Sometimes, doing it yourself costs a lot more than you think.
Last week I got a call from the president of a local healthcare technology company. He had about 25 employees, and was looking for a new salesperson to expand his territory. But he was frustrated.
“Look, I know what I need here. I’ve tried 3 people and they haven’t worked out, so I know I need someone who is willing to work harder than the people I’ve already tried. I keep advertising, but I’m not getting good people. But I can’t spend a lot of money, especially when no one seems to work out.”
The thing is, bad hires cost a lot of money: Companies say that bad hires can cost as much as $25,000-$50,000 – per bad hire. And this Bad Hire Calculator shows you that even for junior or commission-based positions, the costs of bad hires are much more than you think.
As a small business ourselves, we know that recruiting costs (especially the traditional contingency-fee-based model) can seem expensive. It can be tempting to think that if you just put a low-cost ad on Craigslist or even Monster, the right person will land in your lap.
Unfortunately, using job ads only exposes you to active job seekers, who comprise only a very small portion of the available talent pool. If you’re like most small businesses, and need someone with a wide variety of skills or a unique skillset, you need to be able to cast your net much wider.
A recent survey by recruiting expert Lou Adler found that as many as 83% of currently employed people are ‘passive candidates’. These are people who are currently working, aren’t looking at job boards, but who would be receptive to a new opportunity if it came along.
This is where engaging a recruiter can make a big difference. Recruiters make it their business to develop long-term relationships with passive candidates, so when they get a request from a client, they’re working from a much larger potential pool of talent.
PART 2: Recruiters can get you closer to the ideal candidate, faster.