Spending too much on recruitment? It’s easy for hiring costs to spin out of control – especially as your organisation grows. But how can you rein things in and still find the best candidates for your roles?

Here are five ways you can reduce recruitment costs for your organisation.

Streamline your process(es)

As a rule of thumb, the longer it takes to fill a role, the more you can expect to spend. So if you want to reduce your costs, you should prioritise finding and processing the right candidates as quickly as you can.

• Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) can help automate processes like screening candidates and scheduling interviews
• Many ATS providers now offer AI powered features that can help you screen candidates faster and reduce admin
• Monitoring key metrics like time-to-fill roles and cost-per-hire can help you identify what you’re doing right, and where you’re going wrong

Remember: it costs £3,000 and up to 63 days on average to fill a role. 

Set realistic expectations

The more people who apply for your roles, the more candidates you’ll have to sort through and interview. That’s why it’s important to have a clear, realistic understanding of what you want from a successful candidate. 

• Offer the right pay – you might think you’re saving money by offering a lower salary, but you’re more likely to attract less experienced candidates who won’t have the skills you’re looking for
• Really think about the skills you need and make sure you’ve included them in your job ads – that way you won’t waste time interviewing people who aren’t a good fit

• Think about whether this is the right role for your organisation – why is it vacant in the first place? Maybe it’s too much responsibility for one person and you’re setting candidates up for failure. Would two junior roles work better?

Encourage advocacy

If you’re struggling to find the right candidates, your current employees might be able to help. Now’s the time to make the most of their contacts and experience.

• Consider hiring internally if you can – your current employees know your business and may have many of the skills you’re looking for. It could be easier to promote a mid-level employee and then focus on backfilling their role.
• Try a referral scheme that rewards employees for referring friends and family. This usually involves a cash incentive, which you pay out when a candidate completes their probationary period.
• Ask employees to share your job ads on social media to take advantage of their connections – it could help you reach a whole new supply of candidates

Use the right tools

Recruitment involves many moving parts – from screening candidates, to booking interviews, assessing tasks and so on. But if you’re already very busy, it can be tricky to keep everything moving along in a timely manner. 

The good news is there are lots of tools available to help you stay on top of the process.

• Recruitment software can post your job ads across multiple platforms, help you screen candidates and handle communication, so you can keep track of everything from one place
• Conducting early interviews virtually using software like Zoom or Google Meet can help speed up the process, cutting down on travel time and saving candidates from having to book time off, or invent excuses for missing work

Improve retention rates

This is one of the simplest ways to cut down on recruitment costs. If fewer employees leave their roles, you won't have to recruit so much.

• Keep track of employee engagement and satisfaction to identify the reasons people are leaving your organisation, and fix them
• Consider implementing stay interviews to understand any concerns your current employees have
• Consider pay benchmarking, to make sure you’re paying the right money for your roles – otherwise you risk employees leaving for higher salaries
• Make sure you’re offering benefits your employees want and use – and explore options like salary sacrifice, which make it financially beneficial for employees to stick around for the long term