Attracting and retaining staff in the recruitment sector

Recruiting and retaining the right staff is critical to any business but none more so than in the recruitment sector. Competitor recruitment consultancies are always on the look-out to headhunt top consultants, who are often mobile and financially driven.

Losing your best consultants not only incurs the costs of recruiting and training new recruits but can also cause:

• Weakened key relationships with clients.
• Other staff members to ‘follow the leaver’.
• Enhanced competitors’ proposition/market share.
• Damage to company reputation.
• Upset of team dynamic/morale.

What can recruitment consultancies do to attract and retain staff?

Recruitment consultancies should ensure their work environment is supportive and that staff feel valued. However, ultimately a competitive remuneration and bonus structure goes a long way towards retaining key talent.

Remuneration structures in recruitment consultancies vary widely depending on location, sector, client base and employee experience. Some consultancies operate a commission only split but it is more common to offer a relatively modest basic salary, typically between £25,000 and £30,000, alongside a percentage of placement fees, with some paying as much as 30%. Other models include award bonuses, profit sharing or equity in addition to commission.

Equity incentives are increasingly used in other sectors, particularly for senior employees who are encouraged to be entrepreneurial and lead specific practice areas. These individuals often require long-term incentives that align their rewards with the capital growth they generate and create ‘golden handcuffs’ to retain them.

With this type of remuneration structure, it is important to monitor and enhance the overall benefits package to differentiate your recruitment consultancy from your competitors.

We advise recruitment consultancies to consider the following:

• Benchmark salaries and bonuses against your competitors.
• Conduct an employee survey to ask what they feel they would value in a package.
• Give spot rewards and recognition for doing a good job beyond just the sales figures.
• Offer clear and achievable bonus structures, including pension salary sacrifice options.
• Offer share option schemes to motivate and retain staff. There are many ways to do this depending on your business goals.
• Offer desirable benefits that are uncommon in the sector.
• Provide a workplace pension with a provider who exceeds the statutory minimums.
• Offer group life and health plans to support everyday health needs and promote wellbeing. These can often be an affordable way to promote retention and promote consultant wellbeing.

Help from the experts

To stay ahead of the competition, recruitment consultancies should go beyond standard remuneration packages. This helps attract and retain key talent and differentiate your recruitment consultancy from competitors.

If you would like to explore how this approach could work for your recruitment consultancy, please get in touch with our recruitment sector experts.