Your definitive guide to finding the right mechanical and electrical recruitment agency

Our practical guide will give you the 5 questions you need to ask to find the right mechanical and electrical recruitment company for your construction business.

The right recruitment agency can be the difference between a project running smoothly, and one that’s a headache from start to finish.High staff turnover will damage any construction business, whether that be through project slippage, additional costs, or non-compliance.

In this article, you’ll find useful advice to help you manage the risks associated with temporary recruitment, and strategies to make sure you’re always one step ahead of your competition.

Understanding the role of mechanical and electrical recruitment agencies.

Mechanical and electrical recruitment agencies are companies that engage skilled workers at all levels of mechanical and electrical fields. Recruitment agencies will often source temporary workers for specific time frames. Ideally, mechanical and electrical recruitment agencies will make your life easier, as they can provide workers to plug the gaps or increase the skills base of your existing workforce.

Identify your specific engineering field or specialisation.

Mechanical and electrical recruitment encompasses a huge variety of roles at varying levels of seniority. From labourers and skilled trades, to technical staff and site managers, it’s important to be clear on the specific field or trade your project fits into. If your project spans several fields, be clear on the skillset required, and the level of skills you’ll need at every stage of the project. 

Being upfront about the level of support you’ll need from a mechanical and electrical recruitment agency is key.

Research agencies specialising in mechanical and electrical fields.

Once you’ve identified your list of trades or roles, you can narrow down your general construction recruitment company search to look for agencies that specialise in the mechanical and electrical space.

Agencies should have a list on their website that tells you exactly which roles they can supply: cutting down your research time and reducing your search.

Why use a mechanical and electrical recruitment agency?

An agency that specialises in mechanical and electrical recruitment will be more likely to provide the level of service you want for your business. More general construction recruitment companies will cover such a huge range of trades and personnel that the knowledge within the team is inevitably going to be diluted.

How can an agency help you to recruit the right workers?

At a recruitment agency that specialises in mechanical and electrical recruitment, there will be a greater understanding of the challenges you’ll face trying to source these roles. For example, during the lifetime of a project, the roles you’ll need to fill will change as the project evolves and progresses. When you work with an agency that knows the nuances of each role, and the profiles of the workers they engage, they can make sure they match the right worker with the right project.

The pitfalls of working with the wrong mechanical and electrical recruitment agency.

Working with the wrong mechanical and electrical recruitment agency can have devastating consequences for your project and the rest of your workforce. The wrong choice of agency can often lead to a high turnover of temporary staff, or worse, workers that don’t show up at all. With so many moving parts on a construction project, finding reliable workers with the right skills is non-negotiable. 

The wrong recruitment agency will send you anyone they have on their books, regardless of their skills or experience, and this can often lead to sub-par performance and issues that the rest of your workforce will be left to resolve.

Five things to look out for when considering a mechanical and electrical recruitment agency.

There are 5 key questions that can help you find the right mechanical and electrical recruitment agency. 

By asking potential recruitment agencies these questions, you’ll also highlight the agencies you need to avoid because they won’t be the right fit for your business.

Does the recruitment agency demonstrate specific industry knowledge?

Starting with one of the questions that can have the most dire consequences: be wary of agencies that seem to be jack-of-all-trades, master of none.

If an agency can cover everything from construction to care, they either need to be large enough to have well established separate divisions, or they simply can’t be providing a good service. For mechanical and electrical workers, you should be looking for a construction agency that specialises in mechanical and electrical trades.

Has the recruitment agency covered your area of the UK before?

Successful ‘UK-wide’ agencies do exist, but be wary of agencies who say they cover huge areas of the country unless you’re given proof. Recruitment agencies hold a database of workers and you want to know where the majority of workers are based. While agencies won’t be able to provide any details about their workers, they should have plenty of project examples. Ask for examples of projects the agency has supported that are in a similar geographical area to your own business. If they haven’t got any, you need to know why.

Of course, there are exceptions to this rule: when you’re looking for a high level of skill and/or experience, workers will travel. A highly skilled electrical engineer may be willing to travel further afield to work on projects that suit their skill level, rather than staying local and missing out on development opportunities.

How compliant are they as an agency?

Arguably the most important question you should be asking: how compliant are you, and what measures do you take to ensure you remain compliant? All agencies should be expecting this question, and should have a clear answer for you that lists all their compliance measures. If you feel as though you’re not being given enough information, or the answer is vague, keep pushing for more detail.

Compliance has never been more important in construction, and you’ll face consequences if part of your supply chain isn’t compliant. Poor compliance has a negative impact on our sector as a whole, and we do as much as we can to help businesses know how to avoid costly compliance mistakes.

Can you see examples of successful placements and positive reviews on their website?

The best way to understand how you’ll be treated by an agency is to look at reviews or comments from other businesses who have gone through exactly the same process as you. All recruitment agencies will ask for feedback from their clients. A recruitment agency without any reviews indicates one of two things: 

• They’re too new to have built up any reviews, in which case, it’s worth being cautious and it’s even more vital to do your due diligence.
• The feedback they’ve received isn’t good enough to be shared (or there’s no feedback at all). An established agency without any reviews should be ringing alarm bells.

If there aren’t any reviews on a recruitment agency’s website, don’t be afraid to reach out and ask for testimonials from other clients. A good agency will understand why you’re asking, and if it’s a genuine oversight, they’ll be able to provide you with more informal feedback.

How does an agency pay their workers?

While it may seem illogical to be concerned about how workers are paid when a benefit of using an agency is that they deal with paying workers themselves, it’s really important that you make sure the agency you engage with is using a legitimate payroll provider.

Umbrella companies can be used as a way to avoid paying tax, and if caught, their lack of morals will quickly become your problem to deal with.

Umbrella companies and how M&E recruitment agencies should use them.

It’s important to note that not all umbrella companies are illegal, but many umbrella companies can be used as tax-avoidance schemes and can cause huge damage to your business.

An umbrella company is often used by a recruitment agency to pay temporary workers. The umbrella company will employ the workers and manage their PAYE. Essentially, the umbrella company is the employer for the workers.

The importance of supply chain transparency.

When you engage a mechanical and electrical recruitment agency, anything the agency is involved with can have an impact on your own business. 

HMRC provides great advice on how to ensure any umbrella company involved in your supply chain is legitimate: there’s no excuse for ignorance.

How can you do your due diligence on umbrella companies before you partner with an agency?

If an umbrella company is used by the agency you’re considering working with, you need to do your research. One of the easiest ways to check the legitimacy of the umbrella company, is searching on HMRC for the names of known tax avoidance schemes.

Once you know the company isn’t associated with any tax avoidance schemes, you can search for the company on Companies House. Make sure the information listed matches with the information you’ve been told, and if you spot any inconsistencies, flag them with the agency you’re considering.

What is a Key Information Document (KID) and why is it important?

As a business owner engaging with a recruitment agency, you need to understand the umbrella company process from the perspective of a temporary worker. A key information document (KID) is provided to all workers who work for a temporary recruitment agency. The KID will describe the relationship between the worker and the business, explain who will pay the worker, and how payment will be received. A KID is a legal document and is non-negotiable. If there is an umbrella company involved in your supply chain, they should be able to give you a template of the KID document they use for their workers.

While understanding umbrella companies may seem complex, at P.I.E.R we know how important it is to be clear with all of our clients. Well established mechanical and electrical recruitment agencies will know how important it is to provide potential clients with all of the information they need to make an informed decision about the agencies they work with.

What makes P.I.E.R a good mechanical and recruitment agency?

P.I.E.R is led by a team with over 3 decades of experience within the construction sector and a passion for providing high quality mechanical and electrical workers to valued clients. 

Due diligence.

The due diligence P.I.E.R carry out on each of their clients and partners is exceptional, and when requested, P.I.E.R are happy to provide copies of any documents or agreements that are required to reassure their clients.

Transparency.

By aiming to be transparent to both their workers and clients, P.I.E.R creates a working environment of trust that encourages loyalty from workers and repeat custom from clients.

Workers rights.

Workers are at the heart of all recruitment agencies, and with such a vast pool of talented mechanical and electrical workers, P.I.E.R make it a mission to ensure workers get paid rates that are fair. As well as making sure workers receive pay that is reasonable to their role and skill level, it also ensures clients are satisfied with workers who stay for the duration of the project, and have the skills and experience the project needs.

Ensuring the best quality workforce.

Early engagement with clients enables P.I.E.R to form a plan for temporary workers that considers the needs of each stage of the project. We are proud to be specialists in mechanical and electrical recruitment, and we’re always happy to have a chat with new potential clients – no matter how early you are in your project planning.