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Why recruitment companies shouldn’t be ‘The enemy’

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Mark Colton General

I really feel like the poacher turned gamekeeper here bringing this to the table.

After years’ working in the profession in senior operational roles in major corporate Veterinary groups plus with private practices during my time as a consultant, I wouldn’t be surprised if some of you who know me are chuckling to yourselves…..

Probably like most of you I really begrudge paying someone just to send me an email with a CV that I might have got for free. But, if that is what your experience truly is of using recruitment agencies, then you aren’t using the right agencies.

If you are using lots of agencies, it’s really an indication that you aren’t using the right agencies or planning your man power needs in a timely manner.
But really, it’s pretty straight forward and when you take the time to consider the situation, a great agency should never be the enemy.

It’s all about the relationships….

And yes, whilst there will always be the occasional need for an unexpected emergency locum request if you are with the right agency you will normally get the best results.
In the Veterinary profession, we all recognise the nature and importance of your relationship with your clients and building and maintaining those strong relationships, yet sadly many owners, clinical directors and practice managers don’t enjoy or strive to be part of a mutually beneficial working relationship.

It can save you money……

Now I know some of you will really be shaking your heads, but please hear me out:
• Just remind yourself how much an advert costs in the trade press
• How many magazines do you advertise it in?
• In reality, how many responses do you get?
• In my experience, it’s not unusual to run an advert for three or four weeks and not get one suitable candidate
• If you are a billing clinician, all of the time you spend preparing and placing the ad is an expense to your practice in terms of professional time lost.
• Then there is the time reading the submissions received by your advert (if you are lucky)
• If you then do a telephone initial interview, before a formal interview, and maybe the second interview….
• You can see where this is heading can’t you
• And then finally having spent as much as you would do with an agency, you admit defeat and then contact the agencies, looking for the cheapest fees for placement and engaging the less effective agencies
• But in your heart of hearts, you already know that more time will be wasted on interviews that don’t turn up or don’t meet the comments the recruiter gave you.

Buy cheap buy twice
We all know that the cheapest Vets are not always the places we would take our beloved pets, and similarly, if your entire focus is based on getting the lowest fee, it’s unlikely you are going to get the sort of candidates and subsequently the sort of vet that reflects the values and clinical skills that you want your clients and patients to experience.

At Recruit4vets you will experience:

• A dedicated consultant who listens to your requirements, whether you are a client or candidate we will have an understanding of exactly what you are looking for, and what you are not looking for. We qualify all our candidates so we only provide the very best in the industry. We listen to our candidates’ feedback on practices, so again, we only work with the best practices.
• Ongoing support even after placement.
• If you locum with us, we pay £5 per day towards your CPD allowance.
• Customer service is a huge part of our ethos; we believe building strong, professional relationships with all our clients and candidates is key. We feel our candidates and clients trust us which is why we can offer ongoing support.
• We have a team of consultants who have worked for us for many years, so each consultant knows a LOT about the veterinary industry, practice history and more.

If you feel like we could help you, please don’t hesitate to call our friendly team for a confidential chat on 01423 701 321.

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