Reduced Hiring Cost through better ROI

Emerson Chase Logo: Industry-specialist executive headhunters
Author: Simon Bridgen
Published: 22nd September 2020
Categories: Recruitment

In short:

Headhunting Investment

The typical belief is that headhunting costs more than using recruitment agency services. And of course, this is usually correct, if you only consider the immediate cost to hire; the recruiter fee and training/ onboarding costs. What also needs to be taken into account is the potential cost in lost revenue, company strength and reputation. When it comes to recruiting for revenue creating or revenue managing positions, it's very likely that it will actually cost you moreif you do try focussing on the cost of the recruitment partner when selecting who you use. 



In detail:

If the role you’re looking to fill has an impact on the success and growth of your business, ensuring you hire someone that is highly likely to hit targets if not overachieve is criticalso the likelihood of them achieving their number or objective should be one of the most important factors you consider before making an offerWhich is why having a selection of proven high hitters at final interview will maximise the chance of you making a successful hire.  

Even at the frontline sales level of your business where they are managing £1-5m of revenuethere could be several recurring problems arise in your sales organisation, if you rely on what the job seeker market or agencies have to offer, costing you financially and/ or reputationally. Underperformers will struggle to achieve targets if they are not capable, this will hold back growth and potentially result in you needing to hire again and pay againAlways making a successful hire will minimise this situation and, even if you do need to hire, it’s likely that your chosen industry head-hunter will find you a replacement very quickly. More details on this can be found in another article here. [link]  

Top performers could also become frustrated with holding up the rest of the team if you don’t bring in good peopleand this may affect their ongoing job satisfaction and ability in their own role. Demotivation could also set-in if the team are not confident in their strengths individually and/or as a company. And customers may become frustrated with the lack of support and experience they want from a supplier, if you don’t hire the right people.  

Even worse, at the next level up, if you’re not always hiring Sales Managers and Leaders who clearly have the capability to keep a sales team constantly motivated and winning business, this can lead to you to being very short on what your company could have achieved. Sales and Managerial roles being open for just a few months are very likely to cause a loss in revenue, and this is a factor that will be far more financially expensive than a few thousand pounds above an agency fee to guarantee hiring the right peoplethat will prevent these losses. 

In addition to lost revenue through diminished relationship building, there are many other factors that suggest an agency approach will be costlier over time.  

Having to rehire within less than 24 months will also result in additional recruiting costs, especially if this happens several times over a 5 to10 year period. Although your balance sheet might look better with a £15k agency fee instead of a £20k head-hunter fee, rehiring just once in 5 years is likely to cost you more in recruitment costs alone than paying once for a headhunted candidate that stays on board for the long haul. Headhunted candidates typically stay with their employer for a longer period of time due to the reasons outlined in the following article [Link] 

So we’ve considered the cost of repeat hiring fee’s, we’ve considered the cost to a company by a role being open, then we must also consider the missed revenue that you’re not achieving by having the top performer you could have hired in the first place. A big contract or new customer with significant revenue potential could have been lostwhich  could have been avoided. Competition will also grow stronger, if they’re ability to hire good salespeople is better than yours. 

So, hopefully this article has explained some of the reasons why hiring for revenue creating or revenue managing roles, as with most things in life, the more expensive option will likely save you money in the long run. 

For other benefits of our methodology, please see further articles and documents on my profile.  


  

Emerson Chase is a leading headhunting firm with 20 years of executive recruitment experience across the globe. We specialise in process engineering, controls and instrumentation across industrial and scientific sectors. The positions we hire for include sales, marketing, management and senior executive roles. Our clients benefit from our expertise in niche areas, as well as our industry-leading approach to sourcing the best candidates.

Do you have a hiring requirement? Book a free consultation with one of our specialist consultants today.

 

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