Why recruiting good staff need not cost a fortune

After over 30 years service with the firm, we have had a number of key staff retire recently and combined with exciting growth across the practice, we have gone through a substantial recruitment process over the last 12 months.

As you will know recruitment fees are far from cheap and can typically cost 25% or more of the candidate’s annual salary. Having very little knowledge of the candidate’s actual abilities and with very little comeback against the recruiter if the candidate proves unsuccessful, recruitment fees can be a real pain point for many businesses.

But I believe that there is an alternative way that limits both financial risk and attracts better quality of staff. For example, 15 of the staff that we have recently recruited have simply come from nurturing and maintaining good contacts over a period of time.

Recruitment should be an ongoing process, not just a panic reaction to fill a gap. We are constantly networking both in person and on Linkedin looking for the right people. You never know when an extra member of staff will be needed but if you have a pool of people that you already know then it makes it so much easier.

Ultimately its all about building relationships and trust. Getting to know someone over a period of time. That cannot be done from a CV and a half hour meeting. Referrals from members of staff have also proved invaluable. Some of our best staff have joined the firm on that basis, simply because the incumbent staff member already knows their attitude and ability.

So if you are running a business and likely to need staff in the future I would suggest starting right now. Linkedin in particular is an excellent tool. Introduce yourself, get chatting, make contacts and build trust.