How to overcome agency sector fragmantation

 

As I result of reading this interesting piece from NPA I thought the membership debate might enjoy another perspective.
http://www.npaworldwide.com/2012/05/24/3-key-diferences-npa-bountyjobs/#.T79HQlL-6qw

With 10,000 firms in the UK alone with an average size of 5 Consultants each (if you remove the big players that average number of Consultants is even lower) it’s not surprising that one of the first words used about the agency market is “fragmentation”.

The problem with the market being split into so many small suppliers is that it becomes inefficient: lots of firms cold-calling the same employers, pitching the same candidates, advertising the same jobs, tripping over themselves to secure revenue, being almost invisible when you want to find them and with virtually zero inter-agency communication.

From an employers perspective this fragmentation creates problems too. If they want to cover the markets from a geographical and sector basis and they want the best agencies on the job (arguably the niche independents) they’ll need to appoint quite a few of them. However this might only equate to 1 or 2 Consultants per job group (eg Finance roles in the UK or IT in Spain) , which in a tight global skills market be like trying to download video without broadband.

The independent recruiter is the backbone of the industry but we must find a way to reduce operating costs, improve efficiency and increase communications if we are to compete. One solution would be for agencies to form or join groups, which could coordinate the activities of its members more efficiently without threatening their independence. By joining a group you automatically raise your profile, build buying power, create a new business channel and open up a communications with other suppliers.

Apart from the obvious ones like the IOR, APSCo, REC etc I thought it might be useful to start a list. Please add any you can think of in the comments section