Recruiting People To Your Firm On A Budget

Recruitment costs can be substantial. For entry-level positions, they typically run at around three month’s salary. The total cost of hiring somebody with advanced skills can be much more than that, sometimes running into more than a year’s worth of compensation. Recruitment isn’t cheap. 

So what can you do about it? Are there any ways of hiring people to your firm without falling foul of employment law? Let’s take a look. 

Ask For Employee Referrals Wherever Possible

If you’ve already got a team of people working for you, then you’re in luck. Your employees probably already have a fleshed-out network of contacts who they can call upon, should your firm need people with specific skills. And when it comes to employee referrals, your existing employees probably want to help too. No doubt they’re fond of the talented people they know and want to provide them with an opportunity to get a break in the job market. Your workers also want to provide you with quality people to improve their own reputation. 

Be Polite At Interview

Some hiring managers have a very cavalier attitude toward interviews. It’s very much the case that they’re in control and the person on the other side of the table should be grateful that they’re even sitting there. But this kind of power mad thinking can get companies into trouble. Surprising as it may sound, people might not want to work for your firm if they see in your hiring manager qualities that they dislike. They may come to believe that the manager represents the firm and that the firm doesn’t have their best interest at heart. You could inadvertently put off the very people you’re hoping to attract. 

Put Out Feelers On Social Media

Workers know that they need to be careful what they say and do on social media, just in case it comes back to bite them in the future when they try to get a job with a firm. Companies, therefore, are increasingly using platforms like Facebook and Twitter to find people with the skills that they need. It’s a great way to get around high recruitment costs. 

Being active on social media means more than just advertising job openings; it’s about creating a network of people who are interested in the activities of your firm and regularly check in to see what you’re doing. You’d be surprised just how many people who would consider working for your organization their “dream job” and you could potentially attract a large number of applicants through social media platforms. 

Where possible, create links from your social media job postings to your career portal on your website. Here you can provide a little more in-depth information about what it’s like to work for your firm and the kind of career opportunities that you offer. 

Advertise Your Perks Package

Not all companies offer perks, but they should. Time and again, research has shown that employees prefer benefits to financial remuneration, even if they are both worth the same amount. People want to know that their employer cares for them and is willing to provide things like health insurance as standard. Prospective employees also want opportunities to progress their careers and achieve critical milestones. 

Think carefully about the kind of perks that your business can offer. If you can’t afford health insurance, you might want to provide retirement plans or something less costly, such as flexible working. Once you’ve got a benefits package in place, advertise it wherever possible. You’ll likely attract a much wider pool of talented candidates. 

Weed Out Low-Quality Applicants

If you’re on a budget, just the act of searching through lists of candidates and interviewing them can be costly. Ideally, you want to screen out all of the unsuitable candidates before the interview and pick the ones with the best chances of success. 

As anyone who has been in recruiting for long knows, that’s easier said than done. One of the most innovative ways of doing it is to hire a third-party company to screen people through short telephone interviews, checking for basic things, like whether they have the right temperament. At the end of the process, you should have a shortlist of people who not only look good on paper but whose personalities are also suited for the work. 

Use Online Recruitment Tools

Finally, it’s worth using online recruitment tools. These tools can help you find the people you need and use data to filter out candidates who don’t have the skills you need.