Big recruitment agencies have a powerful lure for ambitious recruiters. They flaunt their games rooms, fancy kitchens, and big budget trips abroad, but is that what really matters in your day to day? Often, you can miss out on the real action when you’re part of a huge system.
If you’re considering leaving your large recruitment agency to join a smaller firm, read on for my list of the pros and cons. This is what made it an easy decision for me.
Large recruitment agencies can be bloated with enormous overheads. That expansive central London office must be paid for somehow! Inevitably, you end up with less in your pocket for the same billings or revenue generated.
Large agencies tend to offer employees discretionary bonuses, as opposed to the clear commission structure you get at a smaller agency. That leads to greater transparency in rewards within those smaller agencies – and usually greater compensation.
There are some big benefits of sitting alongside your CEO! First, you get much more face time with the senior leadership team. When you need advice on a client pitch and you don’t have much time, you don’t have to go far to get a word in with someone who can really help.
You also have the chance to be much more involved in the direction of the business and shaping the company culture than you would at a huge agency, where everything is decided behind closed doors.
Smaller agencies have fewer layers of management to get through and usually greater autonomy in your role. If you’re in charge of your market, then you’re able to work in a way that best suits your style of recruitment. And since the company isn’t massive, things can be tailored more easily – it’s not all systematic. So, if those generic KPIs aren’t quite right for you, then shift to an outcome-based performance review.
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