A Shropshire employment expert has warned local businesses that managing their own recruitment responsibilities might see them significantly add to their recruitment costs. 

While many businesses have chosen to move the management process of hiring new staff in-house as a means to reduce costs during the economic downturn, Meg Jones, Director at Shrewsbury agency Red Recruitment argues that, in many cases, such a step can actually be counterproductive and end up costing significantly more than outsourcing it.

She said: “With unemployment levels hitting a 17 year high, there’s no shortage of jobseekers looking for work at the moment, and many employers have taken this as a sign that they can handle any planned recruitment campaigns internally.

“But in reality, the fact that there are so many more potential candidates on the jobs market means that outsourcing the process to a specialist external recruitment agency is often the most time and cost-effective solution. 

“There are many recent examples of job advertisements that have led to dozens or even hundreds of applications, many from completely unsuitable candidates. The time it would take for a local business owner, or perhaps a member of their HR department, to sift through all those emails and CVs to find appropriate candidates to interview would be immense.

"Consider the hourly rate of a senior member of staff earning £30,000 a year, and the hours or even days it could take them to carry out these tasks – time that could be better spent actually working on the business and bringing in additional sales or customers.

"Instead, recruitment agencies can carry out all the background work, such as screening applicants, carrying out initial interviews and selecting a shortlist of appropriate applicants, leaving the business to concentrate on simply making the final decision on hiring the most suitable person,” Meg added.

As well as the time that can be saved during the initial candidate sift, outsourcing recruitment can also bring a range of other benefits.

“Recruitment agencies have almost immediate access to a wide pool of talent on their books, particularly in specific sectors or jobs needing particular skills, such as accounts, finance or HR, meaning that vacancies can often be filled quickly without the need to advertise the post," said Meg.

"And if a post does need publicising, then utilising an agency can bring advertising costs down, with the added advantage that the hiring company can remain completely anonymous to its competitors,” she added.

A final area where outsourcing can help cut costs is for businesses that have peak seasons throughout the year.

“Bringing in recruitment agencies specifically to help fill vacancies at busy periods is often a more effective solution than having a permanent in-house recruitment solution, which while busy at certain times of the year, rendered almost unnecessary during other periods,” Meg concluded.

Red Recruitment is a Shrewsbury-based consultancy specialising in the supply of permanent, contract and temporary staff across a range of sectors including PA/secretarial, finance, HR, legal, sales and marketing. Led by a team of highly experienced consultants, Red Recruitment ensures that it meets the precise needs of both candidates and businesses across the county. 

For further information or to have a chat with the team about your recruitment needs, call 01743 352222.