How to get the best out of a recruiting firm? Architecture and recruiting firms support each other in ways not always clear. With summer winds down and kids returning to school, many firms are looking at their overall business strategies for the rest of the year. And what a year 2024 will turn out to be. This is a great time to outline how recruiting firms can support your architecture firm even when hiring is on hold.

The truth is recruiting firms can offer a variety of support to clients even when they are not actively hiring. Here are several ways they can add value during these periods:

How to Get the Best Out of a Recruiting Firm.

1. Workforce Planning and Strategy

Future Talent Mapping: Helping the client identify key roles and skills they may need in the future, ensuring they are prepared for upcoming hiring needs. This can include talent pooling, so candidates are vetted when the need to hire arises, cutting hiring times by 75%.
Market Insights: Providing data on industry trends, salary benchmarks, and talent availability to help clients make informed decisions about their workforce strategy. DBI has a proprietary software that maps architecture and design talent across the globe. An invaluable tool for talent planning.

2. Employer Branding

Brand Enhancement: Assisting in developing and promoting the company’s employer brand to attract potential candidates when hiring resumes. DBI has an entire program that has developed strong employer brands for firms across the industry.
Content Creation: Creating engaging content such as blog posts, social media updates, and employee testimonials to keep the brand top-of-mind for prospective talent. This is a huge benefit for small and mid-size firm who don’t have staff for such activates.

3. Talent Pipeline Development

Building Relationships: Maintaining contact with high-potential candidates, keeping them engaged with the company through regular updates and interactions. This is a benefit a good recruiting firm will provide during boom and bust times.
Talent Community: Creating and managing talent pools or communities where potential candidates can stay connected with the company. Again, this is the primary benefit of a well-connected, professional recruiting firm.

4. Employee Retention and Development

Internal Mobility Programs: Identifying and facilitating opportunities for current employees to move into new roles within the company, which can reduce turnover and increase employee satisfaction.
Training and Development: Offering training programs to upskill current employees, ensuring the workforce is prepared for future challenges and opportunities.

5. HR Consulting Services

Process Improvement: Reviewing and optimizing the client’s recruitment processes and systems to make them more efficient and effective. For DBI, this is offered as part of our employer brand program.
Policy Development: Assisting in the creation or refinement of HR policies and procedures to ensure they align with best practices and legal requirements. Recruiting firms can correlate and distill the best practices for multiple firms, finding the best policies for their clients.

6. Succession Planning

Identifying Key Roles: Working with the client to identify critical roles and potential successors within the organization. Our unbiased, high-level perspective and be a valuable variable in making these decisions.
Development Plans: Creating development plans for high-potential employees to prepare them for future leadership positions. The costliest mistake and firm can make is to let a future leader leave the firm. Recruiting firms can help develop plans that keep them engaged and growing.

7. Networking and Industry Events

Event Planning and Participation: Organizing or facilitating participation in industry events, webinars, and networking opportunities to keep the client connected with top talent and industry trends.

8. Diversity and Inclusion Initiatives

Strategy Development: Assisting in the development and implementation of diversity and inclusion strategies to create a more inclusive workplace.
Workshops and Training: Providing workshops and training sessions to educate employees on diversity and inclusion best practices.

9. Sourcing

Database Sharing: Through an open sharing of talent and resources, recruiting firms can shorten the hiring time for your process.
Candidate List Development: If your firm has a strong recruiting process, but cannot find the talent, sourcing is a great option. Recruiting firms can create list of talent for your firm at a fraction of the cost.