Cost-per-hire is one of those metrics that sounds great on paper, but can actually fall short during the hiring process. Why? Because relying solely on cost-per-hire results in you focusing too much on…well…cost. And, as one of the leading recruitment agencies in the U.S., we know that the goal for any employer or hiring manager should be to hire the best person for the job, not the least expensive one.
In addition, cost-per-hire:
Doesn’t factor in quality.
Hiring the best-of-the-best is going to cost money. But when you’re totally focused on cost – and hiring fast and cheap – you’ll overlook many of the best candidates who require an investment of time and money to get them in the door.
Doesn’t factor in that quality offers a better return on investment.
Sure, you’re going to have put in some resources to hire top tier candidates, but once you do, the ROI will be significant in the form of better performance and higher productivity. And typically that higher productivity will make the cost of hiring them seem miniscule.
Slows down the process.
Focusing too much on cutting costs can actually increase costs because it tends to slow down the speed of hiring.
With all that said, don’t ignore the costs altogether. Measuring these expenses can be worthwhile when hiring large numbers of employees with similar skill levels.
However understand that in order to hire great people, you have to spend some money. So if you’re in a position to hire, but are being pressured to keep it “cheap,” then show your manager or CEO the evidence of the high performance/productivity of those you’ve hired in the past.
And if you’d like some help with hiring process, let us know. As one of the leading recruitment agencies in the U.S., our patented, six-step candidate evaluation process, Assurelink, allows us to dig deeper and obtain more information about each candidate – so you get the people you need more efficiently. Learn more about our process today.
