Recruiting - how will you tackle it?

21 September 2017

Monetary and time costs can be high when recruiting

The expense of recruiting can make quite a dent in the budget when trying to recruit the right person for a vacancy, as Suffolk county council recently found out to their cost.  It is reported* that not only did they spend £32,000 looking for a new chief executive but as no-one met the exceptionally high standards that the council had, they will be going through the whole process again next year.  More expense! More money and more time involved in trying to find the right person!

So, how do you go about tackling the issue of recruitment and keeping all the costs down? If you have your own HR department they should sort this out for you.  However, if it’s just you who is running the business and the HR side of things, then your time costs will be high.

To focus on recruiting and to try and get your costs in control why not answer the following?

1. Why do you need to recruit? Have you got an abundance of work? Is this work temporary or seasonal?  Do you need to replace someone who has left the business, or in the process of leaving?  Can this work be divided amongst others within the business?  Is an employee on maternity leave and you need someone to fill their position whilst they are away?

2. Do you know who you want in the post? Do you need someone to grow with the company or to stay in this same job for many years?  Do you require someone who is trained and qualified? Do you need an apprentice? Do you need someone full time or part time?

3. Do you really need to recruit? Can you identify and develop the talent from within your existing workforce?  Has someone got the skills you are looking for internally?  Members of your current staff will already have an understanding of your business, they may need training but this may be less expensive than recruiting a person who is completely new to the business.

4.  How do you recruit? Will you advertise the vacancy?  Where will you advertise?  Who will write the job description/person specification?  Who will sift through the CVs or application forms?  Who will arrange the interviews and then carry them out?  Then there is the job of notifying the candidate you have chosen and those you have not!  How about the pre-employment checks for instance, references, the right to work in the UK etc.   The list goes on.

5.  Where do you go for help? There is help out there so you are not alone but you need to choose the process that suits you best. Having decided on the criteria and type of employee you require for the post the following may be of help:

  • Internet recruiting – posting your vacancy on an internet job board or your own website although you may be overwhelmed with responses
  • Career centres – connect with a university or college for those student or graduates looking for work
  • Recruitment agencies – this may save your time costs but can be an expensive way of recruiting
  • Career fairs – this could put you in touch with a broad workforce and usually a particular skill set or industry
  • Networking – this may prove beneficial to your business, for recruitment purposes and increased awareness of your business

Qdos can help with your recruiting or other HR issues.  Please contact us for more information. See also HR guide – recruitment and selection Take a HR health check Download a QView on recruitment trends

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