A Guide to Recruitment Agency Types

Recruitment agencies are a useful cog in the corporate machine. They supplement in-house Human Resources teams – helping companies to find suitable candidates to fill roles.

Modern recruitment agencies use many of the same data analysis tools as their counterparts in HR. They actively search for the right candidates and work in conjunction with client companies to find the most efficient and effective workers.

Here is a quick guide to the 4 main recruitment agency tpes.

Temp Agency

The first, and possibly most popular of the recruitment agency types is a temp agency. Temp agencies help companies to fill gaps in their workforce for short periods. They retain large banks of workers ready to go – often making use of modern recruitment agency software to do so. Companies may hire workers from a temp agency to cover shifts while a person is on maternity or illness leave. They may also make use of these agency workers when bolstering a team during busy seasonal periods.

Temp agency workers are typically paid an hourly wage instead of a salary. They can be paid by the agency, which will then recoup the money spent from the client company. Temporary staff members must be aware of the exact length of their tenure at a company. Workers with special skillsets are highly prized and may float around many companies plugging essential gaps.

Contingency Agency

A large portion of the recruitment agencies seeking to find candidates permanent roles operate on a contingency basis. This means that they will only receive payment by a client company if their candidates accept a role. This creates an impetus for the recruitment company to provide high-quality clients. If they do not, they will not receive payment.

With these recruitment agency types, a great deal of effort into picking and coaching the right candidates. This will give themselves the best chance possible of receiving payment if the candidate takes the job. They may offer interview training and specialist role training to make sure that their candidates have a high chance of success.

Retained Agency

Another one of the recruitment agency types is a retained agency. Companies usually hire these recruitment agency types to find candidates for more senior roles. They receive payment by a client company to find candidates – instead of receiving their fee after successful recruitment. Retained recruitment agencies are skillful headhunters: the seeking out of suitable talent through active means. Headhunting is an immensely delicate and complex field.

Agencies must have adequate resources available to them for seeking out candidates and tempting them to move into a new position. Retained agencies typically charge a high price for their services. They charge a rate of around 50 percent of the candidate’s salary, compared to the 15-20 percent charged by contingency agencies.

Niche Agency

The last of the recruitment agency types that falls on our list is a niche agency. As the name suggests, niche recruitment agencies specialize in single fields of employment. This enables them to build strong relationships with the workforce of their chosen fields.

Heritage, information technology, and finance are some examples of fields in which niche recruitment agencies operate. They can operate on a temp, contingency, or retained basis depending on the kind of roles they intend to fill.