6 Ways to Decrease Your Hiring Costs

The hiring process can be expensive. There’s the actual recruiting, the interviewing, the offer, onboarding, training, and more — and all of it costs money. Moreover, if you have a key position that stays open for months as you search for the right candidate, you may incur additional expenses in the form of lost productivity.

The hiring process is expensive, but it’s not like employers can skip any of the steps. Doing so can create a poor candidate experience, which may end up driving candidates away and costing company even more in the long run.

As pitchman Billy Mays used to say, “There’s got to be a better way!”

Luckily, there is. In fact, there are many opportunities to decrease costs  in the hiring process.

1. Attracting Passive Candidates

Focusing on passive candidates is often the least expensive way to attract talent. Many recruiters like to cruise their LinkedIn networks to find such candidates, but engaging passive talent can be done in other, less intensive ways as well.

Try partnering with your marketing team to revamp your career page. Passive candidates are interested in brands they admire, especially brands with strong company cultures. Try highlighting your teams on your career page. Show off the culture by posting photos of life inside the company and bragging about company events. You may also want to offer candidates the ability to chat with a recruiter about opportunities at the company.

2. Use Social Media to Highlight Job Opportunities 

Increasingly, candidates are looking to social media as a way to find new employment opportunities. Savvy recruiters can take advantage of this fact to hire great employees. They can use social media to share job announcements, videos about open positions, and links to their creative company career pages.

The key to attracting top talent on social media is to be active on the right platforms. Figure out where the kind of talent you want hangs out online, and go there.

3. Post to Free Job Boards

There are many job boards and job-board-esque sites that don’t cost money — like Craigslist, for example.

Many talent acquisition teams are skeptical of Craigslist, but the site is actually an excellent free resource. The site is heavily trafficked by a lot of people from a variety of places, making it perfect for high-volume positions. Many recruiters tell us that using this site has allowed them to solicit hundreds of applications within a matter of hours.

4. Try Video Interviews

GreenJobInterview is a video interviewing software company, and we’ve worked with companies of all sizes. We’ve been able to save our clients a combined total of more than $25.5 million in the past year alone!

With video interviews, talent acquisition teams can source talent from around the world without paying for travel. Similarly, video interviews can help recruiters screen candidates in less time, which also helps to cut recruiting costs.

5. Ask Your Employees to Refer Candidates

Employee referrals only make up about 10 percent of candidates; however, these referred candidates are also often of the highest quality. Approximately 40 percent of referred candidates are hired, and once they join a company, they are comfortable with the culture, they feel connected, and they stay for longer than non-referred candidates. They also tend to perform better on the job than non-referred candidates do.

If your team is looking to reduce hiring costs, try asking existing employees if they know anyone who might fit the role.

6. Host Networking Events

It doesn’t take a lot of money to host a networking luncheon. Order some pizzas, give a speech about working at the company, and let your team members mingle with prospective candidates.

Few employers ever think about taking this route, but it’s a great strategy. It brings candidates right to your door, and your recruiters won’t have to put in too much legwork to make connections.

Hiring great employees doesn’t have to cost your company an arm and a leg. If your budget is tight, try some of these tips to find top talent today — your financial controller will thank you.