Ah the Preferred Supplier List (PSL). That trusty list you can rely on to fill any vacancy that pops up. But is it also somewhat of a convenient excuse to close the door on other agencies (and platforms) when they come knocking?
Don’t get us wrong – PSLs have their place. They can help bring your recruitment costs down and developing close personal relationships with recruiters will ensure they have a great understanding of your business, its needs and the type of candidate required.
But is it holding your business back? Are you missing out on great talent simply because “you have a PSL”. It’s certainly an easy way to deter those pesky cold calls, or recruiters sending over rogue CVs in a vague attempt to get their foot through the door.
But what if you took a second to consider what else might be out there and the talent you’re essentially ignoring?
Think of it like the housing market. If you were looking for a new house, it’s likely that you’d use a service like Rightmove or Zoopla to view all the houses in your chosen location. Yes, you might like the services of a few select estate agencies, but you certainly wouldn’t restrict yourself to them. Imagine the fantastic properties you’d miss out on.
The same applies to recruitment. You’re restricting yourself to the candidates of a select few agencies.
Your PSL might feel like a cosy security blanket that you can always rely on. But it could actually be smothering your business. You might be missing out on top talent that will take your business to the next level or compromising on the talent that you do bring in, simply because “you have a PSL”. It might be fair to say it holds more value to HR professionals as an excuse to fob off cold calling recruiters, than it does to the actual business.
That isn’t to say you should discard your PSL altogether, but to consider options outside of it that can actually complement it. Like Hiring Hub (wink wink).
More and more of our lives are being transformed by advances in technology, and HR professionals need to embrace it. There are technologies available that’ll improve processes, control costs and reduce wasted time – which has far more benefit to the business than ignoring top talent because (yes, you guessed it) “you have a PSL”.