It is better to hire two or three new recruitment consultants in one go rather than one at a time, according to Steve Finkel, a recruitment industry trainer, author and recruiter.

Speaking to members of Antal International’s global network in London on 1 December, Finkel explained that where new consultants were hired one at a time it was tempting to give them more time to improve if they weren’t doing well. “You will give them an extra week, because if you let the person go, all the time and training spent on that person will be wasted.”

Finkel said that hiring two new members of staff at a time increased the time spent on training by only 20-25%, as two people could share the same training course, but it doubled the chances of a successful hire. “It is not that you hire the wrong people, it’s that you keep the wrong person too long,” he added.

Among Finkel’s other tips for hiring new consultants were:

• the market always comes back, so plan six months ahead by building a file of prospective candidates

• use a screening device to gauge candidates’ interest, such as reading a book on recruitment and discussing it

• if someone is moving from an in-house to an agency role, make sure it is not just for the money