INVESTING in talent has moved into another dimension for Russell Taylor Holdings as the business’ chief executive shines the spotlight on the expert recruiters – the ones whose knowledge delivers the right talent to clients.

Ben Russell, whose company has been built from scratch based on a culture of nurturing its own “home grown” talent, sees their worth as crucial to the fee-paying client.

He said: “Using an agency as big as ours is always a hot topic as many companies looking to recruit staff can struggle with the cost concept involved, when engaging with a genuine expert from within their field, to find the right calibre candidates.

“There’s the issue of comparisons between us and smaller agencies who may deliver staff in a timely fashion – but not necessarily the right ones who are the perfect fit for the client. Or they simply don’t see the value of the amount of work done behind the scenes to ensure quality candidates are the ones who get hired.

“We see our own employees as our greatest investment and we would never under-invest in our workforce. Our people come first and that’s why we are the thriving company we are today – they are the building blocks of our success.

“We have a retention rate of 93 per cent and don’t have the typical staff turnover of our industry – we keep our good people and they have constantly risen through the ranks.

“So with that in mind, why would our recruiters want anything less for our clients? Only the best is good enough when equipping a client’s workforce with quality people.”

Recruitment agency fees, Ben believes, reflect the skills the Russell Taylor teams take to the table. It’s not enough to simply source candidates to fill vacancies but it’s the essential work the specialist recruiter devotes to making the right match.

It’s the “hidden” time that clients never see – the constant dialogue between recruiter and candidates, the coaching to make sure candidates know the client’s business inside-out. Then it’s inspiring the candidates to actually see themselves in the role so they can hit the ground running from day one of employment.

Ben continued: “These are the skills that are rarely seen by the client but they are exactly what the hiring managers are paying for. They are the skills that individuals within the client companies may not necessarily possess themselves so, because recruiting is a time-consuming and massively exhausting job, they decide to outsource to a specialist.

“Paying the recruitment consultants for a job well done is also vital. They are the front line operators and should be rewarded as such.

“An all too common trend of driving down fees and percentages before the recruitment process starts isn’t ideal as all the talented and experienced recruiter will do is invest less time and energy here – and the best candidates will be placed somewhere else.

“Saving money on high quality recruitment is a false economy. A good recruiter will put every ounce of time and energy into sourcing the right candidates and then not only delivering them but following their progress throughout their employment.

“That’s what recruitment is all about in a competitive world. Good jobs need a good workforce and few employers would deny a valuable employee an attractive salary.

“So why expect the recruiters who place candidates in jobs to accept anything less?”