Effective hiring is about more than matching a CV to a job description. Although skills and experience are important, employers benefit more from gaining meaningful insight into their candidates beyond their skills on paper. The firms consistently securing top talent are those who recognise that recruitment is a careful process centred on building genuine relationships with people and a solid understanding of their unique potential, before an offer is made.
This is where partnering with an external recruiter can be pivotal. As well as having the resources to maintain ongoing engagement with our talent network, we’re able to gain deeper insight into who they are. They tell us things they wouldn’t share directly with a hiring manager – like what they really want, what concerns them, and what would make them walk away from a role. This enables us to provide hiring firms with meaningful insights that strengthen their recruitment decisions, their talent strategy and, crucially, their workforce.
Here, I explore the clear business benefits of investing in relationship-led recruitment and why people should sit at the heart of every talent strategy.
The ROI of relationship-led recruitment
Avoid the pitfalls of expensive mis-hires
When firms fail to give the hiring process the care it deserves, recruitment can become rushed and transactional. In the UK, over half of businesses admit to making hiring decisions in haste, and nearly half regret the outcome* - but mis-hires can cost employers up to 200% of the initial salary*, the internal harmony of their teams and their reputation as an employer.
By contrast, when firms prioritise securing the right person first time and commit to getting to know candidates before offer stage, they make a long-term investment in stability, performance, and morale. Research consistently shows that organisations which actively align individuals to roles, teams and culture see significantly lower turnover, in some cases by as much as 70%*, which is great for your Employer Value Proposition!
That’s not to say recruitment must be a long process, but a careful one. For law firms operating in a fast-paced and competitive environment, they sometimes just need to fill a role fast and, for this scenario, we have processes in place that enable us to deliver quality candidates without cutting corners. Our investment in nurturing relationship with our talent pool over time means we’re in a position to shortlist from a pre-vetted, trusted network and always with; a solid understanding of the person behind each CV, confidence in their alignment and fit, the expert judgement of our consultants.
Grow your reputation across the talent market
When recruitment is rushed, siloed, or lacks that all-important candidate relationship, the risk of a poor fit increases (because trust and alignment haven’t been fully established). A hire gone wrong is more than just a financial issue, too. It affects the trust within existing teams and can damage the employer’s reputation, ultimately undermining appeal amongst the wider talent market.
Strong relationships are what mitigate this risk. As recruiters, we protect hiring firms by building trusted relationships with candidates and staying closely attuned to where they are throughout the process. We place significant emphasis on “soft closing”, ensuring both sides are genuinely aligned before an offer is made, reducing the risk of mismatches and late-stage dropouts and ensuring good long-term fit and higher offer acceptance rates.
When employers consistently hire the right people, their reputation strengthens. Great people attract great people, creating a positive cycle where talent and business success build momentum together. This is an ideal scenario for firms operating in a competitive market, especially those who are fast-growing or want to gain traction in new territories, and a powerful driver of a strong EVP.
Attract leading candidates
Increasingly, candidates want to work for companies who ‘get’ them. It’s very telling that 82% recently reported wanting true purpose-alignment from their employer, while a vast majority site ‘trust’ as a key factor in a firm’s appeal*. Neither of which can be established when recruitment is rushed or automated, but through taking the time to understand people and what they want from their career.
Our top candidates will hold out for law firms who can offer a great opportunity and match their motivations, values and long-term goals. In fact, we encourage them to do this! Given the strength of the market right now, every hiring firm should be investing in true and ongoing talent attraction, alongside filling roles.
Put simply, people want to know you before they want to work for you. Although establishing this level of understanding takes effort – and the skilled input of an external recruiter – the return is significant and long-lasting. When you get this right, you can reach and appeal to the crème de la crème of candidates and build strong teams in an intensely competitive legal market.
This is why recruitment is about more than simply supplying employers with CVs. We work closely alongside the candidate and firm to establish good relationships, improve the quality of hiring decisions, minimise the risk of poor placements, and ensure every hire dovetails with the firm’s wider organisation, culture and strategic vision.
The enduring power of relationships in a changing world
As a People-first consultancy, we naturally place a great deal of emphasis on relationships at every juncture, and on both sides of the hiring process. While each of our hubs and consultants brings diverse and specialist skills, the common thread running through them all is the capacity to connect with people. This is what great recruitment relies on and this is what we bring to every brief.
This has been a key driver in my role as Ryder Reid’s first ever Client Relationship Lead, which is tailored to maintaining proactive engagement with contacts, providing a consistent touchpoint for firms and exemplifying our commitment to nurturing relationships existing and new. In the face of AI and automation, the personalised, human-to-human, connective aspect of what we do is only gaining value, and I’m regularly reminded of this in my conversations with clients.
You cannot make great professional matches without getting to know people and understanding how to support them with their ambitions. While tools and technology can support efficiency, they can’t replace judgement, trust, or understanding. It is these relationship-led factors that shape better hiring decisions, stronger partnerships, and more sustainable teams over time.
If you’re a hiring firm looking to secure top talent with confidence, get in touch with mefor a confidential conversation about how we can support you.