How to choose the right recruitment agency
Are you considering hiring a recruitment agency to recruit medical staff from abroad? Recruitment agencies have a lot of experience in recruiting international Skilled workers. They know which qualifications from which countries are recognised in Germany, are familiar with visa and recognition requirements, and often prepare professionals for their immigration to Germany even before they leave their country of origin.
But how do you choose the right recruitment agency? Below, we set out the most important criteria for you.
Public or private agency?
When recruiting international professionals, you basically have two options: recruitment through the Federal Employment Agency (public) or through private recruitment agencies.
If you decide to use a private agency, you should consider the range of services offered by the various agencies. Even if you are already receiving applications from international candidates, a recruitment agency can help you identify promising candidates and make the recruitment process more efficient.
Ethical standards
When recruiting international professionals, it is particularly important to comply with ethical standards. In recent years, many guidelines have been developed in this regard, which recruitment agencies should follow. A good agency can be recognised by its commitment to these guidelines.
The IRIS principles, for example, are a good reference. These comprise two overarching and five specific principles:
- Superordinate: Respect for laws, fundamental principles and rights in the workplace; compliance with ethical and professional rules of conduct
- Specific: Respect for freedom of movement, transparency of working conditions, confidentiality and data protection, access to legal remedies
When recruiting medical and nursing staff, it is also important to know that there are countries from which it is generally not permitted to recruit to the Germany. The Federal Employment Agency provides further information on this.
Seal of approval: “Faire Anwerbung Pflege Deutschland”
In order to avoid having to spend a long time researching whether an agency meets the necessary principles, the “Faire Anwerbung Pflege Deutschland” (fair recruitment of nursing care staff for Germany) quality label has been created for the nursing care sector. An agency that carries this label has been audited to ensure that it meets all the ethical principles of fair recruitment. This independent audit is repeated at regular intervals.
This quality label is a state seal of the Federal Republic of Germany. The label is owned by the Federal Ministry of Health. You can find all audited companies here.
Membership in an association or recruitment agency network
In addition to seals of approval, membership in a relevant association is another quality mark. Membership in the Bundesverband internationale Fachkräftegewinnung e.V. (bvifg) requires that specific quality criteria for the recruitment of international skilled workers are met. Membership in the Gesamtverband der Personaldienstleister is also an indicator of an agency that meets high quality standards.
Transparency
Transparency is an essential criterion when selecting the right recruitment agency. Make sure that the agencies provide the following information in a clear and understandable manner:
- A clear code of conduct
- Comprehensive information on recruitment
- Contracts that are understandable to all parties and, if necessary, multilingual
In addition, the agency should be easily accessible – whether by email, telephone or other channels.
Employer-pays principle
Reputable recruitment agencies follow the employer-pays principle. This means that applicants should not have to pay any agency fees for recruitment. Instead, the costs of recruitment are borne by the employers.
Further tips for you as an employer
- Covering recruitment costs: As an employer, you should also follow the employer-pays principle and cover the costs of recruitment.
- Multilingual employment contracts: Ensure that employment contracts are available in a language that is understandable to all parties.
- Fair pay in accordance with industry standards: International skilled workers should also receive fair and industry-standard pay. If this is not the case, it may lead to skilled workers leaving again.
- Assistance with immigration, integration and language training: As an employer, you should support skilled workers with immigration. This includes, for example, finding accommodation, dealing with the authorities, etc. It is best to assign a permanent contact person to skilled workers. Integration begins in the country of origin. Information about living and working in Germany, intercultural courses and language training should be provided before immigration. Provide skilled workers with long-term support and offer further language courses after their arrival in Germany. Mentoring programmes help with integration in Germany.
- Open corporate culture: The cornerstone of successful integration is an open corporate culture. You should cultivate and put this culture into everyday practice even before you decide to recruit international skilled workers.
- Good feedback culture: A good feedback culture helps to prevent misunderstandings and secure the long-term loyalty of skilled workers. Talk openly with your employees. What is going well? Where do they need support? Feedback always goes both ways: do not just give feedback, but also ask for feedback yourself.
Our partners with seals of approval
- Ankaadia GmbH
- Careloop
- TalentOrange
- Lingoda GmbH (online language school)
About the author
Katharina Weckend, Content & SEO Manager
Katharina joined lingoking as a Content and SEO Manager in 2024. She handles our content and SEO strategy and writes texts for our website, guide and other lingoking media. “I am happy I get to pass on knowledge in our lingoking guide and help break down language barriers.”
