IT Service Providers across the UK are looking for the same thing; talent. Key hires and personnel with specialist expertise in Cloud Computing & IT Infrastructure are the driving force of your business. Once you’ve decided where your hires need to be placed in your team infrastructure (after diagnosing issues in your Cloud & IT infrastructure teams), it’s time to consider where you’re going to find this talent.

Looking towards a recruitment agency? Perfect! There’s a whole host of reasons why working with a specialist cloud & IT infrastructure recruitment consultancy will save you time and money.

But what should you be looking for in an agency? What qualities define a good consultancy from a bunch of cowboys? Well we’ve rustled together a checklist of the key signals to look for when you are speaking to a recruitment consultancy. Here’s;

What to look for in a Cloud & IT Infrastructure Recruitment Consultancy:

1. Knows your business
2. Understands your business needs
3. Refines and improves
4. Actively listen
5. Subject matter expert in your field
6. You can trust them
7. Deliver on their promises
8. Supply a pipeline of high-quality candidates
9. Ethical and moral partner
10. Persistent and hard-working

    
    

1. Knows your business

To be able to find the talent your business needs to thrive in a competitive IT solutions provider space, a recruitment consultancy partner needs to understand your company. This ranges from your business ambitions, present and future plans, hiring trajectory, your business size, your company values, history and ongoing story; the list is endless!

The more a recruitment business understands your company’s characteristics, the more efficient the hiring process will be.

Your recruitment partner should be asking these questions, taking an active interest in your business’ story. In doing this they get a thorough understanding of what makes your company tick, and so can more accurately match prospective candidates to your latest job openings and opportunities.

Finding a specialist cloud & IT infrastructure recruitment consultancy which wants to take the time to learn about what makes you you is your passport to success.

2. Understands your business needs

Knowing who you are isn’t really enough.

What sets a specialist consultancy apart from a run-of-the-mill agency?

Well, understanding your business goals for a start!

By coupling knowledge of your company with a thorough understanding of your business’ goals and objectives, your recruitment partner consult on what needs to be put in place to meet your hiring goals.

You should expect them to build a relationship through conversation to understand how your hiring strategy aligns with the greater overall business objectives. In doing so, they are able to offer expert advice on where to find your sought-after cloud & IT infrastructure talent, as well as what needs to be in place to attract those individuals to want to work in your organisation.

They shouldn’t just know who you are, they should understand what you need.

3. Refines and improves

What do you really need from your recruitment partner?

Expertise?

Advice?

Kind words?

No. What you need is…

Results!

How can an ongoing, productive relationship be built when the recruitment partner isn’t delivering on their promises to your hiring needs?

A great consultancy will take the time to meet with your business to understand your business needs and objectives, offering insight and expertise to refine the hiring and communication process and so offer you greater value-for-money and increased hiring efficiency.

By seeking continuous feedback through each step of the recruitment process, they ensure that they’re targeting the right pool of candidates to fulfil your hiring needs.

If they’re not asking you questions and you aren’t seeing improvements in communication or hiring efficiency, you can be sure there’s an issue.

4. Actively listen

There’s no secret to great communication.

It’s all in actively listening to the other party.

Your recruitment consultancy partner should take the time to listen to what your business needs, to actively understand your obstacles and offer advice on how to achieve your objectives. They keep in constant contact with your business throughout the recruitment process to ensure clarity in communication between the hiring managers and prospective candidates.

If your current recruitment agency aren’t delivering, it might be because they aren’t actively listening to your needs.

5. Subject matter expert in YOUR field

If you’re using your time communicating with a consultancy, and ultimately paying for their service, you want to feel safe in the knowledge that they are experts in the field they are recruiting for. This is no different for the IT solutions provider space.

By partnering with a specialist cloud & IT infrastructure recruitment consultancy, you benefit from conversations about trends in the marketplace, both in terms of the latest technologies and the characteristics of compatible candidates. This comes from years of niche expertise both from a technical standpoint and also from understanding the IT solutions provider and managed service provider industry.

A specialist consultancy talks with the best talent all day, every day. They pick up more than a thing or two, information your business can strategically use to develop future hiring plans and drive business growth.

6. You can trust them

All the knowledge in the world is useless without being able to deliver on those hiring objectives.

A top consultancy delivers on their hiring promises, introducing you to candidates with the correct skillset, career trajectory and objectives to ensure compatibility with your company from day one.

You can rely on them to deliver your employer brand to a select market of qualified candidates working in your space and with your technologies, meaning enhanced reputation and reach as well as helping to secure the best talent on the market.

Trust isn’t given; it’s earned.

By earning your trust a consultancy can work effectively with the information you give to tick your hiring boxes.

7. Deliver on their promises

The effectiveness of a relationship is simple.

Continue to deliver, and the relationship grows.

Through consultation with your IT solutions provider business, they create a search strategy and then deliver on it, sourcing the quality candidates you need to drive your company forward.

They follow your hiring procedures to ensure best practice and to align your business plans with their expertise.

By leveraging industry-leading knowledge, expert sourcing and a database of thousands of qualified candidates, specialist cloud & IT infrastructure recruitment consultancies save you time and money by delivering your hiring needs on your behalf.

8. Supply a pipeline of high-quality candidates

An IT solutions provider is an ever-evolving organism.

Technologies change.

Industries transform.

You don’t only need to think about the talent you need right now.

Looking forward and aligning your future business plans with your hiring practices will pay dividends.

The only way to do this is a reliable pipeline of high-quality candidates.

This is where a specialist cloud & IT infrastructure recruitment consultancy is VITAL.

The quality of candidate that lands in your inbox is a strong indicator of a recruitment consultancy’s ability to build relationships and exceed your expectations in the hiring process.

The higher the quality of candidate, the stronger your teams will become, and so the greater positive impact you will see as a return for your business.

It’s a no-brainer!

9. Ethical and moral partner

There are certain stereotypes attributed to the recruitment industry.

A specialist recruitment consultancy should exceed those expectations by offering value to your business and the candidate at every step of the process.

When speaking to a candidate, you should feel the individual you have been introduced to fully understands the role, requirements and your business; no nasty surprises.

You aren’t sent a flurry of CV’s which tick a few boxes but won’t connect well with your business at interview or beyond.

The consultancy should be open and honest about the hiring process at all stages, keeping everyone on the same page so all parties have an equal understanding of the process.