I am sure it has been discussed hundreds of times within your organisation on how to reach the perfect candidate. Is it someone that currently works for your competitor? Is it someone that you can promote internally? Is it someone looking for a change of career?
There is no one stop shop that will tell you where to start. It is something that each organisation has to figure out for themselves.
Cost Per Hire
A good place to start is to work out the CPH (Cost per Hire). Think about what you would normally spend to recruit an employee:
– Advertising fees
– Job Posting fees
– Travel expenses
– Relocation fees
– Internal recruiter costs
– Administrative costs
Each should be easy to quantify; work out the yearly costs for your internal recruiter and administrator and divide that by how many people you employ per year. Think about if you outlay this amount per candidate and still cannot find the right candidate? What do you do then? Do you still turn to an external recruiter?
Time to Fill
The next thing to think about is the Time to Fill (TTF) a role. If the position is vacant for some time then this can have an impact on your organisation, after all you a looking for a new employee for a reason either to fill a new need in the business or to replace and existing staff member. Every day that the position is not filled can cost you. Finding the right candidate can be hard work especially if it is a specialist role. An external recruiter would already have a pool of candidates they would be able to draw on to make sure the TTF is as short as possible.
Culture Fit
Finding a new employee that can do everything that you need to be done is hard. Finding someone that can do everything you need to be done and fit in with the company is even harder. As an Internal recruiter you should be able to give a good outline of the company culture, you know the people and the atmosphere that is created on a day to day basis but are you biased? Have you been working at the company so long that you see a blurred view? You may love the fact that everyone works really hard and then goes home, a candidate might want more of a work life balance. Would it help to have an external source understand your company? Once they understand you and the company they can objectively talk about the culture within the company perhaps finding someone that suits the company in a way you had never thought.
Recruiting the wrong person
What happens if you do all this and within a week or even three months the candidate leaves the position? You have to start all over again. People leave positions for many different reasons, can be another job, can be the culture or the work itself. With an external recruiter you have a guarantee that if the person leaves, the recruitment company will find you a new candidate.
Think before you act
With all this said, it is important to consider all the points. Each organisation is different and the way you recruit a new employee will reflect on the type of candidate you attract and the chances that the employee will stay long term at the company.
No comments yet.