Grow your business and reduce your hiring costs
posted 22 Apr 25
It might sound as though hiring and business growth go against each other in concept. There might be an argument for that. Hiring takes money, which might stall business growth if it’s done wrong.
However, smart hiring decisions can be an asset and help grow your business. Figuring out what is the right hiring decision takes into account a lot of different factors about your business, including what you need in the short and long-term, where your business is in its journey, and, of course, what you can afford.
We’re breaking down how smart hiring decisions can offer long-term growth for your business.
How can your hiring process affect business growth?
There’s a lot to be said about how hiring strategies can contribute directly to business growth. With the right team behind you, your business can thrive.
This can be seen as a platitude about having the top talent for a good business, but that’s just half the story. That top talent also has to be suited to the situation. If your mission is effectively communicated to your team and your hiring process is tailored to feed into that business mission, you will achieve it.
Plus, being smart about your hiring strategy can allow you to avoid unnecessary waste. The cost of a bad hire can be significant for your company. It can include lost productivity, training costs, and turnover expenses.
If you are proactive with your hiring strategy, you can invest in the right people from the offset, avoid long-term expenses, and boost productivity and business growth.
What does your business really need?
It’s too simple an answer to say “Well, staff, obviously”. You might even have an idea of the key players that you’d like on your team, but your business might not be there yet. The first step is to determine what the business mission is and then hire accordingly.
Another aspect is the workload. Assess the current and future workload requirements and ask yourself if a new hire is necessary. Is the task small enough that you can cover the gap with current staff? Will it take some upskilling or training? That would still be more cost-effective than a new hire.
Finally, consider workload fluctuations. Is your business prone to seasonal boosts in business that you see dying down again? Maybe a temporary team, or a mix of temp and perm contracts, would be a better option.
Temp vs perm: What’s the right employment model?
There are a lot of benefits as a business, to look into other employment models, beyond the standard permanent contract. One of the most popular cost-effective recruitment strategies is to hire temporary or contract staff, which is on the rise.
While permanent staff are good for encouraging stability, long term expertise, and investment in company culture, temporary staff might be a better fit. They can help manage seasonal demand and project-based work or cover long absences like maternity leave without long term commitment. The temporary hiring strategy also allows you to get your bearings, to see what kind of experience and qualifications fit into your organisation. Additionally, contractors and freelancers can offer specialist skills and expertise without the overheads of permanent hires.
And then there’s always the option to consider outsourcing. If you have some non-core functions, like payroll or IT support, that you can outsource, you can save money on a full-time paid member of staff.
Use data to improve hiring decisions
There are probably a lot of areas that you can improve on when it comes to the hiring process. You might not even be aware of some areas that are costing you money unnecessarily. That’s where data comes in.
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Track key recruitment metrics like cost per hire, time to hire, source effectiveness, and retention rates to identify where you can improve.
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Look at the data to spot which hiring methods bring the best long term employees and refine your strategy accordingly.
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Use predictive analytics to anticipate staffing needs, which can reduce last-minute hiring expenses.
Invest in retention to avoid rehiring costs
If you’re further along in your business’s lifespan, you might want to consider the simplest cost-saving measure in hiring: not. Instead, focus on the staff you have and see where you can fill gaps and upskill.
Employee turnover is expensive, and if you have a high turnover, you’ll see a lot of wasted money, not to mention it’ll put quality talent off. If you reduce employee turnover, you’ll save on recruitment, onboarding and initial training costs.
Instead, focus on employee engagement, development, and workplace culture to retain staff. Give staff the chance to improve within your organisation to not only allow them some career growth but also to benefit your business with new skills on your team. Create clear career progression paths to keep employees motivated and invested in your business.
In turn, you can promote internally to reduce hiring costs and increase retention. Develop future leaders within your team with training programs and encourage cross-training so employees can cover multiple roles as another example of workforce cost management and team flexibility.
If you create a continuous learning culture, your team will learn to adapt to industry changes and better future-proof your business.
Reduce hiring costs through smarter talent acquisition
Of course, a lot of reducing hiring costs is trimming the fat on spending and making sure you get it right the first time. We can offer a few tips on reducing hiring costs in UK businesses, such as:
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Refine your job descriptions: Create clear, precise roles to attract the right candidates, reducing wasted time and resources.
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Understand the job market: Make sure you understand what is expected to attract the right candidates. Take a look at our 2025 Salary Guide for insights.
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Use multiple recruitment channels strategically: Use job boards, social media, and direct sourcing to reach the best talent efficiently. Optimise your employer branding to effectively reach quality candidates.
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Consider a recruitment agency: If you’re looking for specialist roles, or looking for advice on hiring strategies agencies can be more cost-effective than an in-house hiring team.
Consider alternative hiring strategies
Your hiring strategy doesn’t need to come down to temp, versus perm contracts. There are a few different options that might suit the needs of your business better and offer a more cost-effective hiring strategy.
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Apprenticeships and internships: These can be cost-effective ways to develop talent and offer an entry-level or graduate professional a start.
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Shared talent pools: You can collaborate with other businesses or industry networks to access pre-vetted candidates that might offer the skills you need for your organisation on a temporary basis.
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Flexible working arrangements: Offer part-time, remote, or job-sharing options in your job description to reduce costs and attract a wider talent pool.
Case studies:
Search has a proven track record of offering expert advice on hiring and budget planning to grow teams and businesses. With the right approach to recruitment solutions, your business can enjoy a bigger team taking on new work while still growing profits.
Don’t just take our word for it, take a look at our case studies.
1. University client
One of our biggest clients, this university has been supplied with temporary staff by Search for almost a decade this year. Roles covered everything from administrative support to teaching and planning assistants.
Our approach included meeting hiring managers face-to-face to understand the job requirements and market conditions of the establishment, which led to the creation of a customised recruitment process tailored to individual department needs.
As a result, high-quality candidates have led to referrals within the university, we have expanded departments and hiring managers within the organisation relies on Search to select new candidates without interviews.
2. Law firm client
Search’s legal division comprises 22 experienced, dedicated specialists who identified, sourced, and successfully shortlisted suitable candidates for this high-profile legal team for the past 12 years.
Initial challenges that we experienced were around the salary expectations of quality candidates within the market, however, due to the extensive candidate attraction methods we had available, Search managed to extend our reach and attract the best talent across the UK.
Search conducted an initial search on our extensive candidate database of 30,000 legal professionals and used competitor analysis to identify candidates for contingent headhunting. The aim was to ensure that not only were the qualifications there, but a good fit for the company culture.
Following a successful recruitment campaign, we filled 6 legal roles successfully with an interview-to-placement ratio of 3:1.
3. Consumer goods client
Another client we represent is a $4bn consumer goods company and household name. They were looking to launch expansion plans in the UK and across Europe and approached Search to help replace the UK HR Director with a more experienced European-centric VP of HR to be based in London.
Candidate needed to match the company’s fast-paced and high-performance culture and finding the right person required confidentiality. This meant that Search could not approach candidates at their current site. Instead, Search engaged with top HR professionals who met the specific cultural and operational requirements.
The successful delivery of a candidate led to discussions on additional recruitment projects and the potential to place more mid-to-senior-level roles within the business.
Balance cost savings with long term growth
Cutting recruitment costs shouldn’t mean compromising on talent quality. If you need some advice on where to make cuts or access to a bank of quality candidates, contact Search. We can offer insights into hiring strategies and find a solution that helps you grow as a company. Get in touch today.
