Hiring cost is not just the cost of hiring platforms. In fact, that is the least of the lot. Consider cost of advertising, referrals, on-boarding, and training too.
According to Deloitte, it takes 50-60% of the employee’s salary to find his or her direct replacement.
How can you reduce this cost? Let’s look at five proven ways to do it.
Hire via advocacy
It is the age of social media and word of mouth. We do something because somebody did it before us and gave a great review. It works for travel, food and FMCG. And guess what? It works for hiring as well. Job seekers look up Glassdoor, ask their colleagues and search hashtags to ensure they are applying to the right organization.
Make your current employees face of the organization. Let them become your ambassadors. Send them swag and give them a reason to promote you. That’s a very welcome free form of advertising. Job seekers will come flocking and your cost per hire will automatically go down.
Hire contractors without any platform commission
FlexiPort is a free platform for employers. You can search the platform and look through thousands of pre-vetted profiles. You can post opportunities for free. Communicate directly with the candidates online and hire the best talent. FlexiPort encourages communication between employers and talent. If you need help further help with contract staffing, the platform offers support. FlexiPort is India’s only TaaS platform for hiring serious talent on contract. Hire when you, if you need, for the duration you need.
Hiring contractors reducing you bill in many ways. You pay no on-boarding or joining benefits. They don’t need training as they come with specialised skillsets, ready to hit the ground running. You pay no insurance or retirement benefits too. Overall, it makes sense to hire contractors when you don’t want to invest in skills that you need for only for specific projects and specific durations.
Earn referrals
Your employees surely have a network of their own – their friends, ex-office colleagues, social groups, professional clubs and so on. Together their network will be stronger than what your recruiters can reach out individually. Offer referral benefits and you will be able to close vacancies faster. Remember, they would usually filter candidates at their end and refer only the best of the lot. You get pre-screened talent at little cost.
Be a social butterfly
Resumes may be a very traditional way of hiring. Sometimes it helps to just be a good listener on social media. Some people may not be actively looking for a job, but their profile may be exceptionally good. Their posts may be attracting huge followers. You can reach out to them and add them to your radar for future. You can actively network with people and pre-screen them for future opportunities. It helps to be a part of professional groups as well.
Social media is a free tool for recruitment. If you are willing to pay a bit, you can even advertise your vacancies and attract more people. Do a good job at targeting and you can get a great ROI.
Don’t spread too thin though. If you are hiring visual artists, you might profit from being active on Instagram. If you are hiring techies, LinkedIn may be your choice. If you need homepreneurs or bloggers, Facebook groups can be your go-to medium.
Create a talent bank
Almost always, you will find more resumes than you need for a particular vacancy. If you have spent time screening them, be sure to state the summary of skillsets, strengths, and weakness on sticky notes over the resume. You can file these resumes away with easy reference index. That way, you have a bank ready to look into when you need same skillsets again. You don’t have to source from base zero and that would save you time as well as cost.
Another great way to build your talent bank is by keeping in touch with your past employees. They can always come back in future if the offer is lucrative. You won’t have to train them and there is no hiring cost associated. Keeping in touch is effortless when you use the right tools and automation. Be sure to invite them to alumni events and wish them on special days.
The secret to reducing hiring cost lies in taking advantage of the tools and platforms available. Look at social media, internal referrals, and portals like FlexiPort to source talent quickly. Look at non-traditional ways of hiring. Move beyond full-time employees to consider contract staffing. Think out-of-the-box and use networking to your advantage.
