Is choosing a Marketing Agency any different to selecting a Recruitment Agency?

I ready an article today that was titled, "What to look for in an agency (marketing)" and my curiosity got the better of me! I wondered what the comparison would be with looking to hire in a recruitment agency to do some work (for this example the comparison would need to be with a retained consultancy, so likely a search firm).

I have used Sally Durcan’s - from Hotcow Marketing Agency - Do’s & Dont’s of choosing a marketing agency (MA) with my comparison of a company choosing a recruitment agency (RA) to do some work for them. Obviously this is more about the selection process than it is the detail of the assignments, but as there are many marketing agencies running recruitment campaigns, it does make you think.

The Do’s when choosing an agency

1. MA: Look at and understand creative ability and project flexibility. You want a team that can be flexible and adaptable.
RA: Same as for an MA - just that you will need to understand their recruiting ability (and track record) in addition to any creative ability.

2. MA: Look at their work ethic - response times, approval methodology, reporting and KPI’s. They should have a similar approach to you and your team.
RA: Exactly the same, although they need not have the same approach, but they will need to show genuine empathy with your approach and your team.

3. MA: Establish who the main contact will be and how much experience they have. You don’t want juniors as your main contact.
RA: Exactly the same.

4. MA: Examine logistical details - look at how they will manage the workload.
RA: Exactly the same

5. MA: Ask if the account management team will be on the ground managing the project.
RA: Exactly the same.

6. MA: Check for potential legal issues.
RA: Similar - just different issues. With recruitment, they should be complying with all data protection and discrimination laws. Also if it is an international assignment then ‘right to work’ / visas / permits need to be verified.

7.MA:  Provide a clear and precise brief highlighting all the important facts and details.
RA: Exactly the same.

8. MA: Be honest and up front with the suppliers you have chosen to work with or pitch for your work.
RA: Exactly the same.

9. MA:  Arrange a brainstorming meeing with the company you intend to work with - it helps to get both parties working together and saves on time wasting.
RA: Exactly the same, and very important with a recruitment assignment - it helps flush out new potential streams of candidate sources.

The Dont’s of choosing an agency

1. MA:  Expect full campaign details before you agree to work with the company. Get a feel from the information provided and use this as the starting point.
RA: Exactly the same. Don’t expect a recruitment firm to give away their secrets!

2. MA: Get a company to spend hours working on your information and then never get back to them. Respect is important for sustaining a long term relationship.
RA: Exactly the same.

3. MA: Give half the facts, and hold back on what you like and don’t like and expect to get a perfect response.
RA: Exactly the same - honesty is the only policy. Lack of honesty is likely to result in failed assignments!

4. MA: Look at a response and blow it out of the water before you have spoken with the agency and understand why they have presented their ideas.
RA: Exactly the same. Even if the proposal is not what you were expecting, still have the conversation and get an explanation of the proposal. Show respect.

So as you can see, there isn’t really much difference in the process of choosing an external agency to carry out an assignment for your company, apart from the obvious differences around the actual service.

Is this why so many marketing agencies believe that they can run recruitment campaigns for their clients?
The process might be similar, but the calibre of the staff are totally different - creatives VS recruiters. So when the companies are going through this process, they do need to clarify, that recruitment campaigns are run by recruiters within the marketing agencies.
But then that would be an obvious question wouldn’t it??