Recruitment Advertising Agencies: Everything Employers Need to Know

What is a recruitment advertising agency?

The general service provided by a recruitment advertising agency (also known as a flat fee recruiter or fixed-price recruiter) is to write a job advert, advertise across many job sites, and forward on the applicants. An employer then shortlists applicants, arranges interviews and hires candidates.

Recruitment advertising agencies have transformed the recruitment industry by offering dramatically lower fees, no long-term commitment, scalability, and eliminating much of the pain and inefficiency of advertising on job sites yourself.

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Which businesses should use a recruitment advertising agency?

Thousands of well-known companies trust recruitment advertising agencies, and this continues to rise as industry awareness increases.

I have owned a recruitment advertising agency with over 30,000 UK-based customers. Most were SMEs that often needed to be more careful with their recruitment budgets and cash flow. However, many well-known names, including Shell, Tesco, Microsoft, and Sony, also benefited from the services.

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What type of job can you fill using a recruitment advertising agency?

Because recruitment advertising agencies have access to a wide selection of job sites, they should be capable of recruiting in almost any sector and location. They should also be able to help recruit for all levels of seniority, from trainee to board level; I’ve personally placed the finance director of a FTSE 100 company using a recruitment advertising agency model.

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When would an employer use a recruitment advertising agency?

Use an advertising agency at the beginning of a recruitment campaign because you quickly get applications. Within a week, you’ll gain insight into market conditions and hopefully arrange interviews.

As with job sites, you must use a recruitment advertising agency before using recruitment agencies. (Indeed, some recruitment agencies and headhunters use recruitment advertising agency services to attract applicants!)

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How much do recruitment advertising agencies cost? Time vs. money

A recruitment advertising agency should charge a low fixed price, often less than an employer could get going directly to many job sites. Advertising agencies can achieve this low-cost thanks to their bulk buying power, which earns them discounts they can pass on. For example, a recruitment advertising agency may charge £300 to advertise on a selection of job sites, whereas going directly to each may total over £1,000. (If you’re thinking of cutting costs by going to only a few job sites directly, remember you need to advertise almost everywhere because applicants could be anywhere.)

Discounts for bulk purchases of job adverts may also be available.

The savings are even more significant when comparing a recruitment advertising agency to a traditional recruitment agency. I discuss recruitment agencies later in another article, but in a nutshell, they charge approximately 20% of an applicant’s annual salary. So if they fill a job paying £50,000, they charge £10,000. A recruitment advertising agency may achieve the same outcome for £300, saving £9,700! (In fairness to contingency recruitment agencies, they only charge if they successfully fill the job and offer a guarantee if the candidate leaves, which recruitment advertising agencies don’t provide.)

A professional recruitment advertising agency should also save you time and hassle by writing the job advert, publishing it on job sites, receiving and filtering the applications.

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Do employers have any guarantees when using a recruitment advertising agency?

Unfortunately, recruitment advertising agencies find it difficult to offer a guarantee. This is because a job could be tough to fill, so the response will purely reflect market conditions. (Fortunately, their low price means it won’t be a costly mistake.)

I’ve only seen one recruitment advertising agency offer a genuine money-back guarantee. This is a great show of confidence in their service and reduces your risk. However, as they are taking on all the risk, they may not offer a guarantee if they aren’t confident that a role is attractive or that appropriate recruitment processes are in place.

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<span class="grey-callout"><span class="text-color-purple">Warning: </span> Most guarantees I’ve seen are for a minimum number of CVs and have nothing to do with quality. If you don’t receive the minimum number of CVs, they may give you another employer’s CVs or simply re-advertise the job. The cost of re-advertising is often factored into a higher initial price, and you’re unlikely to achieve better results unless something fundamental changes.</span>

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How to choose a recruitment advertising agency

As in any industry, price, service, and expertise vary wildly, and there are packages on offer that look great but provide little value. I recommend the following strategies for choosing the best provider:

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1. Compare pricing policies

Your first point of comparison is price. Bear in mind the following:

• Pricing structures: Some charge a cost-per-hire, while others charge a cost-per-advert. The latter is helpful if you hire multiple staff from the same job advert. (Given that once a job is advertised, the recruiter doesn’t need to do any more work, I’d recommend a cost-per-advertisement arrangement.)
• Essentials vs. hidden extras: Many offer what looks like a low price but charge for additional extras which are actually essential, such as writing job adverts, advertising on additional job sites, screening and filtering CVs. It’s best to work with recruitment advertising agencies with a straightforward pricing policy.
• Branding caution: The most common extra that you should be careful of is the inclusion of your company logo. Some providers want you to include your company name or logo to earn them extra commission; they may convince you that “branding” generates a better response, but this is often only true for well-known and influential brands (probably not yours). You can read more about the benefits of advertising jobs anonymously.
• Unnecessary exclusivity: Some recruitment advertising agencies don’t ask you to pay anything until the job is filled. Although this seems like a great deal, it often means significantly higher charges, and if you read the small print, you may find that it requires exclusivity.
• Hidden placement fee: A minority of recruitment advertising agencies have an up-front “advertising” charge and an additional “placement” fee!

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2. Compare job site coverage

Not all recruitment advertising agencies provide the same job site coverage – worrying given that this is the most critical part of the service! For example, I found a supplier who said they would advertise on “one of the UK’s best job sites”. Worse still, some do not advertise where they say they do, so you should always check if they are on the job sites where they say they are. My advice is simple: if you can’t find them advertising where they say they are, move on.

But it wouldn’t be practical for a recruitment advertising agency to advertise everywhere because there’s too much choice, and it would be unaffordable. That’s why if you have a preferred job site that isn’t included, it might be worth asking if they can purchase it for an additional cost (aka media buying). They’ll often be able to negotiate better deals and pass some savings on to you while sparing you the hassle of negotiating and publishing the job advert yourself.

Some recruitment advertising agencies suggest they also attract applicants via social media. This normally means sending a tweet or posting on their business LinkedIn or Facebook page. In my experience, this often generates no applicants unless it is paid advertising.

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3. Compare campaign duration

Probably the most infamous variable is “campaign duration”.

Your advert must be visible for 28 days or longer on every job site so that you have a realistic chance of filling your vacancy.

Some low-quality recruitment advertising agencies offer a 28-day “campaign,” which means advertising on one job site for seven days, another for seven days, and so on over the 28 days.

Only the better recruitment advertising agencies have the buying power to offer 28 days of advertising on each job site.

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4. Check your applicants are yours

Some recruitment advertising agencies share applicants with other employers to bolster application numbers. This creates more competition for you because your applications are given to different employers, and you may also receive CVs from applicants who never knew about your job.

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5. Do they have a solution to help manage your applicants?

Sometimes, applications will be available in an online dashboard, commonly called an applicant tracking system (ATS). Avoid those with lots of features as it can perversely make it less usable – you need an intuitive and straightforward solution.

Ask for a demonstration before committing, as some require an instruction manual! Worse still, many agencies use the same off the shelf solution that has been crudely adapted and may not be suitable.

If you have your own ATS, it might be worth asking if they can integrate with it. If this isn’t practical, using their solution may be easier, and only upload details of the candidates you want to interview into your own ATS. 

More advice is available on using technology in recruitment (aka Applicant Tracking Systems).

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6. Is application filtering included?

I don’t recommend application filtering because:

• No one knows your job, company, and industry better than you: You have unique knowledge and may identify some nuanced information (eg. a competitor’s name) that can be very valuable.
• An applicant may be a better fit for a different job: Your job could have flexible requirements, develop into something entirely different, or you may have another job coming up. Again, communicating these finer points is difficult, so you could lose a valuable candidate.
• You need to understand market dynamics: While you may want to remove the irrelevant candidates, it does help to see those at the margins so you can better understand if your expectations are realistic.

That being said, some recruitment advertising agencies may offer a form of screening:

1. Automated/algorithm filtering: These assess CVs for relevance and calculate the commuting distance to identify local applicants. (You must still be able to look at every CV, as algorithms make mistakes.)
2. Hand-filtering: Despite the human element, don’t expect too much, as those doing the screening won’t have in-depth knowledge of your industry, company, and job. It’s also essential to make sure you’re dealing with someone experienced, and that they aren’t rushing the task.
3. Screening questions: These ask each applicant yes/no questions. If the applicant doesn’t give the desired answer, they’re automatically rejected. Unfortunately, they are a waste of time as many applicants don’t answer the questions, and those who do can often guess the answer you want (more information on screening questions is available).

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7. Check their references

With low barriers to entry, the recruitment advertising agency market can be a bit like the Wild West! Check that you’re dealing with a reputable provider:

• Are testimonials positive? Review case studies quoted on their websites and any testimonials or reviews (where full names are given) to ensure you’re satisfied that they can deliver on their promises and provide excellent customer service.
• Are logos from real customers? You’ll often see the logos of well-known brands and large companies embellishing a website. Be aware that these companies do little due diligence and that it is relatively easy to do business with them. A logo may only indicate that the service was used once (it could even have been a free trial).
• Can you talk to customers? Get recommendations and references. Ask to speak to previous or current clients, particularly those recruiting for similar jobs. If the recruiter doesn’t volunteer anyone you can talk to, steer clear!
• Is the business credible? You should also research the company and its directors’ backgrounds. For example, I know of one director who resumed trading despite being disqualified and jailed for fraud! I also know of other companies that have “phoenixed” many businesses, leaving customers and suppliers with a lot of debt and little recourse.

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Finally

Here’s a summary of questions to help find the best recruitment advertising agency, in order of importance:

1. Can you find the recruitment advertising agency advertising on the job sites they say they advertise on?
2. Are the adverts running for 28 days (or longer) on each job site, or do they only offer seven day adverts as part of a 28 day campaign?
3. Are your applicants shared with anyone else, and do you receive anyone else’s applicants?
4. Do they charge for an advertising campaign, or are you paying a cost-per-hire?
5. Is there a straightforward pricing policy, or are there many additional extras that increase the cost?
6. Are case studies and real testimonials provided, or do they hide behind many big brands and unverifiable names?
7. Is a simple ATS included? If so, can unlimited users access it at no additional charge?
8. Are the adverts anonymous, or must you include a company logo or name?
9. What applicant filtering do they offer, and how much hassle will that save you?
10. Do they require exclusivity on the vacancy?
11. Do they offer a guarantee, and is it a money-back guarantee?

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Additional Resources

• Recruiting Book; The Secrets of Great Recruitment: How to Recruit Great Employers
• Downloadable PDF guide; Insider Secrets: Select the Best Recruitment Advertising Agency.
• Downloadable PDF checklist; Checklist for Choosing a Recruitment Advertising Agency.
• Article; Recruitment Advertising Agencies: Save Time and Money.