When you outsource your recruiting, your company can add top quality candidates to its employee base. The hiring process can be overwhelming for a small or even medium size human resource department, so finding employee hiring solutions outside the business can benefit the company's overall productivity tremendously. Find outsourcing solutions that will take over part or all of the hiring process from recruiting through hiring.

Leave the hiring to experts in the field who can bring in well-qualified candidates. With hiring left to them, you'll have more time to focus on improving your business and leave the recruitment outsourcing basics to the experts. Businesses outsource their recruitment duties in order to:

1. Improve the quality of the candidates available for open positions.

2. Increase the quantity of solid candidates available for hiring.

3. Keep hiring costs down while still finding the best candidates through the outsource recruitment.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Get truly qualified candidates for your open positions quality

Don't waste your time sifting through hundreds of resumes of applicants who are under-qualified for the positions you have open. When you work with recruiting and staffing outsourcing, you won't need to waste your time with these applications. Let the experts bring the qualified candidates to you instead. Most outsourcing recruiters have connections with many great candidates before they even start your hiring process.

I recommend: Hire Decision Toolbox to come up with the best plan possible to benefit your business while recruiting only the best candidates. When you work with Accolo, you'll have a panel of one million potential candidates from their database of professionals. For help finding the best outsourcing fit for your business, contact the Recruitment Process Outsourcing Association.

Increase the number of candidates from which to choose

Outsourcing firms are capable of getting your company name out there into the hiring world. They know how to help you attract the best candidates by making the positions worthwhile. Work with outsourcing recruitment services providers that will help you brand your name into a company everyone wants to join. The result will be a much larger and more qualified applicant pool.

I recommend: Mindfield Group will work with your business to fill one or 100 positions all at the same time. They know the importance of not only filling the seats, but filling them with well-qualified individuals. Hire Beeline Recruitment Process Outsourcing to fill your office with qualified employees. With over 15 years of experience, the company has a good base of information and great track record. Read up on the latest human resource news on outsourcing recruiting at the HROA website. The independent organization is a resource for all HR and outsourcing business information.

Keep your recruiting outsourcing costs low

Watch the costs of outsourcing carefully. Some smaller businesses can feel the crunch of hiring a recruiter. You'll need to decide if the cost is worth the benefit to your company. If it's not, consider customizing a recruitment plan to fit your needs, or watch for flat-based fee packages you can rely on to not change.

I recommend: Ceridian can help you with your entire recruitment process and save you money in the long run with their guaranteed compliance with all federal, state and local regulations. Hire 247headhunting as your outsourced recruitment firm. They have a wide range of services they can customize to meet your needs and budget.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Get references from former or current outsourcing clients. Not all companies follow through on all the promises they make, so it's best to work with a recruitment outsourcing provider that you know has done the job well for someone else, especially someone you know and trust.

If you're doing everything from answering the phones to charting the future course of your business, chances are you could use some good employees. Recruiting the best employees helps you:

1. Grow your business by having some employees devoted to single functions, like sales or technical support
2. Save money. After all, efficient employees get more done in less time!
3. Keep your customers happy by having a good employee always available to take care of their needs.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Recruit online

Taking your hunt for employees online will help you reach more people in less time, and is also great for attracting computer-savvy applicants.

I recommend: Place ads on online career sites Monster.com and CareerBuilder.com and in the jobs section of Craigslist. At RecruitersNetwork, search the directory of career sites.

Use ye olde fashioned classified ads

Many job searchers, especially for less technical positions, still read the classified want ads in their local newspapers and industry trade journals.

I recommend: To find local newspapers for the area you're recruiting in, visit ThePaperboy.com, which lists more than 6,000 online newspapers by state. Yahoo! and TradePub.com offer lists of trade magazines sorted by topic.

Go back to school

Universities and trade schools churn out skilled grads who are now looking for work.

I recommend: Visit Yahoo's directory of colleges and universities, U101 College Search or Trade Schools Directory to find schools in your area. Contact the schools' placement offices to find out how you can list your openings, participate in career fairs or interview for upcoming grads on campus.

Hire a temp

Hiring a temporary employee from a temp agency lets you get extra help only when you need it — and also lets you test out employees before hiring them full-time.

I recommend: Popular temp agencies include Kelly Services and Adecco, both of which can supply temp employees for everything from office services to health care. If you're looking for help with construction, warehousing, transportation or manufacturing, try Labor Ready. Need a creative type, like a copywriter, graphic designer or marketing professional? Try Aquent.

Be in good form

When you interview and hire an employee, you'll need a full arsenal of forms and checklists. And when you need to reject an applicant, you should send him or her a nice letter. Being rejected is no fun, so why not soften the blow? (Also, you never know if you'll want to contact the applicant again in the future, so it pays to be nice.)

I recommend: CCH Toolbox's section for Recruiting & Hiring Forms provides forms for employer reference checks, educational record checks and more. The same site offers downloadable sample rejection letters.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Before paying to post an ad on a job site, check out the current job postings and resumes to make sure that the type of people you're looking to hire use the site.
• •  Be creative. Fun, descriptive job ads pull a better response than dry ones.
• •  Test out different job recruiting techniques to find the ones that work best for you. You may have more luck with online recruiting or with your newspaper classifieds. Why spend money when you don't have to?
• •  Treat job applicants with respect. You wouldn't like to be left hanging, so don't do it to anyone else.

Most outsource recruiting organizations sell their products on the basis that they will save you time and money while finding you more qualified individuals than you would find yourself. While many times this is true, it's not a guarantee. Before you hire a recruiter, make sure you check the company's background and find out its track record with other recruitment processes.

To be sure you're making the most of recruitment outsourcing, keep the basics of outsourcing recruitment in mind. Work with your outsourcing provider to attract qualified candidates. Set up a customized plan to help get your positions filled and stay in your budget at the same time. Keep these steps in mind:

1. Find the best matched recruitment outsourcing organization for your business.

2. Customize the outsourcing recruitment service to meet your needs.

3. Make your company attractive to potential candidates.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Get the most talented clients by working with the best recruiting and staffing outsourcing companies

Look for reviews of consulting companies with big name clients. Hire a company you have researched and reviewed. Rely on industry information, but don't forget to check references and ask other businesses for their recommendations.

I recommend: Get recommendations from the Recruitment Process Outsourcing Association. They are an independent organization that helps the average business by creating standards for outsourcing organizations. Read the HR Today for a list of top 12 companies they list as the best of the best when it comes to outsource recruitment. Hyrian and CRI have both been listed as leaders in outsourcing.

Customize the recruiting outsourcing package to meet your needs

Not all companies can benefit from a complete recruitment outsource. Some smaller to mid-size businesses, or even large companies, already have a good recruitment process that may only need a little tweaking.

I recommend: Customize a package with Search Wizards. They offer full outsourcing, by-project or one-time position filling. Manpower offers similar recruitment solutions with a scalable package to meet the needs of all size companies. For outsourcing that includes in-house recruitment training, consider The Right Thing, or pick and choose your outsourcing needs with Double Star.

Brand your company with the help of staffing outsourcing

Recruiting and staffing outsourcing is often times based on your company image. The better your brand, or image, the more qualified candidates you'll attract. Work with an outsourcing company to improve your brand and make it stand out among the crowd of potential employers.

I recommend: Recruitment Solutions will work with your company to find your niche and brand it. They use your complete profile to come up with your brand that already exists. Kenexa allows your company to relax while they use your profile to attract candidates, screen and hire them.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Before you decide to outsource your recruiting, consider the costs and benefits. Make sure outsourcing will bring you a better candidate and boost your company.