The gloves are off, the votes are in. Here are your top 10 recruitment companies...

Hereís who made your top 10 UK-based marketing Recruitment Companies. Placement in the list is relative to the number of votes cast:

1. EMR; 2. Marketing Moves; 3. StopGap/SG Group; 4. Match King; 5. Xchangeteam; 6. BD Recruitment; 7. Tarsh Lazare; 8. Barker Graves; 9. BMS; 10. VMA Group

For the past two weeks Only Marketing Jobs has conducted a poll to establish who you think are the best UK Recruitment Agencies within the marketing sector. The poll was designed to engage jobseeker and agency, making each aware of the otherís frustrations, constraining the positive criticism to encourage useful insights. Taken from a community of more than 25,000 marketers, opinions were expressed from all those involved in the hiring process.

Comments and suggestions reached an unprecedented level with large corporations and smaller independent agencies being recommended throughout the regions. In total more than thirty agencies were named, many accentuated by the promotion of individual consultants. Fisticuffs were inevitable and here are the key protagonists:

In the red corner: Jobseekers: unnerved by the economic downturn and fearing for their futures they perceive recruitment agencies as providing a sub-standard service.

In the blue corner: Recruitment Agencies: ruffled by a decline in employer vacancies and facing an uncertain outlook they are agitated by unrealistic demands from jobseekers.

Fastest from the corners were the jobseekers. First left then right, straight jabs were aimed square into the face of the very people they thought to be in their camp. An energetic debate via the Only Marketing Jobs LinkedIn Group saw agencies blamed for all manner of shortcomings: lethargy, negativity, generalisation and immoral behaviour were some of the printable thoughts muted as jobseekers vented their frustrations via a well-rehearsed volley of diatribe. It was as much as the agencies could do to stay on their feet.

Punches were met with counter-punches but after finding themselves on the ropes in the early stages the recruiters slowly restored the equilibrium. ëThe inappropriateness of some jobseeker applications is making a slow process even slowerí, they ranted. ëWe sympathise with your frustrationsí the agencies empathised ëbut calling us for feedback ten-times a day will not speed the process up.í This was a stiff body-shot to the ribs and one the frustrated jobseeker found hard to defend.

They ducked, they dived. They weaved, they bobbed. There were many moments of stomach-in-mouth drama and no shortage of gusto. In the end the judges called a draw but in the midst of hooks and upper-cuts who took the moral victory and what can be learned from it?

In a market that has seen an alleged 78% cut in private sector jobs and a steady flow of redundancies it is little wonder the staffing industry is suffering. Fuelled by bad press and economic sceptics trade and industry continues to face an uphill battle. Where once there were positions of relative security now there are fixed-term contracts, aimed, ostensibly, to get a job done but at a far cheaper cost. It is estimated that there are four-times the number of applications per vacancy than there were twelve months ago and recruitment agencies have slashed headcounts to make profit-sheets more appealing. Small wonder the cracks are appearing and the joists holding up the careers market are creaking; with it comes anger, the manifestation of months of job searching and new business hunting, with comparatively little luck.

In these times it stands that jobseeker and recruitment agent breathe uneasy lives of symbiosis. Thereís is hardly the pilot fish and shark relationship, though the analogy is not lost on the jobseeker. Caught between the Devil and the deep-blue-sea they are applying – often multi-applying - in their shoals, covering all bases but risking the dilution of their undoubted expertise at every turn. Frantic phone calls to understaffed consultancies boarder desperation as days turn into weeks without tangible feedback. The so-called predator is taking the fish to food but there really are only scraps to be had. If this is our market what can we do to improve it? Here are your thoughts:

Your no.1 choice for best marketing recruitment company was EMR, specialist recruiter of marketing, communications and senior sales management professionals. With UK offices based in London and Leeds EMR were recommended for their market awareness, empathetic approach and overall professionalism. James Murray, a Managing Consultant with more than four yearís experience with EMR believes that ëplaying the long gameí is the secret to success: ëThere is no question that now, more than ever before in my recruitment career, the emphasis has to be on communicating with your candidates. My team spend time making calls simply to stay in touch and understand what our candidates are thinking. There is no short-term gain to this but I think our network respects us for it.í Following the trend of many of its competitors Murray explained his team had been downsized throughout the past six-months. ëThis has impacted in two ways: we now find ourselves busier than ever responding to messages and making unnecessary calls. We are having conversations we may not have considered in a different climate. Positively, though, this has meant our consultants are more rounded and are far more in touch with the demands of our candidatesí.

Murrayís thoughts will make for refreshing reading to the jobseekers we questioned, many of whom cited the lack of feedback from agencies as their most pressing concern. ëIt is amazing how so many people can be so rude so frequentlyí, one marketer commented. ëHow they survive without having the common courtesy to acknowledge a phone call or an email is something I grow more frustrated with by the dayí.

Now the huffing and puffing has ended and with the red mist clearing a brighter outlook can be found in the galvanisation of our two pugilists. With many commentators prognosticating that Q309 will mark a tangible incline in the number of marketing vacancies it is important to plan ahead and ensure your jobseeker network calls you, rather than your competitors.
Recruiting within the marketing sector is tough, especially right now. We exist in a ring where there is no hiding place. Good, decent recruitment consultants could take their undoubted skills into another, more secure, sector, get on with the same job and never a bad word would be said. Perhaps this is happening? But for those who are prepared to stick it out and wait for the wind to change the benefits will be palpable. Agencies are getting some bad press at the moment and whilst this may not be wholly unfair jobseekers should be wary of sensationalism. Our poll highlighted scores of recommendations so there are more reasons for cheer than sorrow. Clearly though, there is always room for improvement.

So here it is, taken from comments made by your jobseekers here is the Only Marketing Jobsí Recruitment Agency guide to boxing clever*:

1. Empathise with your candidates: In the current climate jobseekers are naturally concerned about their careers. Redundancy is not a pleasant experience and you should appreciate that jobseekers may be calling more than usual to make sure you donít forget them. Fewer recruiters means less attention to a growing number of ever less-sympathetic applicants who are ëbeing pigeon-holed, categorized incorrectly and spending hours on applications, CV's and cover letters only to be promptly and unceremoniously ignoredí, commented one jobseeker. It has always been the case that jobseekers submit blatantly unsuitable applications and this will not change. You just have to live with this fact.

2. Size shouldnít matter: in our poll the larger agencies tended to receive most negative feedback. ëWe are just a number to them...í was a standard foreword. ëLarge companies have lost the art of communicationí. The smaller boutique-style agencies fared better overall, where experiences were more recognised and more readily remembered. However, you donít have to be small to be beautiful. Adopting a refined proposition would see those agencies with a greater headcount performing equally proficiently in the empathetic stakes.

3. Tell the truth: A big reason for dissatisfaction with recruitment agencies ëis the scale of the gap between what they promise and what they deliverí. In the Only Marketing Jobs poll more than 85% of respondents said they would rather be told outright that there were no suitable roles, instead of feeling they had been misled. Adopting this approach will save you fielding those follow-up calls. By playing down the jobseekerís chances of getting a job the expectations start low; but by exaggerating the interest and promising the world and then not delivering, dissatisfaction is bound to be increased.

4. Become a consultant: that is, after all, your job title. You must be able to wear many hats. One-dimensionally apathetic recruiters have no place in the current climate so try to dedicate time to understand your candidateís expectations and how you can manage these. Earn your commission. Do not treat them as just a number.

5. Listen to your jobseekers: often it is the simple things that make them feel happy. One respondent said: ëIf I am not suited to a role, tell me. All I ask is that agencies send even an automated reply to my CV application stating sorry you do not have the right experience for this role or something to that effect. This is easy and allows me, as a conscientious person, to cross the roles of my list that I am not suitable for.í

6. Make the most of regulations: the increase in regulatory processes means more workload. Rather than viewing this as a bind – which undoubtedly it can be – perceive the administration as an opportunity to maximise the candidate experience. 70% of jobseekers questioned in the Only Marketing Jobs poll said they preferred to meet agencies because it builds a positive relationship. Actually knowing who you are representing helps you and your candidate stand out in the crowd.

7. Develop your unique proposition: this might sound frighteningly obvious but how much are you doing to build that ëspecialí relationship? The recruitment process is becoming elongated because, as EMRís James Murray points out, the client is looking for that ëgolden eggí. Bizarrely some clients have chosen to increase the number of agencies assigned to their roles, which means the receipt of even more applications. Enhancing your USP will likely encourage clients to decrease their agency lists. This will benefit all parties.

8. Learn the lingo: one commentator opined that ëthe best marketing recruitment agencies from both a candidate and client perspective are those that employ consultants that have spent at least 80% of their career in marketing and 20% in recruitment, and not the other way around.í

9. Work with your competitors: are we mad? Perhaps, but believe it or not splitting fees builds positive relationships. Whilst it may be part of the job, fighting over candidates is not particularly productive. Through its Referral Reward programme Only Marketing Jobs provides a safe platform for agencies to work on other agencyís requirements. This is useful for the harder to fill positions and helps provide candidate and direct employer with a proactive service.

You know, when an agency opens its doors for the first time it sets out to be ëdifferentí, providing that unique, never-seen-before service; one really enhancing the caring side of recruitment, loving your candidate forever and a day. Many new businesses make a jolly good fist of it, some donít. Commonly though, the pressures of the job, the reliance on the end client to provide a quality service and the condition of the economy, are all distinct variables that determine how much of the ëfull-solutioní can be promoted. Jobseekers do understand this but find it difficult to comprehend what they perceive to be a distinct lack of communication. To them, you see, whilst they may be a badgering candidate today they could well be an influential client tomorrow and perhaps above all else it is this thought, albeit embroidered into the very fabric of the more discerning recruitment consultant, that continues to stand the test of time, whether in the context of agency size you are a lightweight, middleweight or heavyweight.

Seconds out, round 2...

* Note: Only Marketing Jobs has compiled this list from comments made by jobseekers in the course of the poll. In no way does Only Marketing Jobs profess to be an authority on this matter.