What is a Recruitment Agency?
A recruitment agency (or staffing agency) is an external firm that helps organisations find and hire candidates for open positions. Agencies typically work on a contingency basis (paid only when a hire is made) or retained basis (paid an upfront fee for a dedicated search). They maintain their own candidate databases, conduct sourcing and screening, and present shortlisted candidates to the hiring organisation. Agencies are most commonly used for hard-to-fill roles, executive search, or when internal recruitment capacity is limited.
Why it matters
Agencies can be valuable for specialised or urgent hiring needs, but they are expensive, typically charging 15-25% of the hire's annual salary. Over-reliance on agencies significantly inflates cost-per-hire and means the organisation is not building its own recruitment capability. The most effective strategy is to use agencies selectively while investing in internal recruitment infrastructure (ATS, employer brand, sourcing skills) that reduces agency dependency over time.
How Teamtailor helps
Teamtailor includes external recruiter portals that let agencies submit candidates directly into your pipeline with appropriate visibility controls. This keeps all candidates in one system while reducing the administrative overhead of agency management.
