Recruitment budget: 7 ways to save money in 2024

Updated: 17.04.2024

Picture this. You’ve got a rising number of vacancies that need filling. You know how to reach the right candidates, but you’ve spent all your recruitment budget. You can’t advertise, you can’t use agencies, you can’t hire more recruiters or buy the time or recruitment automation technology you desperately need. 

Any of this sound familiar? Sure it does.

You’ve probably had a few heated conversations about your recruitment budget; if only they “got it”. But there are a few ways you can save a bit of money here and there, that could add up to some serious savings in 2024. 

From deploying money-saving recruitment software to negotiating new contracts, stripping recruitment costs gives you more money to play with when it comes to budget season. 

Read on to discover 7 ways to save money in your recruitment budget, and hire like a boss!

1. Break down your costs

It’s best to get a full picture of your total recruitment expenditure so you can see where money is being wasted. That includes working out costs for the following categories:

• Job board postings
• ATS/CRM software
• Assessments/Screening tools
• Social media subscriptions (e.g. LinkedIn recruiter)
• Background checks
• External recruitment fees
• Interview expenses
• Salaries
• Onboarding costs
• Training costs
• Special projects e.g. employer branding

2. Use the right tech and tools

You can have the best recruitment process, but if you’re still working with spreadsheets and emails, the costs of labour are going to add up. Time is money. And there’s no better way to speed up your recruitment costs than with the right recruitment technology.

• Sourcing and CRM tools like CandidateId and Beamery help you identify talent more quickly
• Candidate screening tools like ThriveMap and Codility remove the time taken to sort through candidate applications.
• Applicant Tracking Systems like Workable and Harri will take the pain out of candidate management.
• Onboarding tools like Enboarder and Eloomi digitise the candidate onboarding experience to save you time and paperwork.

3. Grow more talent internally

With a little investment and training, you can upskill or reskill your current staff and reduce the heavy expenditure associated with external hiring. What’s more, having a good employee training program will boost morale and incentivise good performance.

4. Reduce your time to hire

It’s easy to forget that your own time, and that of your TA department, is a cost in itself. All the time you spend in interviews and deliberating over your applicants is increasing your cost of hire.

That’s not to say you should rush or cut corners. Instead, make sure you can measure your time to hire so you can factor it into your recruitment plan.

5. Introduce a referral scheme

Your existing workforce is a great source of new talent. Existing employees are more likely to refer candidates who are capable of the job and would fit in with company culture.

Setting up a referral scheme is a great way to save money in your recruitment budget. While you will have to set some money aside for employee incentives, you will save more on agency fees and job board postings. Using a tool like Reallinks will gamify the process to boost its effectiveness.

6. Renegotiate contracts with existing technology vendors

You don’t always need to make changes to save money. Sometimes it pays to stick around. Most vendors are keen to retain existing clients, so shop around when your renewal comes up and see if you’re paying over the odds for software.

Many vendors would welcome things other than money from you. Case studies, public praise, and employee referrals all hold value for any recruitment vendor. If you’re facing a budget deficit, call up your vendors and ask them if they can reduce their charges; even if you’re mid-contract, you’d be surprised how willing your suppliers will be to help out.

7. Create a proactive talent pipeline

Imagine having talent on demand to fill your jobs as and when they arise. Well, that’s what a talent pipeline gives you. Use a Talent CRM or existing functionality in your ATS to engage candidates at the right time you need them.

In closing

There we have 7 ways you can save money on your recruitment budget right now. Not only will this make you very popular with accounting it’ll give you more wiggle room to bring in new recruitment technology to save even more money next year. Happy saving!