I was intrigued reading a LinkedIn post on the recruitment process in Lesotho and questions on how fast recruitment processes are undertaken. Here goes the LinkedIn post:
“Employers, Recruitment Agencies in Lesotho! Just to get clarity on how far we have progressed with the hiring process in Lesotho.
- As an employer, do you hire for skills or attitude? How has your choice worked for you up to this far?
- After an interview, how long is considered the right time for the candidate to wait for a response or feedback from you as the employer? Or when should the candidate contact to ask for feedback?
- What are your views about a company that takes up to 2 months to fill the position after conducting interviews? How does this affect both the candidate and the company, what picture does this paint about the company?”
Question 2 and 3 got me thinking about recruitment agencies and if they’re given a chance to play their part. Recruitment agencies are as important to job seekers as they are to recruiting companies.
It’s apparent that hiring managers receive an overwhelming number of applications and this causes delays in hiring. However, that’s not an excuse of going 2 to 3 months without a new hire. The HR ‘department’ within some companies is made of 2 employees. The HR Manager and the HR Assistant. How are they able to handle more than 100 job applications?
Busy companies or those with lack of personnel will often outsource their recruitment needs to an agency who will then handle shortlisting, interviewing and reference checking. It is the job of the recruitment agency to read through the applications and find the most suitable candidates for the company.
In most cases, the recruitment agency will make sure to provide the best candidate for the company as this will increase repeat business and secure commissions. If you think of it, this could also help uproot hiring biases within our corporate culture.
Apart from fast-tracking the recruitment process for companies. The recruitment agencies can also help source temporary employees for companies. This means reduced costs for the company as the recruitment agency handles all the administrative and logistical considerations for workers who won’t stay for long at a company.
But the question remains, why aren’t recruitment agencies given a chance to undertake the hiring process within most companies in Lesotho?