When a role is urgent, it can be tempting to brief several recruitment agencies at the same time and hope that more activity will mean a faster result.
On the surface, that feels logical. More recruiters. More candidates. More chance of finding the right person.
In my experience, recruitment doesn’t work that neatly.
When multiple agencies are all approaching the same market with different levels of understanding, different messages and different levels of care, your brand can quickly become diluted. Candidates may hear inconsistent versions of the role. They may be contacted more than once. They may get a rushed or incomplete explanation of your organisation. In some cases, they may come away with the impression that the vacancy is being sprayed around the market rather than carefully represented.
That matters, because when you ask a recruiter to go to market on your behalf, you are not just asking them to find candidates. You are asking them to represent your organisation, your culture, your reputation and the opportunity you are offering.
The first real interaction many candidates have with your organisation may not be with you. It may be with the recruiter you choose.
So the question is not simply, “How many recruiters should we brief?”
A better question is: “Who do we trust to tell our story?”
Every hiring process sends ripples through your business
I’m getting toward the tail end of writing a book called Hire with Heart – The Smart Leader’s Guide to Performance, Culture and People – at least that’s the working title this week! One of the central ideas in the book is that every hiring decision creates ripples across teams, organisations and careers.
Those ripples don’t start when someone joins. They start the moment the recruitment conversation begins.
That is why a proper briefing matters. A recruiter needs to understand more than the job title, salary range and a few bullet points from a position description. They need to understand the role, the business context, the culture, the challenges, the selling points, the leadership style and what success will really look like.
That level of understanding is hard to build when recruitment becomes a race between agencies to see who can submit CVs first.
A close partnership with one trusted recruiter creates a very different process. It allows time for a proper brief, a clear market message, thoughtful candidate conversations, well-prepared briefing material and stronger accountability from the person representing you.
Recruitment should never be a race to produce CVs. It should be a carefully managed conversation with the market.
Multi-Listing Can Create More Noise Than Value
There are times when using multiple agencies may feel attractive, especially if a role is urgent or difficult to fill. But it can also create unintended consequences.
Candidates may be contacted by more than one recruiter about the same role. Different recruiters may describe the opportunity differently. Some may only have a partial understanding of the organisation. Others may move quickly because they know they are competing for ownership of the candidate rather than being trusted to manage the process properly.
That can make the role feel less considered, less confidential and less compelling. A single well-briefed recruitment team can give the market a clearer, more confident and more professional experience. They can test motivation properly, represent the culture honestly and manage both interested and unsuccessful candidates with care.
I think this matters everywhere and, in a small market like New Zealand, it genuinely matters much more than you might think.
The candidates you say “no” to matter most
Here’s something many organisations underestimate. The people you hire will usually forgive a clunky or disorganised process, after all they got the job. But the candidates you say no to? They remember everything and are much more likely to hold a grudge if their experience is not a positive one… They remember whether they felt respected. Whether they felt seen and heard. Whether the recruiter took the time to communicate properly. And they don’t just blame the recruiter for their experience – they also blame the company being represented.
Those candidates then talk to colleagues, friends and family about their experience. They might become future clients. They might even be the person you want to hire two years later.
New Zealand is a village and your reputation travels fast.
A recruiter isn’t just filling a role
A good recruiter understands they are doing far more than matching CVs to job descriptions.
They are:
- Translating your story to the market
- Helping candidates understand the real culture and expectations
- Protecting the dignity of people in the process
- Ensuring the right match across capability, values and motivation
In my book I talk about how capability is only the base layer of a successful hire. Values alignment and motivational fit are often what determine whether someone truly thrives in a role.
A recruiter who understands that will have very different conversations with candidates and those conversations will help to shape your brand.
When recruitment becomes transactional
Unfortunately, there are still corners of the recruitment world where the focus sits primarily on closing the deal. Speed over understanding and a drive to put placements over partnerships and fees over fit (yes, I do like a bit of alliteration!!).
Recruiters who operate this way will often tell both clients and candidates what they think they want to hear to get the deal done. They treat people like inventory rather than human beings making important life decisions. They ‘sell’ the role to the candidate and the candidate to the hiring manager. And a ‘sales’ transaction doesn’t create an honest and open partnership.
The risk in this is that the candidate may not get the role they think they’re ‘buying’ and the hiring manager may not get the candidate they were promised. Six months later there is regret all around and a resignation from a disillusioned employee who hadn’t been prepared for all aspects of the role. At this point the recruiter must go back to market. A market that may not view the client, consultant or potential recruitment process all that favourably…
Kindness isn’t just the right thing to do
At Bishop we’ve always believed something quite simple. If we look after our clients and our candidates, the business and revenue lines will look after themselves.
That approach isn’t just about being nice, it’s also commercially smart. When people feel respected, even when the answer is “no”, they become advocates rather than critics and are more likely to speak positively about their recruitment experience. They trust the process.
That creates stronger talent pipelines, stronger reputations and better long-term outcomes. Kindness compounds.
Choose recruiters the way you choose leaders
So here’s a thought for any organisation about to engage a recruiter. Don’t just ask about their fees.
Ask:
- How do you represent our culture to candidates?
- How do you treat people who aren’t successful?
- What does your candidate experience look like?
Because when someone goes to market on your behalf, they are doing far more than filling a vacancy. They translate your story to the market, help candidates understand the real culture and expectations of the role. They protect the mana of people going through what can be a stressful process. Ultimately, they help ensure the right match across capability, values and motivation, protecting both your reputation and the future of your business.
They are carrying your reputation in the palm of their hands.
In a small country like ours, those ripples travel a long way… choose a partner who takes that seriously.
About the Author
Rob Bishop is the Director of Bishop Associates, a Christchurch-based executive search and recruitment consultancy known for its values-driven, people-first approach. With over 25 years’ experience in recruitment, leadership assessment and governance advisory, Rob and his team work closely with boards and leaders on CEO & senior appointments, executive alignment, generalist recruitment and human resource needs; supporting long-term organisational success.