In-house recruiters

Building an in-house recruiting team is a wise option if you have enough resources to maintain a recruiting team. If you want to have your own talent pool and company culture is a centric point when hiring, hiring in-house recruiters can benefit you. Using the right recruitment management software, your in-house HR professionals can make hiring faster and more efficient than outsourcing companies.

In-house recruitment allows for greater control of the hiring process, but be sure to recognize this route is more costly considering your company will provide additional office space and equipment such as computers and desks. In-house recruiting requires a full-time payroll with benefits regardless of slow seasons and downsizing. Ultimately, it’s important to weigh the pros and cons and choose the option that best fits your company’s specific needs and goals.

Out-source recruiters

Partnering with an independent recruiter is a wise option if your company is small to medium sized and in a growth stage. Businesses that are looking to scale take the most benefit from the out-sourcing process because its easier to conserve time, energy, and money. Instead of paying an in-house recruiter a salary you will be paying an out-sourced recruiter per contract. When you are not in a hiring posture you will have no need to pay unnecessary salaries or fire anyone. Out-sourcing provides you with recruiters that only make money when they help find a candidate that you can retain. This out-sourced recruiter is more apt to find a quality candidate while your in-house team gets paid regardless of there results and their work ethics reflects this difference. The pool of candidates are much wider than in-house and the methods of qualifying a candidate is often more rigorous because of the pressure to source a reliable and dedicated employee. Out-sourced recruiter depend on finding you the right candidate, because when a candidate stays with you it is a win-win for everyone. The hiring process may be less out of your control but you can mitigate the risks with consistent communication and knowing exactly what you want from your recruiter. Choosing a recruiter is crucial and you will be able to determine the relationship based on the initial interactions. If your out-sourced recruiter seems to have a delayed response to emails then more likely they are not the best to support your staffing needs. Your recruiter should treat you like a priority throughout every step and give you the warm fuzzy you need to build trust.

The decision to outsource or keep recruitment in-house depends on factors. These factors to consider are the size and needs of your company, budget, and available resources.

Consider the size and needs of your company

According to Forbes, “Out-sourcing can be a powerful tool for small and medium sized businesses (SMB’s)”. Take notice how companies that are projecting growth, and need specialized positions filled often find the difficulties with employment solutions. Its not easy to ‘work on the business while you’re working in the business’. Out-sourced recruiters help to work ‘on’ the business while your staff works ‘in’ the business; this way, there can be growth without the burnout. When determining if you want to out-source or not; start by asking the right questions.

Do you need to grow your workforce?

Do you have the time to interview and on-board new employees effectively?

Are your workers over-worked having to work in multiple positions?

We see all too often that HR departments getting overworked to the point that they will never feel caught up and in control of their job. In my experience, many times companies hire a non-expert HR member and designate them to conduct interviews and on-boarding new employees, but when I get the chance to speak with them they confess that it wasn’t their expectation when joining their company. Far too many companies just place a staff member in charge of hiring and have to silently suffer the consequences of high-turnover and mediocre candidates. Your company needs sustainability and the best way to get it is to do what sustainable businesses do.

How does Elon Musk manage over 100,000 employees while growing each company to the billions? The answer is Leadership Systems. Recruiting is a system that find the best leadership without the bias and limited perspective of people that are working within the walls of your business. Sourcing the right people is essential to the health of your business and you can not afford to waste resources on constant turn-over.

Consider the available resources

Time, energy, and money are the resources that we have in common. Do you have the time to on-board new hires effectively? Do you have the time to manage a team of recruiters? Do you have the energy to maintain and develop a culture among a in-house recruiting department? Do you have the capital to keep a team of recruiters on payroll even during slow season? Although large companies can save money with an out-sourced recruiter; the larger companies also have more resources to pull from that allow them to maintain in-house recruiters that SMB’s don’t have. Do you already have the necessary processes in place, or are you building as you go? Be aware that out-sourcing is not a magic button that solves your employment issues. When figuring out if Out-sourcing is right for you its vital that you know where you are now and what you want to do. Having the systems is crucial to success, and out-sourcing can help you develop the system or you can find yourself feeling not in control of your own hiring process because the more you know in detail what you need the best the recruiter can provide exactly what you need. Knowing what you want is half of the battle in making the right decision. We are all managing time, energy, and resources and knowing what it takes to accomplish each level will help you make a clear minded decision.

Budget Costs associated with In-house recruiters Vs Out-sourcing recruiters

Believe it or not, out-sourcing recruiters is cheaper than an in-house recruiting staff. There’s a myth amongst employers that says out-sourcing the recruiting process is more expensive and this couldn’t be further from the reality. It is challenging to build and maintain a team of recruiters especially when you consider the cost of on-boarding, costs of equipment, training, payroll, and benefits associated with a full-time staff. Out-sourcing a recruiter is less stress and less money.

An out-sourced recruiter is considered a contractor having a fee for completing services needed to screen candidates. Therefore during downtime and downsizing periods you will not have to displace members of an In-house team. Out-sourced recruiting cater to your needs and work to impress you with results while in-house teams typically fall into complacency by failing to access a wider range of candidates. This lack of creativity and access from in-house teams can be a silent strain on company resources and budget.

In summary

Out-sourcing a recruiter is best for small and medium sized companies that are expanding. Larger sized companies can also benefit from out-sourcing, but they often have the resources to maintain the in-house team to handle their employment solutions. Know what stage you are in your growth and decide according to your size, available resources, budget, and company needs. Know what you want from your recruiters like the position and a full detailed description, the culture of your company, what type of background the candidate should have, your expectations etc. Know what you want in details can make the recruiting process an easy experience. Remember to be realistic with your plans and expectations so that you can use your resources wisely. Out-sourcing is not a quick fix and in-house is not either; the difference is size, needs, and companies available resources to get the desired results to scale your business.