A fresh take on ideas and trends in Human Capital

The Real Cost of Recruitment

Recruiting a new member of staff can cost a lot more than you may think - as much as &amp;pound;30,614 p

Recruiting a new member of staff can cost a lot more than you may think - as much as £30,614 per employee. There are so many factors in recruitment including the obvious training, advertising etc., but also those that are not always considered in a financial sense, such as the amount of time it will take a new employee to become completely proficient in their role - and this can lead to more money being spent than is necessary.

The amount of time you take to hire a staff member must be considered, this is on average 10-12 weeks, as well as what processes you will use when hiring. These costs can add up due to factors such as, travel expenses for candidates, agency fees and loss due to less or no productivity in the role the candidate will be filling. Managers or contractual labour may need to be used to temporarily fill the role and this can have significant costs. Managers being used in the recruitment process will also have cost implications because they are away of their usual role – and this may happen more than once if candidates reject offers.

As most candidates are recruited only when there is a need for them, the vast majority of applications will come from those who are currently searching for a job, through agencies, jobsites etc., so most of the suitable population are not being considered. This therefore means you might not getting the most out of your expensive recruitment process, you may not find the perfect recruit, and this could cause you to lose money in the long term. To combat this, it is key that your advertising reaches the masses, utilising social media especially, as it is an ideal free advertising platform! You need a strong social media presence, so when you are searching for new staff, as many people see it as possible!

Once staff are hired, not only are there significant training costs involved, but there can be a loss when the new employee is getting used to their working environment and their actual role, when they are not as effective as their predecessor. It is important that the company and candidate share the same values and the candidate understands the culture of the business, or they may be unhappy in their job and terminate their contract. This should be considered in the recruitment process.

All of these factors mean that getting the right person first time around is vitally important. Through the use of psychometric tests, employers can get the most out of their recruitment process and find someone that fits with the culture and values of their company. It is so important to find the right person as rehiring can have serious financial effects on your business. It is possible to reduce costs, as companies don’t always consider the costs recruitment can entail, they do not budget for them, so they do not realise how much it is costing.