One of the most common questions EP/AO Hub is asked, is are you a Recruitment Service or a Job board? The answer we are a Recruitment Tool, we are used by Assessment & Awarding Organisations that want to avoid using agencies and advertising on generic boards.
Typically, there are 3 ways to recruit EPAs, IQAs, Examiners, Moderators etc.:
- Use a recruitment agency
- Advertise directly
- Register with the EP/AO Hub.
Recruitment agencies.
Pros
You can give a recruitment agency a defined specification of:
- What you’re looking for
- Where the candidate needs to be based
- What qualification and background the candidate needs to have?
- What their DBS status needs to be
- What the workload will be
- When you want the candidate to start?
- What contract type you need the candidate to work on i.e. freelance, permanent etc
- How much you want to pay the candidate.
You then hand the pressure of finding the right person to the agency. Using an agency frees’ up your time to do your other 100 jobs. You are able to schedule times and dates of when to meet the candidates and make the hire, when you find the perfect match.
Cons
Recruitment agencies are expensive, even at 10% of a permanent fee of a £25,000 salary, the cost of sourcing the candidate will be £2,500 +Vat and there is no guarantee that the person won’t leave, meaning you’ll have to re-recruit and pay another fee. If you’re using a freelancer, every day they work you’ll have to pay a premium and if you really like them and end up using them a lot. Payment terms is another con, majority of business are reliant on their cashflow, bulky recruitment agency fees can add unwanted pressure to a fragile cashflow.
Advertising directly
Pro
You’re taking full control and ownership of who is joining the team, you can create you own advert and post it wherever you like and whenever you like. Essentially, you’re every part of the recruitment journey, from creating a job spec, posting and advertising, sifting through applications, calling applicants, getting availability, arranging interviews, managing expectation, right the way through to the onboarding process. It can potentially be the most economical way to hire, depending on where you’re advertising, how often you’re posting and how much time you’re sacrificing to find the right person. Overall advertising directly is a strong contender for recruiting in small numbers and the main benefit is the potential savings. This entire process is even easier, if you know people from your own network that can do the job, all you have to do then is pick up the phone can get them in.
Cons
A big part of what recruitment agencies do very well, is sift through a huge number of applicants that are not suitable or applicable for your role, in order to find the diamonds. This is a very time-consuming job and can be fruitless if the candidate you decide to interview, doesn’t turn up or accepts another offer. The whole process starts all over again. Creating adverts and posting them at the right time and in the right place is imperative and requires a bit of “know how” otherwise you may not get the responses you’re looking for. Advertising directly often is seen as the “cheapest” way to hire and in some circumstances, it can be. However, if you’re looking to post your adverts on popular jobsites, that comes at a premium and needs to be done constantly in order to remain visible in candidates job searches. The savings that you’re potentially making need to be weighed against the amount of time you’re not doing other business activities that you would normally be doing. The cost saving element of recruiting directly does not apply if you have an inhouse recruitment team, as you are already incurring the costs of a recruitment department. Finally, when using your own network to source candidates, the issue you will face is sustainability. Using your own network is a feasible option for smaller business with less needs, however the larger the operation, the more the need for sustainable processes, which will allow for times when people in your network are not available, not applicable or not at the right pricing point.
EP/AO Hub
Pros
You are advertising your roles in the right place, applicants that register with EP/AO Hub are specifically looking for EPA/IQA, Examiner, Moderator etc. assignments. The EP/AO Hub is essentially a platform where candidates register, they create profile and highlight what they’re able to do, Assessment & Awarding Organisations can then access the platform to advertise, connect and recruit with these candidates directly. This means that every-one who sees your adverts is specifically from within the sector (in oppose to the entire internet population). If you are advertising directly to your target market, your applications will be a lot more suitable which allows for a more efficient recruitment process overall. Cost wise, hiring through EP/AO Hub is significantly cheaper than using a recruitment agency. An annual fee for EP/AO Hub is £2,400 + Vat where you can make unlimited hires or use unlimited freelancers as much as you want. In comparison the cost of recruiting 1 candidate on a permanent basis, is typically £2,600 + Vat based on the salary being £26,000 and the cost of recruitment being 10%. EP/AO Hub also offers solutions to on-going sustainability in sourcing candidates, as organisations have an option to bank them for future work.
So Assessment and Awarding Organisations can genuinely grow there own candidate network very quickly and very economically.
Cons
You’ll need to upload your own assignments and contact the candidates directly.
Conclusion
So, there you have it 3 methods of achieving the same end goal, they all have their benefits. How-ever using EP/AO Hub comes up as the is the most cost effective and efficient, when sourcing EPAs, IQAs, Examiners, Moderators etc. This is due to Assessment & Awarding Organisations advertising directly on platform, which is custom designed only to attract the right candidates, that are actively looking to get hired. The EPAs, IQAs, Examiners, Moderators etc. on the Hub vary in which standard they can deliver in and where they are based. As well as having their availability highlighted, they display other crucial requirements such as, teaching / training qualifications and evidences of their ability to operate in their chosen standard. This allows for organisations to ensure the candidates meet the compliance requirements, before even initially engaging with them.
Assessment & Awarding Organisations have access to the Hub to either advertise directly, search the hub for candidates or build talent banks found in searches for future work and can do this all independently without having to go through a third party. The Hub’s efficiency is down to how clearly, quickly and effectively relationships can be made and candidates can be sourced.
If you’re an Assessment & Awarding Organisations looking to hire EPAs, IQAs, Examiners, Moderators etc., then register an account with EP/AO Hub, by visiting www.epahub.co.uk.