Outsourcing recruitment marketing: who does what?

You have a vacancy that’s been open for weeks and you’re considering outsourcing recruitment marketing. So you want to know exactly what you’ll be handing over. The short answer: a recruitment marketing agency can take over the work, from target audience analysis to the campaign itself, pre-selection and follow-up. The decision on who to hire always remains with you.

The extent to which an agency takes over varies from provider to provider. Below, you can read about which tasks you can outsource, which decisions remain with you, and when outsourcing is more beneficial than recruiting in-house. We’ll use FosFor’s approach as an example.

What does an agency take care of when recruitment marketing is outsourced?

With full outsourcing, the agency takes over the process from analysis right through to the initial shortlist. So you don’t just get a job advert, but a structured process with defined steps. At FosFor, this ranges from a strategy based on data and the TEAM framework, through targeted campaigns, to the initial shortlisting of candidates. You can read more about these steps in our data-driven approach.

1. Target audience analysis and strategy

It all starts with the question of who you’re looking for and what matters to that person. An agency analyses the target group, the labour market and your competitors. To do this, FosFor uses data from hundreds of recruitment campaigns, target group data, public labour market data, target group research and competitor analyses.

This step often reveals a surprise. Employers frequently assume that certain benefits are decisive, whilst the data shows that the target group has different preferences. This may relate to terms and conditions of employment and fringe benefits, but also to communication and the application process.

2. Setting up and running campaigns

Based on these insights, the agency sets up data-driven recruitment campaigns. These include social recruitment and online advertising campaigns, with a message that resonates with what the target audience really values. Which channels work best depends on the role and the target audience. There is no fixed rule for this.

3. Shortlisting of candidates

A good recruitment campaign generates applications. These all need to be assessed, and that is precisely where you, as an employer, lose a lot of time. FosFor takes care of this initial screening and the support of candidates. As a result, on average, clients only interview the 2 to 4 best candidates per month.

4. Follow-up and support

Candidates lose interest if they hear nothing for too long after applying. The agency therefore stays in touch, answers questions and guides candidates through to their interview with you. FosFor supports the entire process, from the campaign through to the application and follow-up.

5. Monitoring and adjusting

Campaigns are adjusted based on performance and data. FosFor discusses campaigns, results and next steps with the client every week during a strategic meeting. You can read about how to organise such a meeting in the article on a Agenda for the weekly recruitment meeting.

Which decisions are still up to you as an employer?

Outsourcing doesn’t mean you’re handing over control. The agency does the groundwork. You decide what you’re looking for, what you’re offering and who will ultimately come to work for you.

These decisions are the employer’s responsibility:

• The job profile and requirements. You know what skills someone in that role needs to have. The recruitment agency can ask probing questions, but will draw up the requirements in consultation with you. You’ll find some useful questions for this in the initial interview with the hiring manager.
• The criteria for the shortlist. The agency selects candidates based on criteria that you agree on together in advance, such as knock-out criteria that you set in advance.
• Terms and conditions of employment and the job offer. An agency provides advice based on target audience data, but you decide what you can and want to offer.
• The conversations and the choice. You will conduct the interviews with the shortlisted candidates and decide who to offer the job to.

This final decision requires a fair approach. Acas advises employers to treat everyone equally following the interviews and to check that their decision is based on how well each candidate meets the criteria set out in the job description and the candidate profile (Acas). In practice, this means: the more specific your profile, the better you can compare candidates.

An overview of the division of responsibilities

When does outsourcing make more sense than recruiting in-house?

Recruiting in-house works well if you receive enough applications and have the time to follow them up properly. Outsourcing becomes a viable option if either of those two factors is lacking, or if your vacancy is difficult to fill.

The CIPD cites a number of reasons why organisations outsource recruitment. For example, they may need to recruit more people than usual due to growth, they may not be reaching the right people with their current approach, or they may be looking for people for roles requiring specific skills. In the longer term, according to the CIPD, outsourcing can relieve HR teams of administrative work, allowing them to focus on strategic matters. The CIPD does, however, attach one condition to this: it must be implemented effectively. Organisations must also weigh up the potential drawbacks for their own organisation (CIPD).

In practical terms, you could ask yourself the following questions:

• Has the vacancy been open for some time without any suitable applications?
• Do you have little insight into what your target audience really values?
• Do you spend a lot of time on comments that are out of place?
• Are applicants being left in the lurch because nobody has time to give them a quick call?
• Are you looking for candidates for a hard-to-fill role in engineering, manufacturing, logistics, sales or the maritime sector?

Do you recognise yourself in several of these questions? If so, the problem probably lies not just with your job advertisement, but with your approach as a whole. An agency that combines analysis, campaigning and shortlisting tackles this in a holistic way.

How does recruitment marketing compare to traditional recruitment and selection?

In traditional recruitment and selection, the focus is usually on finding and presenting candidates for a single vacancy. Recruitment marketing takes a broader view. It focuses on why the right candidates would choose you and how you can reach them with the right message.

FosFor combines the best of both worlds: recruitment, data and marketing. The aim is not just to fill a single vacancy, but to ensure a sustainable influx of high-quality candidates. You’ll receive advice on how to make your organisation more attractive to your ideal target group, and the shortlisting will be done for you. On average, vacancies are filled within 3 to 8 weeks, depending on the role and target group. However, this is not a guarantee.

Would you like to compare the price differences between these models? If so, read the article on recruiting staff through marketing or a temporary employment agency. And anyone who wants to know how marketing and strategy relate to one another will find further explanation in the difference between recruitment marketing and recruitment strategy.

How to prepare for an outsourcing meeting

You’ll get more out of an initial meeting with an agency if you jot down a few things beforehand:

1. The role, with requirements that are absolutely non-negotiable.
2. What you’ve tried so far, and what the results were.
3. Who conducts the interviews at your organisation and how much time that person has.
4. What scope you have in terms of employment conditions and the offer.

This makes it immediately clear which part the agency will take on and which parts you’ll still be responsible for. Would you like to know what this looks like for your hard-to-fill vacancy? Take a look at what data-driven recruitment agency FosFor does or book an introductory meeting to discuss your vacancy and recruitment strategy.