Headhunters or Oxilia: which recruitment strategy suits you best?
13 January 2021Veterinary recruitment: headhunter or Oxilia?
Recruitment is a major issue for veterinary clinics. Candidates are sometimes recruited even before they leave university, given the numerous openings! With full-time employment, it is not uncommon for a job offer for a veterinarian or AHT to remain for months in the classifieds without a candidate coming forward.
Realizing that your approach is not producing the expected results, the temptation can be great to entrust the responsibilities of finding candidates to a headhunter or recruitment agency. After all, why not call on specialists who are used to finding candidates for companies from all walks of life?
Even if an open position costs your clinic a lot of money, don’t rush into it. It is better to take the time before making your decision. You don’t want to have to start the process from scratch or hire a candidate who doesn’t fit in well with your team. The costs can skyrocket if you make a decision too hastily.
Which recruitment strategy best suits your clinic?
Every recruitment strategy has its advantages and disadvantages. Consider these three common scenarios:
- You spend an enormous amount of time managing the whole process, carefully selecting the veterinarians and animal health technicians to meet, while carrying out the necessary follow-ups;
- You pay heavily for someone qualified to do it for you;
- You post your offer in the classifieds, without having any control over the quality of the applications that will be sent to you.
It is not always beneficial to advertise your offer to as many people as possible; on the other hand, it can be difficult to find the right candidate if you don’t reach out to enough of them. What a dilemma! In addition to the time it takes to manage the recruitment process and the budgets that need to be set aside, either to get someone temporarily to work or to post your job offer, it can quickly become a headache.
It is therefore essential that you employ the strategy that best meets your needs, according to your situation.
Who is a headhunter?
A headhunter can help you select candidates who meet your criteria. He or she is a professional who specializes in the recruitment process and helps a wide variety of companies find qualified personnel. But a headhunter is a recruitment specialist, not a veterinary recruitment specialist. He or she assists companies in a variety of industries.
So if you need support, the headhunter can be an excellent advisor to assist you in the recruitment process.
Turnkey service
Recruitment agencies and headhunters offer a turnkey service. All aspects of recruitment are managed for you.
Pre-selection of candidates
Depending on your needs, a pre-selection of candidates can be carried out in order to target specific profiles. Screening of applications can include personality tests, tests to assess their language proficiency and general knowledge, computer skill-related assessments and much more. The more details you want to obtain about candidates, the more time-consuming and expensive the process may be.
Contract management
Some agencies offer support with contract management. You are, however, entirely responsible for respecting signed agreements, with no guarantee that the chosen candidate will get along well with your team.
Management fees
From the first evaluation meeting with your headhunter or recruitment agency, a fee will be charged to analyse your file and create your profile. You will also be charged for the time spent by your assigned expert trying to help you. The more support you need, the more expensive your recruitment process will be.
Exclusivity and limited network
You must sign an exclusive agreement with your headhunter or recruitment agency. You are, therefore, confined to the networks to which they give you access. A few of them specialize in health and veterinary medicine or have experience with the pharmaceutical industry.
Pressure to choose
Although no one will force you to do so, it is not impossible that the recruiter responsible for your file will put pressure on you to choose one of the proposed candidates, pointing out to you that applications meeting the required criteria are rare or that your choices are limited in any case.
High costs
The costs of using the services of a headhunter or recruitment agency are extremely high. Their fees can amount to 25-30% of a candidate’s annual salary plus a minimum amount to use their services. It is not by chance that they are mostly hired by large organizations such as pharmaceutical companies, food industries or large veterinary groups.
Permanent positions, few replacements
If you need staff to fill temporary vacancies or requirements, you will find it difficult to find what you are looking for with a headhunter or recruitment agency. Their services are primarily used to fill permanent positions in companies.
What is Oxilia?
Oxilia is the largest virtual recruitment platform for the veterinary industry in Canada. It brings together only those animal health technicians, veterinarians and veterinary institutions whose profiles are as precise as they are varied. Our job is to help the veterinary community create connections between employers and veterinary professionals in order to optimize recruitment and enhance the intrinsic value of the community.
Canada’s Largest Virtual Recruitment Platform for the Veterinary Industry
Oxilia’s platform already has more than 1300 profiles of available veterinarians and animal health technicians to carry out ad hoc contracts, replacement appointments or to fill full-time positions.
A veterinary community that helps each other
Since our foundation, we see our recruitment platform as a veterinary community. Candidates create their profiles and make themselves available to support clinics across Canada based on their skills, career goals and personality. We create a “perfect match” between employers and candidates!
Precise profiles and an efficient search tool
Oxilia’s platform allows both candidates and clinics to create their personalized profiles. Do you want to search for a candidate yourself according to specific criteria? It couldn’t be easier as the search tool is embedded in the platform. Candidates also have access to your clinic’s profile and ads in just a few clicks.
Targeted ads with no hidden costs
Do you want to post jobs? Oxilia allows you to advertise your job offers to its entire community.
An algorithm that creates perfect matches
When you use Oxilia’s search tool, its algorithm helps you connect with the candidates that match your requirements.
A tool for meeting candidates
You don’t have to wait for a list of candidates; you can contact and discuss directly with a candidate who meets your search criteria. This gives you the ultimate control, and you don’t have to wait for the green light from a third-party to communicate with such candidates.
Available replacements
You can easily find professionals looking for a temporary gig, who are available to fill a position during vacancies or during a particularly busy period. Some professionals registered with Oxilia have adopted a lifestyle that allows them to fill in as replacements in clinics across the country as and when needs arise.
Contact management
Oxilia puts you in contact with prime candidates and simplifies the management of agreements. All you have to do is establish good contact with the candidates you are targeting or who contact you. The quality of your interactions with candidates and the speed of your answers will greatly influence the success on your search.
No exclusivity
Although we are confident that you will find the ideal candidate with Oxilia, we do not impose any exclusive agreements. This allows you to use the platform alongside your other recruitment approaches.
Affordable platform
Compared to the fees charged by headhunters and agencies, you can save between 40 and 50% on recruitment costs with Oxilia. Conversion fees are $8,000 for veterinarians and $4,000 for animal health technicians. For temporary contracts, a 20% fee is levied on the candidate’s hourly rate.
No monthly or annual charges
You only pay when you hire a candidate, whether it is a full-time position or a replacement contract. Registration is completely free!
Oxilia: your digital recruitment agent
With Oxilia, the search for a candidate is similar to the process of buying or selling a house through a real estate broker. Like the latter, Oxilia gives you the means to get in touch with more candidates who meet your search criteria and gives you the tools to simplify the recruitment process, while leaving you in control of the relationship.
It is true that no one can showcase your veterinary clinic better than you and confirm that the candidate will integrate well into your team. Oxilia is the matchmaker that seeks to generate quality relationships between you and the candidates.
Contact our team to see how Oxilia can help you find the ideal candidate for your clinic. Would you rather start the process immediately and at no cost? Register and create your profile now!