Robert Half International Reviews

Pros

Robert Half is and industry leader when it comes to staffing companies. They have a great reputation and anyone given an opportunity to work internal is considered lucky.

Cons

I first got offered a recruiting/staffing manager position with Robert Half in 2010. They told me they never hire anyone internal on a permanent basis and that everyone is contracted when they first start. Wanting to get out of my current job I accepted their offer. Shortly after I started I realized the "contract" info they told me was total BS. The other full-time permanent employees treated me like crap and would even make remarks of how little I was paid and how I do the work and they receive the bonus for it. There were also several times that I recruited someone and they would interview them for a permanent recruiting role. I ALWAYS made the goals I was given, came in early, left late, I did whatever they wanted me to. Needless to say after 7 months another individual got hired on in a permanent recruiting role and I was given a weeks notice that they no longer needed me due to the business slowing down. This came as a total shock to me because my division director always gave me praises and I received two raises my short time with them. I felt used and underappreciated. The funny part is a few months after I left the division director called me to ask if I would me interested in working for them again. UH NO! Why would I? I was told lies and used the entire time I was there. That is not the right way to conduct a business. I was left unemployed for months due to their inconsideration. I will never do business with them again.

Advice to Senior Management

Be straight up with your contract employees. Do not sugar coat things to make someone work for you on a temp assignment or make promises you cant keep.

Pros

Outside of work, the people are great. There are a lot of fun social people that work there and you'll get to meet some great personalities.

Cons

Outdated, non-efficient, nothing is streamlined or followed, no accountability, makes it impossible to support and do it well.
Everyone is out for themselves to the point of sabotaging others. Those who step on their co-workers with unethical and immoral practices are rewarded with leadership positions. Spreading roamers and defamatory attacks is acceptable behavior.
There is no advancement opportunities what so ever. You'll never go from support to staffing even if you have the skills and personality.
You will be treated as if you are easily replaceable.

Advice to Senior Management

Promoting those who are leaders not vultures and giving them incentives when the entire team does well.

Pros

RHI has a very strong brand and the compensation is good for the production staff.

Cons

Very little room for professional growth. They are looking for robots to follow the model and are not open to other ideas. Not big on work life balance or family needs unless you have a good manager willing to bend the rules.

Advice to Senior Management

Time to move away from the operating model and activity based performance and grow with the demographic you are trying to attract.

Pros

Benefits are good. Lots of training. Office I worked in was very pleasant environment and fellow employees were generally very nice. Of course, there are always exceptions!

Cons

Managers worried about numbers and production-not employees. There is something to be said for smaller hands-on staffing agencies versus corporate monoliths that only care about the bottom line.

Advice to Senior Management

Treat your front line people with some respect!

Pros

Great opportunity to make money based on how hard you work. No real title advancement, but your salary goes up.

Cons

Long hours (50+), Very Corporate Protocol, Large Open Bullpen Environment to work in, Old technology, Multiple Numbers to Hit Monthly, Resulting in Many Layoffs

Pros

Made good money.
Worked at solid companies that they have contracts with.
Online training tools and hourly tracking.
Emails are prompt for paycheck process.

Cons

They are the pimp and you are the ......
Push for more hours work so that they get the $ as well.

Advice to Senior Management

None

Pros

Decent training for junior staff

Cons

Devalues the work of professional recruiters and pits team members against each other

Advice to Senior Management

have leadership grow through the ranks so they understand the staf and can support them. Have leadership actually be in the ofice and support the teams rather than shout and scream when leasdership doesn't see the profit margins they want

Pros

Large employer; if you are in the "in" crowd, then there are excellent growth opportunities

Cons

Very clicky; managers do not have the experience necessary to be managers and often play favoritism
Inter-office drama
teach their people to be scripted parrots

Advice to Senior Management

Take some time to hire experienced managers and not people who are family members and friends. Look for quality, and work to bring out your employees strengths and talents.

Pros

All the tools you need, recognized name brand, professional image. Better salary/commission structure

Cons

One big con is working for the contracting side as opposed to perm recruiting. There is a huge turnover, they are constantly looking for recruiters. I wondered about this since the working environment is ok.
Here is the con.
What they do is hire a recruiter to find candidates for jobs the sales people found. As a recruiter you split commissions 50/50 with the sales person. Once you have a decent number of contractors on board each earning you a commission for every hour they work Robert Half will begin to find reasons to fire you. Once you are gone they divert the commissions of the still working contractors you would have received to a house fund which reduces costs and makes the manager look good. Then they start all over again advertising for a new recruiter. The sales person also receives a bit for helping set you up to be fired.

It may not be done on all offices but I've learned from several former directors that it's widespread. A couple of directors told me they couldn't live with themselves so they found other employment.

Advice to Senior Management

Don't be crooks? I don't know what to say. You have found a legal way to steal from your recruiters and it works. Keep a sharp legal staff.

Pros

Straight out of college, it has the potential of being a good gig. While constantly in flux, as a recruiter you can at times bring in some extra cash and work experience with a large international company can be a real boost, and working in recruiting you get a real handle on doing a job search.

Cons

They rely heavily on their admin staff to do the brunt of the dirty work, and with the changing economy job cuts mean you may be taken advantage of for little to no extra compensation in the name of profit margin. Aditionally, having vacation days doesn't mean you get to use them - stripped down offices mean approval for vacation is limited and even time off for necessary things is scarce with out risking job security.