The Top Professional Associations For Recruiters

Updated: September 14, 2021

Even though the barriers to entry for the recruiting industry are low, getting started as a recruiter can be challenging. There is no university degree in recruiting and if you want to simply dive in headfirst, navigating all of the challenges of a new industry can be difficult.

That’s why professional associations can be a huge help. A good organization can provide certified training courses, legal and legislative guidance, model documents and best practice templates, annual conferences, and discounts with preferred suppliers. In short, they can give you all of the resources you need to succeed.

The list below contains the top professional associations for recruiters. The country and focus of each organization should help you find the right fit.

TEEMA Group

Country: Canada
Focus: Professional recruiters and client managers
Founded: 2007 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Members: 250+ members with thousand of consultants on contract

Benefits:

  • TEEMA University
  • TEEMA Connect
  • Centralized Back Office
  • Sector-focused account managers in a variety of berticals including IT, A&F, engineering, healthcare, executive search, operations, sales and marketing, and supply chain
  • Insurances for staffing and employee benefits in Canada and US

Fees: Up to 80% of every deal goes back to our members
Site: teemagroup.com


Recruitment and Employment Confederation

Country: United Kingdom
Focus: Professional recruiters
Founded: Result of a merger of the FRES and IEC in 2000
Members: 3,300+ recruitment businesses and 10,500+ individual recruiters
Meetings:

  • Annual Talent Recruitment & Employment Conference
  • Frequent sector meetings and webinars throughout England
  • Legal seminars

Benefits:

  • Monthly reports
  • Sector-focused account managers
  • Insurance scheme

Fees: Member fees are based on agency turnover.
Site: https://www.rec.uk.com/


American Staffing Association

Country: United States
Focus: Staffing, recruiting, and workforce solutions industry
Founded:

  • 1966 – Founded as the Institute of Temporary Services
  • 1999 – Changed name to American Staffing Association

Members: 1,800
Meetings:

  • Annual Staffing World and Staffing Law conferences
  • ASA regional council and affiliated chapter events
  • Variety of webinars on staffing industry and business topics

Benefits:

  • Wide variety of legal and legislative, research, professional development, and marketing resources
  • Multiple publications including Staffing Success magazine, Staffing Today newsletter, Staffing Law Digest, and ASA for You newsletter
  • ASA Central private online networking community

Fees: Complex dues schedule based on gross sales available here.
Site: https://americanstaffing.net/


Association of Professional Recruiters of Canada

Country: Canada
Focus: Professional recruiters
Founded: 1984
Members: 1,200 members in local and regional chapters
Meetings:

  • Regular chapter events
  • Annual full-day workshops and conferences

Benefits:

  • Subscription to the IPM Association’s Members Quarterly Newsletters and Workplace Today Online
  • Complimentary access to the Workplace Library
  • Members’ special discounts on IPM programs and services

Fees: $175 + tax per year
Site: https://www.workplace.ca/resources/aprc_assoc.html


Association of Professional Staffing Companies

Country: United Kingdom, Germany, Singapore, Australia
Focus: Professional recruiters
Founded:

  • 1999 – Founded as The Association of Technology Staffing Companies
  • 2009 – Focus changed to all professional recruiters and re-named The Association of Professional Staffing Companies

Members: 1000+ in the UK alone
Meetings: Approximately 200 events per year, both virtual and face to face.
Benefits:

  • Dedicated legal helpline
  • Market intelligence research reports on various sectors
  • Model documents and best practice templates
  • Professional development training courses

Fees: Fees based on annual turnover. See full details here.
Site: http://www.apsco.org/


Institute of Recruiters

Country: United Kingdom
Focus: Professional body for HR, agency & in-house recruiters
Founded: 2010
Members: 450 companies, 3000 individuals
Meetings: Multiple events covering all aspects of training and recruitment
Benefits:

  • Review of your service provider costs with member discounts available
  • Exclusive job board rates with Reed, Jobsite & CV Library
  • Model terms of business, template documents, contracts, agreements and resources
  • Legal helpline for all your employment law related queries
  • VIP event invitations to our events & networking meetings
  • Free subscription to The Recruiting Times Magazine

Fees:

  • Individual – £49 + VAT
  • Corporate – Starting at £595 + VAT

Site: https://ior.org/


National Association of Personnel Services

Country: United States and Canada
Focus: Recruiters and recruitment firms across all industries
Founded: 1961
Members: 800+ organizations
Meetings:

  • Annual conference
  • Monthly webinars

Benefits:

  • Subscription to Monthly NAPS Newsletter, Quarterly Credential Newsletter and Quarterly ITR Economic Research Newsletter and Quarterly Legal Newsletter
  • Allied vendor discounts
  • Educational programs
  • Professional & Business Development opportunities
  • Discounts to local and state association meetings
  • Affinity programs such as E&O insurance and office supplies

Fees: Prices range from $240 to $915 per year. Details are available here.
Site: http://www.naps360.org/


Association of Talent Acquisition Professionals

Country: United States
Focus: All talent acquisition professionals
Founded: 2016
Members: 500+
Meetings:

  • Monthly webinars on hot topics in talent acquisition
  • Global Talent Acquisition Day

Benefits:

  • Ability to participate on body of knowledge and advocacy working committees
  • Access to member exclusive content and networking opportunities

Fees: $95/year (individual member)

Site: https://atapglobal.org/


American Association of International Healthcare Recruitment

Country: United States
Focus: Recruitment and staffing of foreign-educated healthcare professionals for employment with U.S. healthcare organizations
Founded: 2006
Members: 20
Meetings: Annual member meeting
Benefits: Membership in AAIHR provides member organization with representation to regulatory organizations, credibility with customers, and a forum for learning and professional development opportunities
Fees: $3,000 – $7,500 per year. See this page for details.
Site: http://www.aaihr.org/


Top Echelon’s Recruiting Network

Country: United States
Focus: All recruiting firms
Founded: 1992
Members: Hundreds of recruiting firms and millions of candidates
Meetings:

  • National Convention
  • Fall Conference
  • Regional Core Groups
  • Virtual Core Groups

Benefits:

  • Ability to connect with other recruiters to make more placements
  • Opportunities for continuous training

Fees: $130/month

Site: https://www.topechelon.com/recruiting-network/


National Association of Executive Recruiters

Country: United States
Focus: Senior-level executive recruiters
Founded: 1985
Meetings: Annual national conference
Benefits: Connecting with other recruiting firms committed to the highest level of ethical standards and practices, enhancing your quality and methods through education, interaction, and professional competence.
Site: https://www.naer.org/


Recruitment Process Outsourcing Association

Country: United States
Focus: RPO community
Founded: 2005
Members:  6,000
Meetings:

  • Conference sessions on-demand
  • Webinars

Benefits:

  • Access to RPO Academy, the largest library of talent acquisition resources presented from a recruitment process outsourcing perspective
  • Innovative programs designed to position the association and its partners as an authority in talent acquisition and RPO.
  • A featured story published in their RPO Market Report
  • Taking part in speaking engagements through their professionally produced and hosted webinars

Fees: $1,800 – $20,000 per year. Details are available here.
Site: https://www.rpoassociation.org/


National Association of Physician Recruiters

Country: United States
Focus: Healthcare recruiters
Founded: 1984
Members:  300+
Meetings:

  • Annual convention
  • Webinars

Benefits:

  • Access to a School of Healthcare Recruitment
  • Access to the Recruiter’s Edge, a bi-weekly newsletter created and curated just for healthcare recruiters
  • Vendor discounts on many recruiting tools
  • Access to NAPR Connect, a tool that allows you to partner with other firms for placements

Fees: $600 – $999
Site: https://www.napr.org/


National Association of Legal Search Consultants

Country: United States
Focus: Legal search consultants
Founded: 1984
Members:  200+
Meetings:

  • Annual convention
  • Seasonal symposiums
  • Regional and national educational seminars and programs

Benefits:

  • Opportunity to network within the industry throughout the United States and abroad
  • Detailed listing in an up-to-date online directory
  • Access to the NALSC® newsletter
  • Access to ShareServ
  • Assistance from an Ethics Committee

Fees: $395 – $1000 per year. Details are available here.
Site: https://www.nalsc.org/


Association of Canadian Search, Employment & Staffing Services

Country: Canada
Focus: All recruiting firms
Founded: 1998
Members:  1,500+
Meetings:

  • Annual national conference
  • Staffing Industry Excellence awards
  • Webinars

Benefits:

  • Affiliate & Partner discount services
  • Discounted fees to industry events and education services
  • Government Relations Information
  • Access to Canadian Staffing Index Monthly, Legislative Bulletins, Core Industry Training, CPC Certification, and Certified Personal Consultant program.

Fees: $960 per year, for the first office. Details are available here.
Site: https://acsess.org/


NPAworldwide

Country: United States/Global
Focus: Independent recruitment firms
Founded: 1956
Members:  1,300+ individual recruiters
Meetings:

  • Global Recruitment Conference
  • Webinars
  • Regional and specialization calls

Benefits:

  • Peer interaction
  • Advanced business resources
  • Training services
  • Expanded geographic/industry specialization

Fees: $500 enrollment fee + $195 per month. Details are available here.
Site: https://npaworldwide.com/


The International Network of Independent Staffing Services

Country: United States
Founded: 1977
Meetings:

  • Annual convention
  • Fall conference
  • Webinars

Benefits:

  • Ongoing business support between companies
  • Affordable training for owners and staff
  • Industry-specific resources through a nationwide network of partners
  • Legal and Legislative consulting
  • Split fee program
  • Monthly newsletter

Fees: unknown
Site: https://www.tempnetstaffingassociation.org/

Author

Zack Gallinger

LinkedIn

Zack Gallinger is the founder of Talent Hero Media, a digital marketing agency that specializes in finding new clients and candidates for recruiting agencies. He attended the University of Toronto - Rotman School of Management, where he received his MBA. In his free time, he enjoys rock climbing and spending time with his (very large) family.