There are more than 150 million workers in the US. All of them need to be paid. Many have medical and retirement benefits. Twenty-four million will voluntarily leave their jobs and try to land new ones. It costs about 1/5 of their salaries to replace each of them. Their replacements need to be recruited, hired and trained. This is even more crucial to the media world where no two days are the same, events are live and time is of the essence.
Human resources is big business – it’s a $400+ billion global industry. And, it’s an industry undergoing radical transition. The area of recruitment is particularly ripe for overhaul. Because of this, many companies are outsourcing their HR and recruiting departments. This is especially true when the company is looking for a highly technical skill-set like an Audio Visual Engineer or an Avid Editor.
Hiring A Specialized Recruiter
So what are the considerations for hiring a recruiting/staffing company? How do you know if you should hire one or not?
Here are some questions to ask yourself:
- Do you have the time to source and interview the candidates yourself?
- Will outsourcing your job search save you money?
- Do you have the network and connections to find the right person for the job?
- Do you know the ins and outs of the technical skill sets required for the position and are you able to recognize an individual that has those skills vs. those who don’t?
- Are you confident you know the appropriate and competitive salary/ rate for the position?
- Do you have the resources to do proper background and reference checks?
- Do you have the time/ resources to onboard/ train the candidate?
It may seem counterintuitive to think that paying a top recruiter can save you money, but consider the cost of hiring the wrong employee. An experienced recruiter brings years of expertise in evaluating human capital to the job. They have the big picture of the entire job market in your industry, whereas your company’s human resource department might only have the big picture of your company and a few of its competitors. An experienced recruiter will be well versed in the “hidden job market” – an arena of talent that goes far beyond Craigslist, Monster and the classifieds.
The in-house cost of hiring a new employee can be much higher than the price paid for advertising on job boards or in classified ads. If you’re paying in-house recruiter salaries and benefit packages, or paying other employees for recruiting activities that take them away from normal duties, costs have already skyrocketed.
A top outside recruiter can quickly and efficiently find you talented people, because they are immersed in that marketplace. Your employees remain free to do their jobs rather than seek new hires, which keeps your company productive. Sorting through resumes, calling references and conducting background checks are all time-consuming prospects. An outside recruiter can focus on these activities exclusively, giving them more time to find the candidate who’s a perfect match. In-house searches often end when the first decent prospect is found, due to the time-consuming and expensive nature of an in-house search. Additionally, an outside recruiter or hiring firm can sell your company to the candidate, negotiate salary and benefits and help the candidate to understand the big picture.
Are you still unsure if you should hire a staffing agency or not? Contact us!
