Is DIY recruitment the best choice for you?
When it’s time to expand your team, you need to find the right person. It’s critical.
Often, the first thing a hiring manager or leader will do is weigh up the pros and cons of in-house, or DIY, recruitment versus engaging a professional recruiter.
Of course, we can give you plenty of reasons why you should partner with a recruitment agency, but we also know that there are some situations where DIY recruitment might be your best option.
So when should you take a DIY hiring approach?
You don’t have the budget
In Australia, permanent recruitment fees vary between 12 and 25% of the new employee’s first-year salary package.
Of course, this fee comes with a significant time saving, much greater reach, comprehensive vetting and a replacement guarantee. But in some cases, you simply don’t have the budget.
Estimates of the cost of the wrong hire range between 30 and 150% of salary, so budget certainly is an important consideration. Even if your budget is right, there may be an unbundled, low-cost recruitment option that could benefit you.
You have the right tools
One of the mistakes we see hiring teams make is relying entirely on in-market applicants. This means people who send their CV to you via SEEK or another job site.
If your hiring team has access to LinkedIn tools, online communities, specialist job boards and online groups to identify and engage the best talent, your DIY recruitment process is optimised and ready to go!
Don’t forget that engaging and nurturing passive talent pools takes time, both in terms of the volume of people you need to engage with and the time it might take for them to engage with you. We’ve definitely seen in-house recruitment teams do an excellent job of passive talent sourcing using all available tools and channels.
You have plenty of time
Time is a big factor in recruitment. A quality recruiter will spend up to 3 hours assessing, evaluating and engaging with each candidate. If you have 50 applicants, that could be 150 hours, or nearly 4 weeks of work.
Depending on how busy your day job is, if you can spare the time, in-house recruitment could be a great option.
It’s important to consider how you’ll communicate with your talent pool, manage the candidate experience and protect your employer brand throughout the hiring process, all while maintaining your other responsibilities.
You expect a fast turnaround
A good recruiter will not rush the hiring process and risk choosing the wrong person. A bums-in-seats mentality is never the best approach.
Finding, engaging and evaluating the best available talent takes time and care. If you need to hire quickly, a quality recruitment partner may not be the right choice.
This is especially true if you’ve left your hiring campaign to the last minute and now need to find someone new in just a few days.
Things to keep in mind
Remember, if you choose DIY recruitment, you need to manage candidate communication and engagement carefully to protect your employer brand in support of an ongoing talent attraction and retention strategy.
Be ready to:
respond to every application and enquiry
return every phone call
reply to every email
provide detailed feedback after every interview
individually reject unsuccessful candidates in a timely and professional manner
keep the process moving efficiently
negotiate the job offer with the successful candidate
make sure the right person chooses your offers
contact professional references.
For most leaders and hiring managers, being responsible for the entire recruitment process is often a false economy.
When weighing up whether it’s worth partnering with a recruitment agency, consider the specialist expertise, experience, reach and efficiency of a professional recruitment partner. Compare this to the capacity and capability of your own team.
Want to partner with a professional recruiter after all?
If you think partnering with a recruitment business might be right for you, Heart is here to help. Get in touch with our experienced recruitment team today.