A survey of hospitality HR and recruitment managers by specialist jobs website Caterer.com indicates that recruitment consultants need to adapt their business practices during the economic downturn – particularly when it comes to meeting client demand for cost-effectiveness.
For instance, some 80% of respondents gave quality of candidates as the most important factor in choosing a recruitment source, with cost being the second biggest factor. However, although there was consensus that recruitment consultants provide quality candidates, only 22.8% felt they give good value for money.
The survey also revealed that there was scope for recruitment consultants to improve service. The most effective source for filling recruitment positions emerged as specialist job boards such as Caterer.com (28.70%), employer websites (13.91%) and word of mouth (13.48%), with recruitment consultants in fourth place (10%).
Significantly, specialist industry consultants were seen by hospitality HR and recruitment managers as 20 times more effective than generalist consultants, with 60.20% of respondents who use consultants choosing those with specialist industry experience as a preferred supplier.
As Ian Burke, Caterer.com website director, comments: We have a very close relationship with hospitality specialist recruitment consultants and wanted our survey to explore how they are perceived by employers in the hospitality industry. We feel that the White Paper will strengthen this relationship and help recruitment consultants become more effective in satisfying their clientsí needs.
The overall picture, however, is that employers are using the internet and job centres more than specialist recruitment consultancies, with 43% of respondents stating that recruitment consultants did not form part of their strategy in 2008.
The hospitality industry employs around 2 million people in the UK, accounting for 1 in 14 of all jobs and it is heavily reliant on young people, with some 16% of the workforce aged 16-19 and only 5% aged over 60.
To read the full report and recommendations go to:
Recruitment consultants are missing opportunities
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