Recruitment doesn’t end when a candidate accepts an offer; in fact, it’s just the beginning of an ongoing relationship that needs nurturing and support. Ensuring that placed candidates are properly cared for and engaged throughout their transition is critical for the recruiter’s success, client satisfaction, and your agency’s long-term success.
Giving recruiters the autonomy to manage their own post-placement candidate care is essential, but without a reliable backstop in place, important tasks often get overlooked. This can lead to non-starters, placement drop-offs, and an inconsistent service quality.
The Importance of Autonomy in Post-Placement Care
Recruiters who manage their own post-placement care can actively monitor and support the candidate and client as they settle into their new role. This is always going to be the best outcome because they’re in the best position to address any problems that might arise, whether it’s a cultural mismatch, performance concerns, or simply helping the candidate adjust to the new environment. They can act quickly, making sure that both the candidate and client remain satisfied.
The Risk of Overlooking Post-Placement Tasks
However, without a dedicated system to ensure proper follow-up, recruiters can easily overlook key aspects of post-placement care. Once a candidate is placed, they may get lost in the shuffle, especially when recruiters are managing multiple placements. The risk of missed check-ins or delayed feedback increases, and this can directly impact both the candidate and client.
The bigger issue as an agency owner, is the negative impact service inconsistency can have on business. One recruiter who does a great job, another who misses all key check-ins and another who makes it up as they go.
Think of the experience as if you’re going for a haircut. One hairdresser offers a head massage, the next offers to wash your hair, another offers scissors or clippers and the last one offers none of the above. While none of the experiences may be inherently better or worse, the inconsistency in service is the problem. Each experience leaves you wondering if the next time you’ll get the same level of care or a completely different one.
In recruitment, this inconsistency can lead to frustration for both candidates and clients and is just as harmful as poor service, it creates uncertainty and can damage relationships.
Why Alerts Aren’t Enough
Many agencies (and recruitment software) try to address post-placement management by sending alerts to recruiters to remind them of follow-up tasks. However, this method is often ineffective. Alerts can be lost in email folders, or, more commonly, recruiters become overwhelmed by a sea of reminders, tasks, and updates. As these alerts pile up, some tasks inevitably slip through the cracks.
This is where the concept of an automated backstop becomes crucial. While giving recruiters the freedom to manage their own post-placement care is essential, a reliable automated safety net ensures that no task or important communication is missed.
A backstop provides the necessary checks and balances to keep recruiters accountable for their post-placement duties. This ensures that candidates are not left to navigate their new role on their own, and clients feel confident that the recruiter is fully invested in the success of their placements.
For instance, if a recruiter forgets to check in with a placed candidate at the crucial 30- or 60-day mark, a backstop will automatically reach out on their behalf. This additional layer of support prevents tasks from being delayed or forgotten and keeps everyone on track.
The Bottom Line
Recruiters should have the freedom to manage their own post-placement care, but a backstop system is crucial to guarantee that no key tasks are overlooked. By pairing this autonomy with automated systems, recruiters can offer consistent and dependable service, ultimately driving more business.
Roi-AI Candidate & Client Customisation Options
- Stop flows for specific recruiters
- Different flows for different parts of your recruitment agency
- Pause automated outreach at any stage, with recruiter placement notes, i.e., the recruiter has already spoken with them
- Choose any combination of alerts, emails and SMS
- Send comms from/to Candidate Recruiter, Contact Owner, Job Recruiter or Placement Owner