ISDN line is available for interviews on 0207 021 0584.

3. For the past two years the REC’s Scale Up campaign has helped recruitment agencies to improve and expand to best take advantage of the growing marketplace and respond to new challenges. The Scale Up Workbook is free to download for REC members at www.rec.uk.com/customer

4. Jobs transform lives, which is why we are building the best recruitment industry in the world. As the professional body for recruitment we’re determined to make businesses more successful by helping them secure the people they need.  We are absolutely passionate and totally committed in this pursuit for recruiters, employers, and the people they hire.  Find out more about the Recruitment & Employment Confederation at www.rec.uk.com