At New Millennia we have years of experience in helping startup recruitment agencies navigate the uncharted waters of setting up their own agency. We know that it’s not always plain sailing from day one, that there will be stumbling blocks to overcome along the way. Even with all of the recruitment industry experience in the world, it is likely that this is the first recruitment agency that you have built from scratch. So, to help you on your way we’ve pulled together some of the most common problem areas and stumbling blocks for a startup recruitment agencies; knowledge is power, so knowing the issues you may face as you start your journey will help you tackle them head on or better still, avoid them altogether.
Keeping The Stamina
Your first and possibly most prolonged suffering will be finding the stamina to keep driving your business forward; as an entrepreneur, you’ll be putting in much hard work before you reap any rewards. Growing a business can be a slow burner but being aware of this before you begin can allow you to plan for it, to prepare and realistically build this pace of growth into your business plan.
Finding The Candidates
You need candidates to fulfil your clients’ needs. Sourcing these candidates, to begin with, is a potential stumbling block in itself. As a newbie your unlikely to have a pool of candidates already at your fingertips, but if you’ve worked in the industry for even a short time, you may well have some connections, some regular networking events that you attend either on or offline. You’ll need to use these, and you can't be too shy about diving deeper - cast a wide net and follow all leads that you get. At this point, we’ll refer you back to point one; time to practice your stamina and drive!
There’s plenty of competition out there in the recruitment industry jungle, so once you’ve gained your candidates, your next job is keeping those candidates happy. Happy candidates will stay with you and not get lured to join the competition. Some will be easily satisfied, but don’t be fooled, some candidates will have relatively high expectations, and startup employment agencies like yours won’t have endless resources to meet all of these expectations. Focus on a strong brand image, providing the best service you possibly can; a smile, consideration and open communication costs nothing but your time and can make candidates feel valued, build strong relationships and gain loyalty.
Rules & Regulation
Anyone can start their own recruitment agency; theoretically, no examination or degree decrees you able and legal to do so. It is ill-advised however to go into this blind, with no recognition for the rules and regulations that all agencies, including startup recruitment agencies, are expected to adhere to. You are responsible for placing people in positions of work so need to carry out the required checks. For example, you'll need to check that they are eligible to work in the UK, to understand anti-discrimination and equality laws, sick pay, holiday pay. These are all issues you will be dealing with, so learn what is and is not your responsibility, you may even be asked to advise on such matters even if they aren’t strictly under your jurisdiction.
You’d do well to check out legislation such as:
The employment agencies act of 197
The Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Businesses Regulations 2003
Not Having The Experience
While it is unlikely that you would want to set up a startup recruitment agency with little to no experience in recruitment, it is possible; you may be making a rod for your own back, but if it’s your dream then it is possible. Going into this venture with a lack of experience is a big stumbling block, however, if you build yourself a team who can help you, you’ll hopefully have avoided this issue, a partner or advisor with knowledge of the industry would go a long way.
Funding and Money Management
Startups generally speaking aren’t particularly flush, unless you have the capital to inject into the business yourself, you’ll likely need to access funding externally. There are many ways in which you might do this, bank loans are the option many startup businesses choose, or an option for startup recruitment agencies called factoring is also popular. New Millennia, however, offer an alternative recruitment financing option to factoring, providing you a 100% upfront funding solution each week. New Millennia then collect the invoice amount from the client when payment is due.
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