You need new employees—that’s non-negotiable. But why does it have to cost so much money just to hire someone who you then have to pay more money?
There might be a few workarounds for that.
“It’s nearly impossible to get through the hiring process without spending a dime, but this guide will help you cut costs left, right, and center. ”
Create A Referral Program
This strategy follows the “ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure” logic. Yes, you’ll need to allocate a small budget for a referral bonus, but the cash you save on recruitment costs will more than makeup for it.
Every few months, solicit recommendations from your staff—especially the high-performers. If they succeed at your company, chances are their friends and colleagues can, too. And now, you’ll have a handy reserve of potential employees for later down the line.
Use Social Media to Your Advantage
Job listings on major sites are expensive, without being especially effective. The same advertisement on your social media pages will reach a larger audience without costing you a single cent.
But there’s more to social media than your official company pages. You can get free or cheap company publicity through your employees’ pages, too:
- Encourage your current employees to share their positive experiences with your company on their personal pages.
- Conduct a small internal contest to incentivize these personal testimonials.
- Post engaging content about your employees, which will encourage them to share to their private channels and simultaneously make them feel appreciated (a bonus!).
Reduce Pre-Screening Expenses
Taking the time to verify your candidate’s employment histories, criminal records, and credit reports are important in finding trustworthy employees with a low turnover rate.
But those costs can add up fast.
For starters, reduce the number of people you even need to look into by conducting more extensive first-round cuts. Then, order a cheap background check with ShareAble For Hires before moving forward with the candidates you have left.
Capitalize on Virtual Recruitment Technologies
If any good has come from this seemingly never-ending work-from-home period, it’s that companies have realized just how much they can accomplish through remote platforms.
With the right digital interviewing software, you can completely eliminate travel expenses and reduce the time between posting your job opening and securing your eventual candidate.
Eliminate the Need to Hire Altogether
The cheapest recruitment process is no recruitment process. But that requires maintaining company satisfaction across the board—on their end and on yours.
Here are a few ways to focus more on solid employee retention:
- Invest in long-term benefits like good medical coverage, ample vacation days, and higher wages, rather than flashy perks like an in-house masseuse, Taco Tuesdays, and free swag (though those can be fun too from time to time).
- Conduct regular one-on-one meetings to discuss employee performance, provide meaningful feedback, and brainstorm solutions to problems for either party.
- Create a culture of respect and collaboration where employees from all ranks and departments feel comfortable making suggestions, expressing concerns, and requesting the support they need to do their jobs.
The Right Employees Are Worth It
“As much as we love to slash prices and eliminate expenses, there’s only so much cost-cutting that can happen before your recruitment process becomes entirely ineffective. ”
And as they say, sometimes you have to spend money to make money.
There’s no reason this can’t apply to people, too. By putting down a little extra time and money up front, you’ll hire a better long-term fit, thereby reducing turnover and future hiring costs. So feel free to use these money-saving tips, but don’t lose sight of the big-picture: hiring the best possible fit for your company’s success.
