This article is written for recruitment managers and recruitment executives who are focusing on supplying contracted workers. Digital transformation in recruitment has opened up many opportunities to accelerate the growth for both parties. The tips in this blog are oriented at building and maintaining relationships with contract workers to create mutually beneficial, long-term partnerships.
Contract recruitment can be ferociously competitive. Thus the recruiters are under constant pressure to place contractors quickly and smoothly. A big part of your success as a contract recruiter depends on the quality of communication you provide.
And we aren’t talking about conversational skills alone. You build a good communication experience by being organised, responsive, helpful, resourceful and attentive to details. This is a lot to handle, and that’s why you need to adopt technology to aid you.
Tips for a Contract Recruiter
Contractor recruiters are often overlooked even within the industry. Therefore there aren’t many tips aimed at them. But we have a couple to share. Here are our top practices:
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Building and nurturing relationships with contractors;
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Working with other industry specialists;
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Automating where possible;
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Staying organised.
Let’s discuss each of them in greater detail.
Build Relationships with Contractors
Good relationships with a broad network of contractors are crucial to success in contract recruitment. You need to be all eyes and ears, keeping in touch with people through phone chats and networking events. Contractors are not only workers who take up contracts. They also have a wealth of knowledge and insight into the industry. If they like you enough, they can give you valuable market information.
Working with the contractors, you shouldn’t rely on recruitment through social media and job ads too heavily. The truth is, it will only take you so far. The pool of contacts you know to be reliable and professional, however, is like gold dust. Keep up with people and maintain relationships to stay ahead.
A good practice to stay in touch without being too persistent is to start using a CRM platform. This way you can easily set up automated email notifications to inform the contractors when a relevant opportunity pops up. Give them a way to let you know whether they’re interested, and if they are - follow up.
Invest in Networking
It can be a horrible feeling to realise all your usual clients are having a quiet period and do not require your services for some time. How do you bring in new clients to fill the gap? Again, your network is a great port of call. Contractors and colleagues may have great tips about industry players who are looking to recruit. They may even be able to make an introduction for you if you ask nicely.
Old-fashioned market mapping is also where having a big, diverse network can become very handy. When you identify the company you want to reach out to, a bigger list of contacts increases your chance of knowing someone with connections in the said organisation. Confirm with them whether the company of interest would benefit from your services. If yes, all you have to do is to ask to be introduced.
LinkedIn automation tools like Expandi can also help you massively maintain relationships within your network. Simply set it to drop a line or two a day to 10 contacts you have last spoken to months ago. This way you will stay in touch and build stronger professional relationships.
Automate Where Possible
LinkedIn is far from being the only place where you can utilise automation as a tool for building relationships. You can, for example, streamline processes that reduce the burden of admin work for the contractors. Such as invoicing. This will save their valuable time and can result in loyalty and goodwill moving forward.
The processes we recommend automating are billing and payroll. We have designed our Recruitment product to assist you with just that. It’s a centralised platform for online timesheets, online expenses, client invoicing, pay, document signing, document management and many more. All this can save the contractors a lot of back-office hassle.
The streamlined service offered by Timesheet Portal can help maintain good relationships with your contractors, increasing the chance they will come back to you in future.
Stay Organised
Being a good recruitment agent means understanding what your clients need and what your contractors can offer. You need an accurate picture of availability and terms. Equipped with that, you can land deals as quickly as possible.
For example, if a client calls to tell you about a project, you will be more likely to secure the work if you have a ready-made list of contractors. It will go even faster if you have their availability and recent CVs with references on hand.
If you’re talking to contractors about an opportunity, you will make better progress if you can tell them pay rates and start dates. You want to avoid the fuzzy period where you say you’ll check and get back to someone. This is when the door is left wide open for a competitor.
Good administration will help to underpin your success. The best way of staying organised is to keep all your documentation in one, easily accessible place.
Our Recruitment solution has a centralised document management platform integrated. It is great for storing relevant contractor information, such as copies of their documents and past invoices. And it’s always right at your fingertips.
Summary
A good contract recruiter must never forget that, at the end of the day, they are working with people. A trust-driven relationship starts with empathy and a genuine interest in providing value to the other party.
By being consistently relevant and helpful, you will build long-term connections with your contacts and clients alike. This is not an easy task. But you don’t have to shoulder it all on your own. The technology is on your side.
Are you curious about how our software can help you build and maintain work relationships? Sign up for a free trial and discover it yourself.
