Here are four excellent benefits for mining companies from outsourcing your recruitment to a specialist mining recruiter.
Mining’s ongoing skills shortage is keeping HR departments across our industry busy, as teams work hard to fill gaps in the labour force that otherwise risk denting their companies’ productivity and profits.
It’s a challenge many HR professionals relish. But day in, day out, it can also start to stretch everything from resources to patience — especially when you think you’ve found the ideal candidate, only for them to accept an offer from another company.
That’s where having a good relationship with a specialist recruiter can help. If you’re thinking it might be time to start outsourcing some of your recruitment tasks, or you’re not sure whether making that leap is right for you, here are four excellent benefits you get from working with an external, professional recruiter.
1. Recruiters can find the talent you need faster
When an important position is vacant, you need it filled quickly with a well-qualified candidate. Sometimes, that might mean recruiting from within. But if you need to bring in outside talent to fill the role, it can often lead to a long, drawn-out advertising process. Unless, that is, you happen to have a swag of relevant CVs on file.
The advantage a specialist, independent recruiter has is that they do have a swag of relevant CVs on file. They have a huge database and an excellent reputation within the industry. They also have their finger on the pulse of which talent is on the market and looking for a new opportunity, or who might be interested in making a move.
All this means is that when you engage a recruiter, you’re able to tap into the best talent more quickly, often without having to advertise the position at all. That means you can get the new employee in post much sooner than would otherwise have been possible. In that sense, using a specialist recruiter represents excellent value for money.
2. Recruiters can uncover the best possible candidates
Professional recruiters are dealing with jobseekers across a wide variety of roles within their area of expertise every single day. Often, they’ve been doing it for many years. They know people. They know the best people. You can leverage their knowledge, database and network to your own advantage. That’s literally what the recruiter is there for (and what they love doing).
They also have systems in place for weeding out less than ideal candidates, like those with work histories or reputations that might prove problematic — candidates who might seem fine on paper but who, it is discovered through a recruiter’s due diligence, don’t quite measure up to the promise.
3. Specialist recruiters have a deep understanding of your needs
One of the big concerns you may have when considering outsourcing some of your recruitment is whether the recruiters at your partner agency truly understand your needs.
The great advantage of hiring a specialist recruitment company that works in your industry is that they actually have a deep understanding of not just the roles you’re trying to fill, but the practical, hands-on, real-life, day-to-day requirements of filling those roles. Often, this is because they actually come from the industry they specialise in.
They’ll also understand your company, your sites and your projects. That is a huge benefit because it allows you to communicate with your recruiter on an equal level. If you say you’re looking for a processing manager for a large-scale, low-grade, open pit mine and processing facility that’s being recommissioned, a specialist recruiter will know exactly the kinds of skills, experience, qualifications and technical knowledge you’re looking for in a candidate. So, you won’t be battling against a learning curve.
4. The recruiter is motivated to achieve excellent results for you
Without wanting to put it too bluntly, outsourced recruiters are paid for their successes. Even if their only motivation for doing their job was a selfish dedication to their own back pocket, it would still be in their best interests to do a great job and find you the best possible candidate to fill your role.
But, if you suspect that’s your recruiter’s motivation, we’d suggest looking elsewhere for assistance. You’re better off working with someone who loves what they do, who is passionate about the industry and genuinely enjoys connecting ideal candidates to their perfect jobs.
Why? Because so much of successful recruitment is about the personal. Recruitment is a “people” job and you need to be a “people person” to do it well – to build your network across an industry, to keep in touch with candidates and potential candidates, to understand their needs and wants, and to communicate effectively with HR professionals and match a company’s needs with those of a candidate.
A truly excellent recruiter is motivated by wanting a great result for both you and the candidate.
The right recruiter will build a valuable long-term relationship
Finding the right recruitment partner takes a lot of the stress, strain and worry out of your HR task.
They not only streamline the whole process of identifying, interviewing and onboarding candidates, they can also help you find ideal candidates you might otherwise have been unlikely to reach.
It’s a key business relationship and, when it’s done right, it is a relationship for the long-term. A real partnership. That’s certainly what we at MPI aim to have with every single client.
MPI has been helping mining companies find the best candidates across every job category for nearly 30 years. Find out more here or get in touch today.