What has the King of Tonga got to do with Recruitment Agencies?

I think we have all accepted that Social Media and the In-House recruitment model have taken root and we need to adapt our recruitment agency offering accordingly.

Does this acceptance mean that a large part of the £20 billion per annum spent on agency recruitment will disappear? The answer depends on to what extent agencies evolve new services to generate new revenues that will replace those that will inevitably be lost.

So what might Recruitment Consultancy look like going forward?

New Services:

Agency recruitment has traditionally been a single outsourced function. Your clients are now exercising the option to take that back in-house. However there are new challenges they will face. These challenges are actually bi-products of the very changes that triggered the move back in-house in the first place. They include: fast-evolving social media, software, technological and cloud based recruitment tools. We may also see: agency licensing, professional qualifications for in-house recruiters, national recruitment agency networks, global recruitment agency alliances. In 5 years time there will be many more. If your client wants to remain recruitment-competitive they may well seek expert help in choosing and integrating the best resources. Are you equiped to provide it?

Greater Accessibility:

What Agencies must also do is overcome market fragmentation and become more accessible. We need to create a supply side where 1000s of great agency recruiters no longer have to shout to be heard.

Due to the nature of the job, the way you are rewarded and zero barriers to entry, fragmentation is inevitable as Recruitment Consultants ultimately seek and value their independence. However there is a possible solution.

The one-stop Recruitment Network who's members cover: all Recruitment Agency sectors, Contractor management, Social Media consultancy, HR consultancy, In-House consultancy, New Product reviews and Global recruitment solutions offers the client an accessible resource that meets all possible needs. It also goes a long way to removing the now redundant PSL.

Like the King of Tonga ruling a tiny kingdom may not be what it once was.