Taking on new staff is an expensive outlay for any company, and the costs of actually advertising for the positions is just a small part, so it is critical that a business does this in the most efficient way possible.
Of course one of the chief reasons for recruiting, apart from growth, is that a member of your workforce has handed in their notice. Clearly one of the best ways to evade recruitment costs altogether is to keep staff turnover down to a minimum. Wages is not the best way to realise this, despite popular opinion, it is much better to invest in a healthy and effective continuous professional development strategy for staff, allow progression wherever possible and make sure that staff feel valued. Team building events and investing in staff development will really make a difference here in a way that pay increases hardly ever do. Another way to keep hold of staff is to be flexible in your demands. Allowing part time working, flexi time and unpaid leave can all help to hold on to a valued staff member who is struggling with other commitments. It may also be possible to let some staff Work From Home depending on their role and this is becoming easier with the development of technology.
Of course you will never be able to abolish the need for recruitment altogether, particularly if your business is expanding and developing in new areas. So keeping the costs of that recruitment down is important. Plan your recruitment strategy well, make sure that all areas of the business are consulted to establish the whole company’s recruitment wants and address them all at the same time. Having one campaign is far more cost effective than many smaller campaigns. You will get a better deal from a recruitment consultant if they are helping you on one large campaign and opt for one who has a strong Internet Business as they are likely to be more cost effective than a smaller, high street company.
There is also the option to promote your vacancies yourself. You can do this on the internet on one of the many Online Jobs sites and you can of course opt for the more old fashioned approach of a newspaper advert. Often a direct campaign online works very well if it is viewed by people looking for employment as they are pleased to see the actual employer visible. So many jobs these days are placed on recruitment consultants sites and the job seeker has trouble evaluating the role without spending a lot of time with the consultant. It sometimes seems that there are “generic” jobs on these sites just there to make sure the job seeker makes contact with the recruitment consultant. So as long as you can ensure that your online advert is visible to people searching for a new role it can often be a very useful way of recruiting.
The final point is to make sure the correct choice in personnel is made. An individual who is over qualified for a position, or who has ambitions that cannot be fulfilled within your business will be an expensive choice. While they may do a great job in the first instance they will probably move on to another company as soon as it suits them, leaving you with the whole process to face again.