Work With A Southampton Recruitment Agency Over A National Recruiter For Your Next Hire

Are you considering whether to work with a Southampton recruitment agency or a well-known national brand for your next Hampshire-based IT vacancy? I understand why you might have the preconceived idea that a national recruitment agency is best. They are very well-known, which means they must be giving the best service, right?

Wrong. I’m here to tell you that working with a local recruitment agency on your next IT hire will be the best business choice you make this year. Work with a Southampton recruitment agency like VIQU, and you’ll receive a tailored and personal service. My colleagues and I have extensive knowledge of the city and surrounding region – everything from your local competitors and their EVPs, to the car parks your candidates should use before their interview with you.

As a recruiter living and working in the area, I’m well-placed to convince you why choosing a local agency for your IT recruitment in Southampton is the right choice!

What a local Southampton recruitment agency can offer you

You are never just a number

You might be considering choosing a large national agency because it’s well-known. However, just because they are the top search item on Google, that doesn’t mean that they will give you the best service. National recruitment brands will spend large amounts of money on marketing and advertising to convince you to trust them. My colleagues and I at VIQU appreciate every company that chooses to work with us because we don’t have the huge number of clients that national recruitment brands will. We live or die on the service we offer, and the word-of-mouth recommendations that come from it.

Each client has our full focus. A national recruitment company with hundreds of staff is much less likely to have the time to meet with small local businesses or dedicate longer than a specific allotted time to talk to you. In comparison, I always encourage my clients to allow me to meet them at their offices for a meeting – I love getting to know the businesses I’m working with.

Additionally, smaller local agencies are often more flexible and agile because we need to be. A large chain will be saturated with clients to get through and have more complicated and lengthy procedures with many middle managers. So, the route to market will be a lot longer.

If you’re a small local company without a massive budget, you also might not be a priority to a national brand that caters to other larger companies with multiple IT vacancies. Each of our clients means a great deal to us no matter the budget or the number of vacancies they have.

Higher level of service

One of the main advantages of a local recruitment agency is that you get a more personable service.

My colleagues and I take the time to meet with clients face-to-face. You don’t have to worry about tech issues, internet outages, having to repeat “Hello, can you hear me? Hello?” over a video call, or delayed meetings because no one can find the right email link. Of course, this doesn’t mean that we’re call-adverse by any means, but coming on-site with coffee and snacks and having a discussion face-to-face is always better.

Meeting on-site also means that I can get a better feel for your business. I can gain a better understanding of your structure, and in turn, can paint a clearer picture to candidates of what it is like to work for you.

Greater candidate support

Candidates always stress about interviews – it’s inevitable. That stress can sometimes affect their ability to perform in an interview setting and you may not be able to see their full potential.

As recruiters, my colleagues and I do all we can to help ease them into interviews and prepare for them.

From meeting candidates at train stations, to providing a personal taxi service to your office location, to organising train tickets, I provide a service unmatched by national brands. Doing all of this ensures less stress for the candidate, which means a smoother and more efficient interview process for you!

Before now, I have had occasions where candidates have gotten cold feet. Wherever possible I will meet up with the candidate personally to address any issues in person. Making this extra bit of effort often helps them feel more reassured and keeps them in the interview process.

I also enjoy playing the role of Tour Guide for candidates traveling from a far to meet local clients. Southampton is a great place to live and I am always happy to promote the area to potential candidates thinking about relocating to the area.

This is what a local Southampton recruitment agency can really offer over a national agency. In comparison, a national brand is less likely to have the flexibility to allow consultants to drive candidates to interviews, meet them to address worries and advise on the best ways to travel around the region. For your IT recruitment in Southampton, it is best to go with an agency that is both physically in the region and has excellent knowledge of the area.

Stronger understanding of the Southampton market

For your technology recruitment in Southampton, would you prefer a national company whose recruiters may be based in London or Manchester, or a local company with recruiters living and breathing the Southampton area?

Working with local businesses, I know the local hiring trends, and I know what your competitors are offering. I understand what companies in the area are doing, the tech stacks they are recruiting for, and how the local market is moving.

This knowledge puts myself and my colleagues at VIQU in a great position to find you better-quality candidates in less time.

Passionate about local business and Southampton’s future

With VIQU specialising in technology recruitment in Southampton, I work with local businesses and contribute to the local economy. I have great local links and connections and have built up fantastic relationships and trust in the area.

This includes having excellent knowledge of current and future talent pools in the area. For instance, the Southampton and Hampshire area is home to more than 5,000 computing students. A Southampton recruitment agency, like VIQU, is often the perfect middleman to access this fantastic base of graduate talent. I talk to new graduates encouraging them to stay in the area by finding them companies such as yours that need them. Myself and my colleagues are invested in keeping talent local and doing the best for the area.

Another advantage of working with a local recruitment company is that I not only work in the community, but also for the community. One of my Southampton colleagues Vinay has even raised money for the NHS and Southampton Hospitals through running marathons. We are both part of Southampton and advocate for the local community and businesses. For national companies, this isn’t their focus. If they think an area isn’t doing as strongly, they will just close the local branch. Everyone at VIQU is in it for the long haul and are passionate about having an impact on the Southampton tech community.

Are you convinced that a local recruitment agency is the best choice for your company? Give me a call today and I can help you develop your hiring strategy and processes around local recruitment.