Hiring a recruitment agency is a buying decision. The questions you ask before signing tell you more than a sales deck. Use the first call to test how the agency works, what you pay for and how it treats candidates and data.

What engagement model are you selling us?

Start with the business model. It shapes fees and incentives, as well as the effort put into each hire.

On contingency, the agency is paid only if you hire from its shortlist. On a retained basis, you pay part of the fee upfront for dedicated time and exclusivity. With Recruitment Process Outsourcing, you hand over all or part of hiring for a set period. A managed hybrid can cover sourcing or screening while your team keeps final decisions.

You need to know which model is offered and why it suits your vacancy. Ask whether the work is retained or contingency, how many live roles each recruiter carries and what exclusivity asks of both sides.

A clear answer names the model and fee point, then explains the work you can expect each week. It covers what happens if you pause the search or find someone through your own network. Talk of partnership isn’t enough.

If pricing stays vague after you ask for clarification, treat that as information. Credible agencies explain when the fee is earned, how it’s calculated and what’s excluded. They put those terms in writing without being chased.

Do you understand our digital role and its market?

Digital recruitment means hiring for digital roles. A job title alone won’t tell an agency what to find.

A product manager in SaaS does different work from one in an agency. A growth marketer focused on paid acquisition needs different proof from one focused on lifecycle and retention. If the recruiter can’t describe those differences, shortlists will miss.

Ask what similar roles the agency has filled in the past six months, where those hires came from and how long they stayed. Ask what salary range closed those roles and what trade-offs candidates accepted. You’ll soon distinguish first-hand knowledge from generic talk.

A strong answer is specific. It names the skills that matter for your stack and stage, and describes where passive talent sits, whether in competitors or adjacent software firms. It flags risks early, such as a thin talent pool or inflated salary expectations.

A weak answer promises CVs without explaining why the proposed sourcing channels fit your vacancy. Advertising may be enough for some roles; others need targeted outreach as well. Ask how the agency will decide whether its initial approach is working and what it will change if relevant applications are scarce.

Ask for a sourcing plan tied to your role. It should explain how the agency uses relevant communities and events, along with referral routes, to reach suitable people. It should also show how the agency tests ability rather than matching keywords.

Where will our candidates come from and how will you assess them?

This is where agencies differ. Some live off an old database. Others keep building talent pools and stay in contact with people between moves.

Ask how the agency will source beyond its database. Ask how talent pooling and candidate relationship management keep contacts warm for hard-to-fill skills. Ask how effort is split between referrals, direct outreach and advertised response.

If you are speaking with a live digital recruitment agency about a SaaS vacancy, ask how it finds growth and product talent outside its network and checks that interest is current.

Listen for method, not volume. You want to hear how search strings are built and messages personalised, plus how follow-ups are timed. Ask how the agency avoids spamming the same people for five clients at once, which damages your name in a small market.

Then move to assessment. Ask how CVs are screened, who runs first interviews and what they cover. Ask how video interviewing is used, if at all, and how fairness is protected.

Good screening is consistent and documented. The agency should be able to explain how each shortlisted candidate meets your criteria and how those criteria guide rejection decisions. Its Applicant Tracking System should track every stage, from source to feedback and decision. Ask to see a pipeline report with names removed. If source, stage and feedback aren’t visible together, later reporting will be patchy.

Who will do the work and what will it cost?

The person who pitches may not recruit. That gap causes disappointment.

Ask who owns delivery

Ask who will lead your account day to day and how much experience they have with your job family. Ask how many other accounts they run and how much time yours gets each week. Evasive answers can reveal overstretch.

Also ask about communication. How often will you get updates, whether the search is going well or has stalled? Who sends candidate feedback and how quickly? What happens when your contact is away? A named back-up and weekly rhythm beat promises of constant contact.

Pin down fees and guarantees

Keep commercial questions plain. Ask when the fee is triggered: some agencies charge on accepted offer, others on start date. Ask what counts as an introduction and how long that ownership lasts. Six months is different from twelve.

Ask about rebates and replacements together. If a hire leaves during probation, is there a free replacement, a sliding refund or nothing? Get the period and process in writing. Ask who decides whether a changed replacement brief voids the term.

Ask about exclusivity too. A short exclusive window can help an agency invest time without fear of being undercut. A long lock-in with no service levels does the opposite. Tie exclusivity to shortlist dates and update frequency so both sides have commitments.

Watch for pressure to sign before terms are clear, or vague answers about extra charges for adverts or assessments. Look instead for written SLAs covering response times and shortlisting, plus a one-page fee summary you can share with finance.

How will you treat candidates and support fair hiring?

Candidates remember how hiring felt, and that memory attaches to your company as well as the agency. In digital markets where people talk, poor follow-up costs you future applicants.

Ask how quickly every applicant gets a reply, what rejection messages say and whether interview feedback is offered. Ask how scheduling is handled and who chases no-shows on either side. These details shape your reputation.

Ask to see adverts the agency has written for similar roles. Look for clear duties and salary bands, with location terms spelled out. The language should describe outcomes rather than a wish list of traits. Generic copy won’t pull specialist talent.

Ask how inclusion is built in

Fair hiring needs design, not slogans. Ask how adverts are checked for biased wording. Ask whether blind screening is available early on and when it helps or hinders. Ask how diverse sourcing is approached for your specific skill set.

A thoughtful answer gives examples. It might describe widening university or bootcamp sources for junior digital roles, or structured scoring to reduce gut-feel decisions. It should admit limits and explain what the agency can’t fix alone, such as your panel mix or inflexible requirements.

Be wary of claims without method. If an agency promises balanced shortlists but can’t explain where new candidates will come from, press harder. Ask about recruiters’ anti-bias training and consistent interview notes. You’re looking for habits you can audit, not good-sounding phrases.

How do you handle data, checks and reporting?

Recruitment runs on personal data. Establish who does what before CVs start moving.

Ask how candidate records are stored, for how long and on what lawful basis they are used. Ask who acts as a data controller or processor at each stage; do not assume the agency is simply processing data on your behalf. Ask how privacy information is provided and how requests for access or deletion are handled. The answer should explain any applicable exceptions rather than promise automatic deletion in every case.

Don’t get lost in jargon. The test is simple: the agency should explain how CVs are shared with you, where they’re kept and when they’re removed. Can it show a retention schedule you could defend if a candidate asked questions? If answers drift, request the written policy.

Then clarify checks. Right-to-work verification and other pre-employment checks create risk if ownership is unclear. Ask which checks the agency runs and which stay with you as employer. Establish what evidence is collected, how it’s stored and who sees it. Don’t assume responsibility sits entirely with the agency.

Reporting is the other half of control. Ask what you’ll receive each week. At minimum, expect numbers on CVs reviewed and candidates contacted, plus shortlist-to-interview conversion and offer acceptance. Ask whether time-to-hire is measured from brief or advert so you can compare like with like.

Push on quality of hire too. It’s harder to measure, but matters most. Ask how the agency gathers manager feedback after three months and six months, and tracks retention at six or twelve months. Ask how poor results are addressed. Post-placement feedback can show whether the search criteria identified someone who performs well in the role, not just someone who interviews well.

How do we compare agencies before we decide?

Don’t choose on charm. Score each agency on the same points so differences show.

Build a short scorecard covering role understanding, sourcing method, delivery ownership and commercial clarity. Include candidate care and fair hiring, then data handling and reporting. Weight each area equally unless one risk matters more, such as data control or niche scarcity.

Ask for proof against each point. Client references and case studies are the evidence that counts. Ask for two recent clients with similar hires, what their brief was, how long it took and what stayed in post after a year. Then speak to those clients about what went wrong as well as what went well.

Watch for patterns across calls. Vague pricing and hostility to references point one way, as do processes that never change by role and reluctance to show adverts or reports. Look instead for transparent reporting and specialist knowledge you can test. Look for a tech setup that tracks source and feedback without fuss, and measurable outcomes tied to placements.

If you still cannot decide, ask each shortlisted agency to explain its approach to the same anonymised sample brief. Compare the questions they ask, the trade-offs they identify and the evidence behind their plan. If you then commission a pilot search, agree its fees, scope and success measures first. Avoid duplicate candidate approaches or conflicting introduction terms by defining ownership clearly.

Pick an agency whose work you can evaluate and whose terms you understand. Clear responsibilities and honest reporting provide a stronger basis for the relationship than a promise of the fastest result.