Survey: Employers' use of employment agencies and recruitment agencies 2009

Employers' practices in using employment agencies and recruitment agencies are investigated in this 2009 IRS survey, which examines their reasons for using agencies and the criteria applied when selecting them, together with the most popular services, satisfaction levels and other factors.

On this page:
Employers' use of agencies for recruits and temporary workers
The types of jobs for which agencies are used
"Temp-to-perm" transfer fees
Why do employers use agencies?
Chart 1: Employers' motivations for using agencies
Why some employers do not use agencies
The role played by agencies in employers' staffing needs
What agency services do employers use the most?
Factors used to select agencies
Service-level agreements and preferred supplier lists
Line managers' access to agencies
Information that employers supply to their agencies
Information that employers require from agencies
Encountering problems when using agencies
Chart 2: Problems experienced by employers when using agencies
Employers' views on agencies' value for money
Are agency charges rising?
Evaluating the effectiveness of agencies
Chart 3: Employers' methods of evaluating recruitment agencies' performance
Trends in employers' use of agencies
Legislative changes on the horizon
A partnership approach
Our research
Table 1: The types of roles for which employers use agencies
Table 2: Employers' criteria when choosing an agency
Table 3: Information required from agencies by client organisations
Table 4: Employers' reasons for reducing the use of agencies in 2009
Box 1: Employers' top tips for getting the best from employment and recruitment agencies
Additional resources.