The Smart Way to Work With Global Recruitment Partners

Global unemployment levels are at their lowest point since 1991, according to data from the World Economic Forum. That’s great news for job seekers and local economies, but it’s created a highly competitive market for employers.

Many international companies have since turned to recruitment agencies to source hard-to-find talent. They can leverage their network to uncover hidden gems in local hiring pools and win over candidates who aren’t otherwise looking.

But while recruitment agencies bring reach and expertise, they create just as many problems as they solve without the right setup. Multiple partners, inconsistent processes, and scattered communication can all lead you straight back to square one.

Deel already helps thousands of companies find top talent worldwide, so we know what it takes to overcome international hiring challenges. Let us show you the smart, modern way to work with global recruitment partners to fill niche roles and keep processes lean.

Benefits of using global recruitment partners for talent acquisition

Recruitment partners have become a lifeline as global unemployment hits historic lows and companies make do with lean hiring teams. They bridge many gaps you can’t internally.

Here’s why so many international employers turn to recruitment partners:

• Streamlined international hiring
• Stronger compliance with local labor laws
• Support for niche and hard-to-fill roles
• Instant connections and rapport with local networks
• Insights into regional job markets
• A deep understanding of cultural norms and worker expectations
• Improved diversity and inclusion as agents find overlooked talent
• Flexibility to scale hiring up and down as your needs change

While these partnerships bring real strategic value, many companies struggle to see the benefits. They might choose the wrong agency for their needs. And even if they choose the right one, collaboration is often slow, manual, and fragmentary.

How to choose the right global recruitment partner

Let’s start with finding the right global recruitment partners. Here are the top qualities you should look for in an agency and why.

Fit for your hiring goals

Recruitment agencies must align with your scale, niche, and methodology. Otherwise, they might have great credentials and an outstanding track record, but they won’t necessarily bring you results.

The most important factors to consider are:

• Size and capacity: Can they handle the volume and speed of hiring you need?
• Coverage: Do they operate in the specific areas where you plan to grow? Not just the country, but also the specific regions and cities.
• Specialization: Have they got experience in your niche?
• Rates: Does their fee model fit into your budget?
• Approach: Do their techniques fit your recruitment methods?

Remember that bigger is not always better when it comes to the recruiting world. Large firms may not have the same niche expertise or deep connections with candidates as boutiques do.

Unfamiliar with the local agencies in a new market? Deel Talent lets you search by region and industry to connect with partners, so you never start from nothing.

Compliance and legal expertise

Check agencies have a strong track record for compliance with local regulations. You can check their contracts for a sense of their process and read reviews by former and current clients.

Aside from being knowledgeable about employment laws, agents must show no signs that they cut corners to get results. For example, some might ignore a candidate’s notice period or non-compete to get the commission. These may seem like small details when you need to fill a role, but they can quickly turn into complicated legal issues later down the line.

In especially complex cases, local partners may have limited insight. But you can always rely on Deel Talent’s native HR capabilities to perform background checks, generate compliant contracts, and classify workers.

Cultural fluency and market knowledge

Instead of relying on international firms for everything, look for local partners who can give you crucial insights into specific regions. Only they have a deep understanding of salary expectations, standard hiring techniques, and common candidate concerns.

Plus, local partners have first-hand insights into hiring norms in the region. They know whether it’s usual to engage in lengthy negotiations or extend the offer as quickly as possible. This helps you avoid making a faux pas that keeps driving otherwise engaged candidates away.

Alignment with your employer brand

Partners act as an extension of your brand, so they must reflect your company culture. For example, joining forces with an agency that pitches itself as ‘fast-paced’ when your brand is about balance sends mixed messages to applicants.

But misaligned agencies don’t just give candidates the wrong impression. If your partnership becomes well-known, it can influence team members’ opinions and weaken your employer brand globally.

Track record in your specific niche

The best partnerships are with agencies in your niche. They should have high success rates in recruiting for your subsector and specific roles.

Having the right specialism is especially crucial in tech, science, and medicine. Role requirements can vary drastically across companies with different focuses, and they’re likely to change within a matter of months. Your agent needs as much understanding of the industry as you do.

While generalists may have great metrics, they often lack the necessary insights to secure talent. They might not understand the experience and skills needed to perform the role and fail to sell the opportunity to candidates.

Transparency in reporting and fees

An ideal partner is transparent about costs and performance. Look for agencies with a clear and easy-to-follow pricing structure and standardized processes for delivering recruitment metrics.

But daily phone calls are an inefficient way to get progress updates. Your partners should be able to use a centralized solution like Deel Talent to send timelines, milestones reached, and offer outcomes. If there are any small details the metrics don’t cover, they can also rely on the native messaging feature.

Technology and process maturity

While agents should be skilled networkers, they still depend on technology like the rest of us. Good partners must have invested in AI, automation, and analytics tools to process the hundreds of applications they’re likely to receive.

Plus, their software should integrate with yours to make sharing hiring data easy. This reduces the risk of errors and saves your team from having to copy information from their emails into your system.

Strong candidate experience

66% of candidates say the recruiting process influences their decision whether to accept a role. That’s why you must be sure your partner can deliver a smooth and predictable experience that reflects well on your company.

While harder to find, see if you can uncover any testimonials from workers who went through your agency’s hiring process. You can try searching companies that have also partnered with them and check their ‘interviews’ section on Glassdoor.

How to effectively collaborate with global recruitment partners

Recruiter partners deliver the most value when you collaborate effectively and integrate them into your hiring strategy. Here’s how to make the most of those relationships:

• Announce the partnership: Inform your team via the company Slack channel when you partner with a new agency and give them the chance to ask questions. This ensures you get full organizational support instead of resistance.
• Identify roles and responsibilities: Appoint a point of contact for the agency and ensure everyone in your hiring department understands what tasks they’ll be handling.
• Consolidate tech: Agencies can integrate with your system by onboarding directly onto platforms like Deel Talent. This allows you to transfer data easily and keep all requisitions and contracts in one place.
• Share important messaging: Hand partners resources with your culture, values, and messaging so they can work them into the hiring process. This gives candidates a consistent impression of your employee brand, no matter where they’re located or who hires them.
• Streamline processes: Incorporate partnership onboarding, agreements, and approvals into your workflows. Solutions like Deel Talent can help you standardize these processes by giving you access to powerful automation technology, removing the unpredictability that often slows collaboration down.
• Track impact across regions and roles: Compare performance data across partnerships to check you’re still getting the expected results. But there’s no need to collect this information yourself — Deel Talent consolidates insights into one dashboard and makes it simpler to spot underperformance and scale successful partnerships.
• Build long-term value: Treat partnerships as part of your long-term strategy rather than a short-term fix. This involves investing in the relationship by maintaining open communication and feedback loops.

Get smart about hiring with Deel Talent

Outsourcing hiring to a partner is always a risk. But instead of handling recruitment in-house and missing out on the potential benefits, use Deel Talent to turn agencies from liabilities into long-term assets.

Deel Talent reduces the risk of issues and helps you make the most of global recruitment partnerships by:

• Consolidating processes into one platform
• Automating approval workflows
• Standardizing reporting
• Ensuring compliance with in-country expertise and features
• Providing native messaging tools
• Integrating seamlessly with the rest of the Deel hiring stack

Starting to reach out to agencies or struggling to manage the ones you have? Book a demo to see how Deel makes working with global recruitment partners simple.