5 ways to reduce your recruitment costs without compromising the quality of your hires

By Patricia Duru
Running a business comes with lots of expenses, and recruitment costs are sitting right at the top of that list. Here’s how you can cut down on the cost without compromising quality.

Technology is consistently evolving and helping individuals from numerous industries perform their work faster and better. These technological advancements also have an impact on how people are hired.
Recruitment is one of the most expensive operating costs of any business and any employer’s objective is to find ways to cut recruitment expenses while retaining the quality of people hired. A good place to start is to determine how much your current recruitment approach costs your organization and then find areas that may be eliminated or decreased. When it comes to hiring the right people on a tight budget, I’ve had my fair share of obstacles, but having the right methods in place makes it a lot simpler.
I came across a study done in 2019 by US Yello Recruiting where a majority of recruiters reported an average cost-per-hire of $3,000 or less for all vacant positions. However, 31% of firms admit to spending more than that, and 5% claimed a cost-per-hire of more than $6,000 per position. Surprisingly, 17% of respondents claimed they have no idea or do not track cost-to-hire statistics at all.
Finding the proper match in a timely manner is critical – your bottom line depends on it. Luckily, there are ways to minimize your cost and time-to-hire.  Here are some of the most successful techniques to reduce recruitment costs without sacrificing talent quality:

1. Reduce your need to hire in the first place: It’s no secret that it’s less expensive to retain than attract talent but I have noticed that a lot of companies do not seem to understand this fact. According to research, employee retention statistics for 2018, show that the turnover rate was 27%, while the average turnover rate in 2019 stood at 36%. Since 2010, the turnover rate has increased by a staggering 88%. Reducing turnover by developing employee retention strategies will save you a great deal of money – so there’ll be less need to hire replacements for staff who leave. It’s also a bad look for a company to put out job ads month after month for the same positions, this can scare away quality talents.
   By having managers arrange frequent goal reviews with their subordinates, you can stay informed about individuals who are interested in making lateral or vertical movements within the organization. Keeping up with the employee aspirations will allow you to make the most of the talent you currently have on your team and foster a culture in which employees feel appreciated and heard, which is essential for lowering turnover rates.
2. Develop a referral system – Referrals are a company’s greatest source of revenue – this also applies to recruitment. Some of the best talents are recruited through referrals – which is why I always check in with employees to see if they have anyone in their network who would be a great fit for an open position. I also take time out to encourage employees to share job postings and even offer incentives to boost excitement and speed up the process. This is easily the best way to reduce recruitment costs without compromising quality.
3. Encourage employee advocacy – Word of mouth is one of the most effective forms of marketing – I often scan through online reviews before making a purchase for a good or service or I will have friends recommend a business before I would even think of patronizing. This also goes for recruitment, some companies with the best talents today don’t even have to spend so much money to attract talent, they already have the “clout” to do the work for them.
   Employee advocacy is a fantastic tool for attracting individuals who are really interested in working with you. At Fuzu, we strive to hire “ambassadors” rather than employees, and we do so by fostering a healthy work environment, a great work culture, and an organization that anyone would be happy to work for.
4. Take advantage of social media – Clients who hire through Fuzu have an opportunity to get their roles posted on Fuzu’s social media channels, which have an aggregate follower count of xxx. This allows us to expand our reach and highlight our clients’ company culture and encourage candidates to apply. This is especially favourable for clients looking to attract a younger audience as they can apply immediately from their phones.
5. Leverage AI to increase efficiency – Recruiting is a tedious task that has to be correct from start to finish in order to get the right results – from developing a suitable job description to selecting the right marketing channels, recruiters really have their work cut out for them. Why not adopt a data-driven approach to your recruitment?
   Our clients on Fuzu use talent-screening systems that compare applicants’ skills and experience with requirements and then provide lists of top applicant matches in real-time. This method automates the first screening stage, allowing HR managers to concentrate their resources on suitable candidates. Investing in the right technology will eventually pay off in terms of time, efficiency savings and meeting your company’s overall goals through the recruitment of high-quality talent.
   If you think employing quality professionals is expensive, wait till you hire the wrong person; the repercussions will affect not just your business but also you as a person, setting you many milestones back, from your planned ambitions. A wrong hire can cost your business time, money, and clients. It is probable that not all the approaches listed above will be effective for you. So, be sure you use a combination of these approaches and tools to assist you to recruit efficiently.
   Patricia Duru is the country director of Fuzu Nigeria