Editor’s Note: I rarely publish articles written by others, but this piece by Neil Russell of Bevan Consulting deserves attention and a wider audience. Originally published on 8 April 2026, it is republished here with permission.
Most organisations start in the same place when they need to hire. They ask which recruitment agency they should use, often looking at brand names, size, or reputation in the market. It feels like a sensible starting point. It is also, more often than not, the wrong one.
The better question is far simpler and far more important. Who are you actually going to be working with, and how will they go about delivering for you? Because recruitment is not delivered by a brand, it is delivered by individuals.
Start with the Individual, Not the Logo
It does not matter whether the agency is large or small, well-known or relatively unknown. What matters is the consultant who will manage your role. That individual will represent your business in the market, decide whom to approach, assess candidates, and ultimately shape the outcome you receive.
A strong consultant will deliver regardless of the name on the door. A weak one will not, no matter how impressive the brand appears. If you remember only one thing from this article, make it this point.
This Is a Working Relationship, Not a Transaction
Your best results will come from a proper working relationship. Not a transactional exchange of job description for CVs, but an ongoing dialogue where both sides are engaged, open, and willing to challenge each other.
That means taking the time to explain your business, your culture, and what success actually looks like in the role. It also means being prepared to listen when the consultant pushes back, asks questions, or suggests a different approach. If the relationship is shallow, the outcome will be too.
Understand the Commercial Reality
A recruitment agency is a business, and like any business, it needs to make a profit. The way you engage with an agency has a direct impact on how much time and effort they will invest in your role.
If you brief five or six agencies at the same time, each knows they have a relatively small chance of success. In simple terms, they are operating with a low probability of return.
That inevitably affects behaviour. Effort becomes diluted, prioritisation shifts elsewhere, and what you receive is often reactive rather than considered. Low probability of success rarely leads to high levels of commitment.
This is why a more focused approach, whether through a single agency or a small number of clearly defined partnerships, tends to deliver better results. This does not necessarily mean paying a retainer.
It can simply mean agreeing a level of exclusivity for a defined period. What this gives the agency is a reasonable expectation of success. What it gives you is a partner who is far more likely to invest time, effort, and thought into finding the right person.
How Do They Turn a Brief into a Qualified Shortlist?
This is one of the most revealing questions you can ask. You are not paying for CVs, you are paying for judgement.
A capable consultant will go beyond the job description. They will work with you to understand what truly matters, help you separate essential requirements from preferences, and shape a brief that reflects reality rather than wishful thinking.
From there, they will identify candidates, properly assess them, and present a shortlist with clear reasoning behind each recommendation. It is worth remembering that the perfect candidate does not exist.
There will always be trade-offs. The role of the consultant is to help you understand those trade-offs and make informed decisions, not simply to present options and leave you to work it out.
Recruitment is not a straight, linear process. It is a series of decisions, adjustments, and course corrections. The value of a good consultant is not just in finding candidates, but in helping you navigate those decisions.
Where Do They Find Candidates?
You should be clear on how the agency actually goes to market.
If the answer is limited to advertising or a database search, you are unlikely to reach the strongest candidates.
The best consultants combine multiple approaches. They research the market, map relevant organisations, approach individuals directly, and use their network intelligently.
This is where experience, curiosity, and effort come into play.
How Do They Assess Candidates?
A shortlist should not be a collection of profiles. It should be a considered selection of individuals who have been properly assessed.
That includes not only skills and experience, but also motivation, behavioural fit, and the likelihood that the individual will succeed in your environment. You should expect clear summaries, balanced views, and an honest assessment of strengths and risks. If everything looks perfect on paper, something is probably missing.
Do They Provide Market Insight?
A good recruitment partner helps you understand the market, not just operate within it.
They should be able to give you feedback on how your role is perceived, how your compensation compares, what candidates are looking for, and why people accept or decline opportunities. This information is often as valuable as the candidates themselves.
It is also where potential issues start to surface early. Many problems in recruitment do not appear at the point of hire, they appear later.
A resignation that could have been avoided, a mismatch in expectations, or in some cases more serious issues such as compliance risks or disputes. Good market insight and honest feedback help reduce those risks before decisions are made.
Do They Challenge You?
If a consultant accepts everything you say without question, they are not adding value.
An experienced recruiter will challenge assumptions, test requirements, and suggest alternatives where appropriate. This is particularly important when it comes to criteria that may unnecessarily limit your search.
- Why are you only considering candidates within a certain age range?
- Why does the person need to be from a specific nationality?
- Why is a particular degree essential?
There may be valid reasons for all of these. But they should still be explored.
Without that conversation, you risk narrowing your options and missing stronger candidates. A good consultant helps you distinguish between what is essential and what is simply familiar or comfortable.
Warning Signs to Watch For
There are usually early indicators that an agency may not be right for you.
If the first interaction focuses on terms and conditions rather than understanding your needs, that’s a red flag. If the immediate response is that you need to increase salary, without any deeper discussion, that tells you something as well.
Other signs include limited questioning, a rush to send CVs, vague explanations of process, and a lack of structured assessment. None of these tend to improve once the search is underway.
Track Record Matters, But Make It Personal
It is reasonable to ask about performance, but focus on the individual rather than the firm. What is their completion rate? How often have placements required replacement? How do they measure success?
You are not engaging a logo. You are engaging a person.
A Perspective from Experience
This view comes from having seen recruitment from multiple sides. As a recruiter managing assignments, as a leader running a recruitment business, as an HR professional working with agencies, and as a candidate going through the process.
Across retained search, contingent recruitment, and high-volume hiring, one point remains consistent. The difference between a strong outcome and a poor one rarely comes down to brand. It comes down to how the work is done.
“Even a Broken Clock Is Right Twice a Day”
Some will read this and think of a situation where an agency did very little of what has been described here and still filled the role successfully.
That happens.
Even a broken clock is right twice a day.
A role can be filled because the right candidate happened to be available at the right time, because the market aligned in your favour, or simply through persistence. That does not mean the process was strong. It means the outcome, on that occasion, worked.
The real test is not whether something worked once. It is whether it can be repeated consistently.
Success Versus Repeatability
The question is not whether an agency can fill a role once. It is whether they can consistently find the right people across different roles, at different times, under different conditions.
One success can be coincidence. Consistent success requires structure, discipline, and sound judgement.
Final Thought
Recruitment is often treated as a process of matching skills and experience to a job description. In reality, it is far more nuanced than that.
You are not simply hiring someone to perform a set of tasks. You are bringing in someone who will work with you, influence others, and contribute to the direction of your organisation.
You need someone you can trust, someone you can rely on, and someone you are comfortable delegating to.
A candidate may look ideal on paper and still fail if the fit is wrong. Equally, someone who aligns with your culture and way of working, even with a few gaps in experience, may prove to be the stronger long-term hire. Skills can be developed. Fit, judgement, and alignment are far harder to teach.
The role of a good recruitment consultant is to help you make that distinction, to guide you through the complexity, and to ensure you arrive at the right outcome for the right reasons.
Not just to fill a job, but to find the right person.
About the Guest Writer
Neil Russell is the founder of Bevan Consulting and works with businesses in Asia that need to develop their people and HR organisation. Contact neil.r@bevan.consulting
