Recruiting new staff inevitably costs money. Cost is a serious issue for growing businesses and startups, who need fantastic talent, yet don’t have the budget to invest in intensive hiring campaigns.
However, as the recruitment space leans towards the digital, there are increasing opportunities to find cost-effective recruitment strategies that can alleviate this financial pressure.
From recruiting entry-level employees to hiring contractors, we’ll run through some of the best budget-busting recruitment routes that could help your business.
Five Ways to Recruit Great Talent on a Budget
The best hiring practices for small businesses consist of several crucial factors:
● Reaching a broad audience, but within the skills required.
● Targeted engagements to filter down the candidates you connect with.
● Reduced cost per touchpoint compared to conventional advertising.
Let’s look at five of the best ways to control your recruitment spend while achieving your hiring objectives.
1. Leverage Online Networking
Our first solution is to consider all the resources at your disposal.
LinkedIn is a great resource – businesses can create projects for each anticipated vacancy, and short-list potential hires without spending a cent. Communications are cost-free, unlike a recruitment agency, and you get a chance to evaluate each potential candidate discreetly.
Other digital resources include:
● Online network platforms, such as freelancing sites. You can reach thousands of quality candidates with one posting!
● Social media visibility. Followers who are already engaged with your brand or startup concept may be keen to jump on board.
● Digital reference-checking services. These platforms can assist with passive recruitment, whereby you keep pipelines open and benefit from candidate referrals.
The key is to be specific in your ideal candidate profile with all these options. That means you’ll have a fast and sure-fire way of filtering through potential hires.
2. Train Existing Staff on How to Source Talent
Sourcing great talent is always vital to business growth and using your team to work on this can be of great benefit.
Training interns or junior staff is a great approach, with minimal cost – requiring nothing but enthusiasm and experience with social media networks.
Consider this an outreach program to establish a route for increasing diversity and key roles, and you’ll have an in-built network of ongoing engagement to help quickly identify outstanding candidates when opportunities arise.
3. Include a Referral Program in Your Recruitment Policy
Referrals are another form of passive recruitment that is highly cost-efficient. Many businesses have proactive, skilled, and passionate staff – and, the chances are, they network with other candidates offering these same qualities.
Your team knows your business, and they know who’d be an excellent fit for available positions. Colleagues are in a great place to articulate the benefits of working with your organization and act as ambassadors, directly drawing in exceptional talent.
4. Consider Targeted Recruitment for Technical Roles
The more targeted your recruitment technique, the more suitable applications you’ll receive. Before posting any job advert think about:
● The one crucial skill that matters most to this role, such as writing quality content.
● How long you anticipate needing your new hire.
● The exact remit and scope of the position.
If that role is specialized, such as needing an expertise in a specific coding language, you may save a substantial amount by contracting an expert in their field, rather than hiring a long-term employee requiring intensive training.
Recruitment and freelance platforms offer ways to connect directly with skilled candidates, which could be a cost-efficient direction to go. Likewise, if it’s not, hiring an entry-level candidate with a lower salary requirement would be appropriate.
5. Join Talent-Based Online Communities
The value of online communities such as networks and forums based around certain professionalisms are often overlooked. This practical approach allows businesses to build on passive recruitment strategies, again with minimal (or usually zero) cost involved.
Building and retaining relationships through regular communications is a reliable way to establish a broader resource than you’ll find through a traditional recruitment ad. And, when a vacancy crops up, you have a network of skilled professionals on hand, all of whom may be interested in working with a brand they’re already familiar with.
Reducing Your Recruitment Spend
The beauty of passive recruitment is that it isn’t time-sensitive, costly, or pressurized and yet cultivates excellent resources when you need them.
Taking on a new recruitment methodology might be somewhat different from conventional hiring processes – but if you’re looking for practical and affordable solutions to meet your business goals, they’re a great option.
