When it comes to hiring a company’s service, most people think that a name they recognize or a bigger company means a better one. It’s fair to think that, after all, how did they achieve such brand recognition without doing a good job? While no one can be blamed for thinking this way, it isn’t true; bigger does not mean better, especially when it comes to large recruitment agencies.
Boutique agencies, or smaller staffing firms, have strengths that big box firms couldn’t possibly have at their scale and weaknesses that are passed on to both employers and job-seekers that a boutique recruiting firm doesn’t.
Below, we cover some of the big box vs. boutique recruiting company highlights that why the assurance you get of a better service from a name you recognize is pretty false.
Large Recruiting Company Means Big Box Company Culture
Typically, big box agencies will handle more recruiting cases. While this may seem like a good thing, large-scale staffing means lots of experience and connections, right? Let’s take a look at what it actually translates to:
- Large staffing companies mean greater bureaucracy, and more red tape with more people involved in every client or candidate. This slows everything down and cases falling through the cracks are far more likely.
- Who is handling your case? In big box staffing agencies, you’re assigned a “partner” but in all likelihood, it was a random assignment and they aren’t handling the majority of your search. Instead, your file is one of many in a pool managed by a team and that means less attention is spent on you and your relationship with the recruiter.
- Many people assume that bigger staffing companies have better closing rates, which makes sense on the surface. They’re big and popular because they help employers get the new hires they want and job-seekers the positions they want. In fact, the opposite is true; boutique recruiting companies have a much higher completion rate than their bigger competitors.
- Industry knowledge is key for both clients and candidates. Big box staffing companies rarely have specialties, they are more concerned with having a big enough market share than focusing on a handful of areas. Boutique staffing agencies, on the other hand, tend to focus and specialize in particular industries and develop relationships with companies in them.
Small Firms Means Specialized Recruiters & Hiring Strengths
Now that we’ve covered some of the core cons of large staffing companies, how do boutique firms compare?
- Transparency is much more of a given with smaller staffing agencies. You know who you’re talking with, there are only so many people you can be passed over to, and it’s nearly impossible to get “lost” in any kind of interoffice shuffle. You’re always getting the A team and know exactly who to reach out to. Also, there is much less turnover at boutique agencies, so you’re far less likely to keep getting passed around new hires.
- Bigger companies can’t afford personal attention or a personalized approach. There are quotas to hit and a lot of candidates to quickly put into a position, not to mention reassignments or unhappy employers to deal with, and paperwork, paperwork, paperwork. At smaller staffing agencies, their bread and butter is the personalized service. With clients and candidates being specialized, you can expect white-glove service at every turn.
- Boutique staffing agencies are usually dedicated to a few industry areas, such as nursing or accounting and manufacturing or the law, which means their recruiters have specialized knowledge as well. These staffing specialists, due to their expertise in specific areas, have better relationships with companies in these industries and more insight that can help both employers and candidates connect productively.
- The staffing experts you work with should be just that, but you often don’t get those at big staffing companies. Instead, you’re often paired with less seasoned recruiters just starting their careers. With boutique staffing agencies, the opposite is true; they are usually career recruiters and have years of experience under their belt, along with connections that staffing specialists at big companies haven’t had the time to develop.
Provisional Recruiting: Experience the Top Talent Difference
Staffing available positions isn’t about having the most recruiters, biggest offices, or more widely known names; it’s about helping employers find the right employees and job-seekers the right positions for their goals and skills. Don’t let the big companies fool you into thinking you’re better off with them when they have too much on their plate and are jack-of-all-trades rather than staffing specialists.
We at Provisional Recruiting, on the other hand, are staffing specialists and have been placing job seekers in preferred positions for over twenty years. Our expertise has helped both job hunters and employers find the right match that suits everyone throughout the Pacific Northwest.
Explore the difference small can make when sourcing talent and how our hands-on approach gives top talent their best leads.
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