Reasons to Use a Boutique Recruitment Agency

Due to the ease of using the internet to find candidates, many companies are attempting to recruit new employees themselves. However, these companies may not be getting the best results and undertaking the recruitment process takes up time that these companies may not have to spare.

A good alternative to recruiting in-house is using a recruitment agency. These agencies help to find highly-qualified candidates, save time, and make the process easier overall.

However, not all recruitment agencies are the same. Two main options you’ll have are choosing between a large agency that helps recruit for most industries and choosing a smaller boutique agency that focuses on recruiting for just a few niches.

One thing to consider is that there are talent shortages for niche roles. This makes it a lot harder to recruit for positions like these when using a larger agency or doing it yourself. Boutique agencies will have many industry contacts making tracking down this high-quality talent easier.

Read on to understand exactly what a boutique recruitment agency is and the benefits of working with one.

What Is A Boutique Recruitment Agency?

A boutique recruitment agency is a small specialized recruitment agency focused on finding employees for just a few industries and/or certain types of positions.

Lynne Palmer, for example, focuses on the media, publishing, and medical communications industries as these are the industries that our experienced team maintain their extensive networks in.

Specialized boutique recruitment agencies will have smaller teams than larger recruitment agencies too. While this may not sound like a good thing, this can actually help improve service. It allows for one-on-one contact and a solid understanding of your needs.

A specialized boutique recruitment agency

focuses on finding employees

for

just a selection of industries.

Why Use A Boutique Recruitment Agency?

Working with a boutique recruitment agency, like Lynne Palmer, will bring many benefits to your hiring process. Recruiters have vast experience and know-how allowing them to really understand your recruitment needs. Boutique agencies also have a wealth of industry contacts including highly qualified candidates and a network that can refer great candidates.

Boutique agencies additionally take the time to understand the position you’re hiring for and your company culture and goals. The smaller teams found at boutique recruitment agencies also allow for better communication and more time to focus on each client’s needs. A good boutique recruitment agency builds a relationship with its clients and can be proactive as top talent starts to look for that next move.

In addition, the in-depth knowledge within specific targeted industries that a boutique agency has translates into a tighter network, and highly knowledgeable recruiters that possess the ability to be ahead of the curve.

The benefits of using a boutique recruitment agency apply to not only the company with critical hiring needs but also to individuals looking to grow their career.

The main benefits of using a boutique recruitment agency are explained in more detail below.

Efficiency

Using a recruitment agency, in general, should make the recruiting process easier and more efficient. Due to their network of candidates and the time that can be spent on recruiting by the agency, they are more likely to find a better candidate than you could have alone and will do so in a shorter time. This means that you’re saving time that can be spent on other operations while still filling your open job position with a top candidate.

The benefit of a boutique agency is that each recruiter will work with fewer clients at once. These agencies focus on a smaller group of clients in order to pay more attention to them. Larger firms tend to take on as many clients as possible leaving less time to spend on each client and making finding a highly qualified candidate less likely.

The small number of clients each boutique agency recruiter works with allows them to spend the majority of their time trying to fill your role and they’ll really get to know what you’re looking for. 

The combination of those two things will make the process highly efficient and will greatly decrease the amount of time spent looking for the perfect candidate. 

Team Size

You may think that large recruitment agencies are the best option for your needs due to their bigger teams and supposedly an extensive database of candidates.  However, when recruiting for the perfect candidate, working with a large team isn’t always for the best. 

Many large recruitment agencies will have lots of KPIs to meet as well as individual goals and commissions for each recruiter. This can lead to these agencies being more focused on how many positions they fill than on the quality of candidates. 

Boutique agencies, on the other hand, care more about finding the best fit for each client than on filling as many positions as they can. This allows for more communication with each client and time to focus on achieving the results you need. For example, at Lynne Palmer, you’ll always speak directly with the recruiter who is undertaking the search and searches are handled only by senior level staff from beginning to conclusion.

They’re also more likely to work with both the company and the recruited candidate to ensure the candidate is meeting their career goals and fitting into the role. This will make it more likely that the candidate will stay with the company long term. 

Boutique agency recruiters have

the ability to spend the majority

of their

time trying to fill your role.

Customized Service

Boutique recruitment agencies will offer a much more tailored service than larger agencies will. Boutique agency recruiters really get to know the company they’re working with. 

Not only do they understand exactly what the company is looking for in a candidate but also get to know the overall company mission and culture and team dynamics. This makes it more likely that they’ll find a great all-round fit. They also focus on matching up company long-term goals with candidate long-term career goals.  

This process means that the search strategy is tailored to each company and each position they recruit for, making finding the perfect candidate more likely. 

Specialized Expertise

Traditional recruiters at larger agencies that cover lots of industries will likely have a harder time finding qualified candidates for specific niches. This is because to find highly specialized applicants with certain skill sets, experts in that particular industry are needed to find the best candidates. 

Boutique recruitment agencies, however, are more specialized and have recruiters with expertise in certain industries. Most boutique agencies will cover just a few niches and may even recruit only for certain types of roles, such as high-level executives. 

Larger firms can’t do this because they serve all industries so they can’t have recruiters with expertise in every industry. Many recruiters at these firms are often less experienced than those at boutique agencies too. They may have even spent their whole career as a recruiter. 

Boutique agencies often have recruiters that have worked in the industry and in positions similar to those they’re recruiting for. This industry knowledge and experience allows for a much better understanding of client needs and what makes a great candidate for the position.

Boutique recruitment agencies will

offer a much more tailored service

than larger agencies.

Industry Contacts

Focusing on just a few industries and having recruiters with experience in those industries means that boutique agencies have a large network. They’ll have a vast amount of contacts both of whom can provide recommendations for candidates and be candidates themselves.  

Using a boutique agency will give you access to this extensive network of top talent and industry connections. While larger agencies will have big databases of candidates, those in a boutique recruitment agency’s database will be more qualified and appropriate for the positions you’re hiring for. 

Boutique recruitment agencies will often have access to contacts and candidates that a larger wide-ranging recruitment agency would not. This increases the candidate pool and makes finding an amazing new hire who’s a great fit for the job and your company highly likely. 

In Conclusion

While working with a large recruitment agency can bring great results, you may have better outcomes working with a boutique recruitment agency, at least for certain positions. 

A boutique agency’s process focuses on all your needs and you’ll work directly with the same recruiter throughout. You’ll also benefit from a vast network of industry contacts and have a search strategy that’s tailored to exactly what you need. This will all help in finding you top talent in a short amount of time. 

If you think a boutique recruitment agency is a good fit for helping you find your next hire, why not get in touch with the team at Lynne Palmer? We have been helping effectively fill positions within the publishing, media, and medical communications industries for over 50 years. We will work with you directly to build a search strategy that meets your needs and will find you the best new talent in a competitive marketplace. Get in touch today to learn more about how we can help you.