What is the Difference Between Manpower Recruitment Agencies and Headhunters?
Several employment strategies that assist various firms in recruiting job seekers for various positions are used in the current world of employment. In the list of the frequent sources of recruitment, people can distinguish manpower recruitment agencies and headhunters. However, these differ in one way, strategy, area of specialization, and the employees they seek to recruit.
In this blog, we will learn about what manpower recruitment agencies and headhunters are, their modus operandi, and how to select the right one for your enterprise.
What Are Manpower Recruitment Agencies?
Manpower recruitment agencies are firms that help companies meet several staffing needs and provide job placements for different types of jobs including junior and middle-line positions and often supply temporary, contractual, and permanent staffing solutions. They currently approach hundreds of candidates and offer staffing solutions in many areas of the economy. The main role of a manpower recruitment agency is to source the right candidates for a company, interview them, and do all the initial vetting for the company.
Manpower agencies in most cases are serving all the sectors of the economy including healthcare, Information technology, manufacturing, logistics, retail, and finance. Employers obtain a pool of human capital that can satisfy Spike one or two and most significantly short-term and long-term workforce requirements. More often these agencies have a database of candidates who have been short-listed when offered vacancies are to be filled.
What Are Headhunters?
Executive search or headhunters are professionals in the field of recruitment, whose primary goal is to recruit members of the senior management. They operate on a more selective and niche basis and actively seek out hidden talent who may not even be actively on the market for a new job. Executive search consultants focus on regular customers who are business organizations seeking attractive candidates for managerial positions like chief executives, financial officers, and directors.
Search consultants are often hired on a retained or exclusive basis and are contracted to fill one position only at a time. As a result, companies leverage their contacts in the industry to contact suitable candidates for the positions, without necessarily placing an advert for the slots in question. This approach is also more refined and calls for profound comprehension of the client and the particular market heading for recruitment, as well as the qualities of appropriate staff.
Major Differences Between Manpower Recruitment Agencies and Headhunters
Now that we have a basic understanding of both services, let’s explore the primary differences between manpower recruitment agencies and headhunters.
1. Scope of Recruitment
Other employment agencies mainly deal with job openings at various company levels and categories and often deal with entry and mid-wage employment and short-term employment positions. They are relevant to both small businesses and large companies, and they consider both temporary staffing options hiring on a contract basis, and direct hire.
While searchers also work on a different plane with a little more confined area of action. They mainly deal with placed issues, especially executive search placement, which involves senior management or Chief executive positions that demand more skills, direction, and experience.
Example: A logistics may obtain staffing services from a manpower recruitment agency to provide it with warehouse workers, dispatch coordinators, and customer relations staff. On the other hand, should the same company be seeking to fill the position of a Chief Operations Officer (COO) who must be from within the industry, a headhunter would be used.
2. Candidate Search Process
Manpower recruitment agencies usually work with candidates already in their database enabling them to easily supply the right candidates for available positions. They also advertise jobs through job listing sites, social media, and variety of other sites catering for active jobseekers.
While recruiters are specifically on the lookout for active job seekers who are already searching the job boards for a new role, headhunters target those candidates who have no idea they are in the market for headhunter articles. Employers leverage the networks they have within industries and other professionally connected people to get to these candidates. Recruiters may have covert searches so that the company on the hiring end and the potential candidate cannot be seen.
3. Recruitment Approach
The approach of manpower recruitment agency has a higher tendency of volume-based approach. Such agencies may attend to several positions for several clients simultaneously. In achieving their goals they aim to meet the employer demands for employees by ensuring appropriate matched human capital.
The headhunter is different and has a more individual approach to their work. They are mainly hired for one particular position and, therefore, have ample time to study the organization’s practices and the strategic leadership qualities needed in that capacity. The time required to complete the recruitment process might be relatively longer than usual, mainly because of the explicit, strategic, and precise nature of the search.
Example: A manpower recruitment agency may get involved when a retailing company, for example, targets to fill twenty customer service representatives within a given period. A headhunter on the other hand, will look for one unique candidate to fill a CMO position in a tech startup no matter the time it would take.
4. Types of Candidates
Manpower recruitment agencies primarily deal with active job seekers — candidates who are actively looking for employment or open to new opportunities. Such candidates may present themselves for a particular job advertised by the agency or are recommended to the agency by others.
Headhunters focus on passive candidates — professionals who are already employed and may not be seeking a new role but are open to the right opportunity. These candidates are often well-established in their careers and may not apply for jobs through traditional channels. Headhunters use their industry connections to approach these individuals and present them with career advancement opportunities.
5. Fee Structure
The fees charged by manpower recruitment agencies and headhunters are set in different terms. Recruitment agencies are paid on either a percentage basis of the first year salary of the candidate or based on a fixed fee for having supplied the service. Depending on the placements and popularity of the level of the job, the companies pay fees that range from one to the other.
But headhunters, for instance, practice either a retained basis or a contingency basis. A retained search is an agreement where the headhunter is paid part of the fee at the onset and receives the balance after the placement is made. In a contingency search, the headhunter does not get paid until the candidate has been placed in the position. Consequently, the headhunter fees of placing an executive are relatively expensive because of the special skills that are needed.
6. Timeframe for Recruitment
Temporary employment services may operate under considerable time constraints because their primary goal is to quickly place their candidates with employers. It is a simpler process and can take weeks depending on the level of the job being done.
Headhunters generally could take as long as three to six months to conduct an executive search since the job involves the following steps; scouting the target candidate, making appointments with such a candidate, and succeeding in discussions with him/her. The timeframe is shorten because companies are in need of immediate replacements with someone competent to do the job for junior positions or mid-level positions in the organization.
When to Choose a Manpower Recruitment Agency?
A manpower recruitment agency is suitable in cases where an organization requires several employees to fill several vacancies, either as temporary, contractual, or permanent employees. If for instance your company needs a lot of candidates in the shortest time possible and you are sourcing mid and lower-level talent, this is where the manpower agency will prove useful. When to Choose a Headhunter?
When to Choose a Headhunter?
A headhunter is ideal for organizations that want to fill senior executive positions with the best talent. If you’re seeking a highly skilled executive with specific industry experience, a headhunter can provide the specialized service needed to find the right candidate. Companies that value confidentiality in their recruitment process, or want to approach passive candidates, should consider working with a headhunter.
Conclusion
Both manpower recruitment agencies and headhunters play vital roles in the hiring process, but they serve different needs. Businesses should consider their specific recruitment requirements — whether it’s filling high-volume positions quickly or finding the right executive for a leadership role — when deciding between the two services.
For tailored manpower recruitment services, Alliance International offers extensive expertise in staffing solutions across industries. Contact us today to find out how we can support your recruitment needs.