How to run a professional hire without an agency
Plenty of businesses hire without agencies. The difference between the ones who do it well and the ones who get burnt is not luck or budget; it is structure. This is the stage-by-stage process we run for clients, and it works just as well if you run it yourself.
Stage 1: Brief and scope
Define the role in writing before anything else: the outcomes for year one, the must-have capabilities, the salary band benchmarked against the market, and the interview panel. One hour here saves ten later.
Stage 2: Attract and source
Write an ad that sells the role honestly (what they will do, what they will earn, why your business is worth joining) and post it where your candidates actually look. For most SME roles that is Seek plus LinkedIn. For harder roles, add direct search: approaching people who are not applying.
Stage 3: Screen and shortlist
Score every application against the same criteria from your brief. Phone-screen the promising ones for 15 minutes each, and give every applicant an answer either way. You end with a shortlist of three to five people genuinely worth an interview.
Stage 4: Assess and verify
Run structured interviews with consistent questions, then verify before you commit: at least two references, speaking to people who actually managed the candidate, plus any checks the role requires.
Stage 5: Close and onboard
Move quickly from decision to written offer, expect a counter-offer and plan for it, and keep warm contact until day one. Then have their first week ready: equipment, introductions, and a clear 90-day plan.
Where people come unstuck
The process is not complicated, but it is 25 to 50 hours of disciplined work, usually landing on someone who already has a full-time job. That is the honest reason agencies exist, and the reason we built a different way to buy help: by the hour, for the whole search or just the stage that is drowning you. The screening pile is the most common rescue mission we run.
Either way, keep the structure. It is the difference between hiring and hoping.
Marque Talent runs recruitment by the hour. Never a percentage.
Book a free hiring chat