What Information Does a Recruitment Agency Need From an Employer Before Starting a Search?

One of the first things an employer may do when engaging a recruitment agency is send a job description and say:

“Please find us someone for this role.”

But a good recruitment agency needs more than a job description.

A job description tells us what the organization expects the employee to do.

It doesn’t always tell us who is most likely to succeed in the role.

Before we begin a recruitment assignment, we want to understand the vacancy, the business behind it, the manager who will hire the person, and what success will look like.

The more information we have at the beginning, the more targeted our recruitment strategy can be.

So, what does a recruitment agency need from an employer before starting a search?

1. A Detailed Job Description

This is the obvious starting point.

We need to understand the responsibilities, qualifications, experience, skills, and other requirements attached to the position.

But we don’t stop at the job description.

Sometimes, what is written on paper isn’t exactly what the hiring manager has in mind.

That is why a conversation with the employer is important.

For example, a job description might say that a candidate needs “strong leadership skills.”

We may need to understand:

What does leadership mean in this particular role?

Will the person manage 5 employees or 50?

Are they expected to build a team?

Will they be responsible for restructuring an underperforming department?

The answers completely change the candidate profile.

2. What Is Non-Negotiable?

One of the most useful things an employer can tell a recruitment agency is the difference between must-have and nice-to-have requirements.

Perhaps the candidate must have five years of experience in the industry.

But does the candidate absolutely need experience in a specific software system?

Must they have worked in the exact same industry?

Do they need a particular professional qualification?

Or would equivalent experience work?

If everything is labelled “mandatory,” the talent pool can become unnecessarily small.

At Corporate Staffing Services, we help clients distinguish between requirements that are genuinely essential and those that can be flexible.

This allows us to search the market more intelligently.

3. What Is the Salary Range?

Salary is important information.

A recruitment agency needs to know what the employer is prepared to offer so that candidates can be approached realistically.

There is little value in presenting someone who expects KSh 400,000 when the employer’s budget is KSh 200,000.

However, salary isn’t the only thing candidates consider.

Experienced professionals may also consider career growth, leadership exposure, flexibility, company reputation, job security, benefits, location, and the opportunity itself.

Understanding the complete value proposition helps our recruiters present the opportunity more effectively.

4. Who Will the Person Report To?

The reporting structure matters more than many employers realize.

A candidate may look perfect on paper but struggle in an environment where they report to a manager whose leadership style doesn’t suit them.

We therefore want to understand:

• Who will the employee report to?
• Who will they work with?
• How large is the team?
• What level of autonomy will they have?
• Who makes decisions?
• What type of manager will they be working under?

These details help us assess candidates more holistically.

5. Why Does the Position Exist?

This is one of the questions we like to ask.

Why are you hiring this person?

Is it a replacement?

Is the company expanding?

Is a new department being created?

Did the previous employee leave because the role changed?

Understanding the reason behind the vacancy gives us important context.

If a company is hiring a Sales Manager because sales have been declining, for example, the employer may need someone with a proven track record of turning around an underperforming sales function—not simply someone who has held a sales management title.

6. What Does Success Look Like?

This is where recruitment becomes more strategic.

We want to know what the successful candidate is expected to achieve.

What should they accomplish in their first six months?

What problems will they be expected to solve?

What targets will they be measured against?

What would make the hiring manager say, “We hired the right person” after one year?

These answers help us assess candidates based on potential performance rather than simply matching keywords on a CV.

7. Where Will the Person Work?

Location can significantly affect the candidate pool.

We need to know whether the position is:

• Office-based.
• Hybrid.
• Fully remote.
• Nairobi-based.
• Based elsewhere in Kenya.
• Required to involve frequent travel.

Working arrangements have become increasingly important to professionals, particularly for experienced candidates.

Being clear about this from the beginning helps avoid wasting time with candidates who are unsuitable because of location or working arrangements.

8. Who Is Involved in the Hiring Decision?

This is a surprisingly important detail.

We need to understand who will interview the candidates and who ultimately makes the hiring decision.

If the HR Manager, CEO, department head, and board all need to approve the hire, this can affect the recruitment timeline.

Knowing this upfront helps us coordinate the process properly and avoid unnecessary delays.

9. How Urgent Is the Hire?

There is a big difference between:

“We’d like someone as soon as possible.”

and:

“We need this person to start within 30 days.”

The more urgent the requirement, the more aggressively we may need to approach the market.

For some assignments, we may use our existing recruitment database, targeted sourcing, direct candidate engagement, advertising, and other channels simultaneously.

10. What Is the Company and Team Like?

This is one of the most important—and most overlooked—parts of the recruitment brief.

Candidates aren’t just joining a job.

They’re joining an organization.

We therefore need to understand the company culture, leadership environment, team dynamics, working style, and expectations.

A technically brilliant candidate who cannot adapt to the organization’s environment may not be the right hire.

Likewise, someone who appears slightly less obvious on paper may thrive because their working style and values align extremely well with the organization.

How We Use This Information at Corporate Staffing Services

Once we have this information, we don’t simply start searching for CVs.

We build a candidate profile and recruitment strategy.

We determine what kind of professional is most likely to succeed, where we are likely to find them, which requirements are non-negotiable, which can be flexible, and what sourcing approach will give us the best access to the talent market.

Our recruitment technology and extensive database then help us search efficiently.

But the technology is only one part of the equation.

Our recruitment consultants use the information provided by the employer, their market knowledge, and their experience to assess whether candidates genuinely fit the assignment.

That’s why the initial conversation with a client matters so much.

The better we understand the business, the better we can recruit for it.

Don’t Just Send the Job Description

If you’re wondering how to brief a recruitment agency, start by giving them the job description—but don’t stop there.

Tell them what success looks like.

Explain why you’re hiring.

Tell them what type of person succeeds in your organization.

Be honest about the salary.

Explain the challenges.

Tell them what you have struggled to find so far.

The more context your recruitment partner has, the less likely they are to simply match keywords and send CVs.

Our staffing solutions are built around understanding the employer before searching for candidates.

We combine this understanding with recruitment technology, our extensive talent database, targeted sourcing, and experienced recruiters to develop a recruitment strategy suited to the specific vacancy.

Because the best recruitment doesn’t begin with:

“Find me someone.”

It begins with:

“Let us understand exactly who you need—and why.”