A KEY employee resigns, leaving you in the lurch at a busy time of year. It may seem like a disaster, but it could also be a golden opportunity.

Jenny Partridge of the recruiter JMP Associates said: “It’s a chance to ask yourself what you want in that role or that department. Is that department set in its ways? Do you want to bring in someone to challenge that with new ways of working? These are crucial questions, but few people spend time thinking about them.”

The next step is to get your managers to decide on what you want from candidates.

“Bad or unsuccessful recruitment is often caused by not having a clear specification,” said Partridge. “If you are recruiting a sales manager, for example, you need to make sure that the sales director and managing director agree on what they want from that role.”

A big decision is whether to involve executive-search firms, and to what extent. Avoid those that simply send a flurry of CVs in the hope of getting a lucky commission, but consider the use of agencies to save time.

“They could run the first interviews and cut out all the candidates who are a complete waste of time,” said Partridge. Peter Ard, managing director of Harvey Nash, another recruiter, says the next stage is to check out potential recruitment partners, making sure to involve your line managers.

“Identify four or five key firms and bear in mind that you are likely to need very different firms to handle senior appointments and junior or mid-level hirings,” said Ard.

“Bring them in to do presentations. Make sure they have experience of recruiting in your industry and in the types of positions you are likely to be recruiting for. And get testimonials from other clients if you can.”

Then consider whether you will get a better deal by selecting two companies in each recruitment area or one preferred partner. Using two should give you more negotiating power, but it may also be possible to win favourable terms if you can offer an exclusive relationship with just one partner, said Ard.

Once you have developed a certain level of trust with recruitment partners, revealing your business plans to them can pay dividends. It will give them useful knowledge of areas in which the company will be recruiting and the chance to start scouting for candidates.

Once you have started working with external recruiters, demand constant contact. “Ask for weekly updates on every search and ask if they are prepared to sign a non-poaching agreement with you.”

Recruitment agencies typically charge 25%-33% of the successful candidate’s first year’s salary as a fee.

If you decide not to hand over the whole recruitment process to an external partner, however, there are many ways to identify the right candidates yourself. One option is to put an advertisement in the paper. But you need to ensure that you are set up for it, said Partridge.