How to Budget for Your Hiring Process

The hiring process takes time and money. How much time and how much money are key questions businesses need to ask themselves at every phase of their growth. Answering these questions involves discussions around whether your organization is focused on time or money, as well as exploring the opportunity costs associated with the hiring process. But the process begins with having a plan and the budget to support it, and that begins with understanding what creating a plan entails. In this post we will explore the answers to the questions. We will also look at the categories you want to consider if you’re going to craft a budget for your hiring process, which works for your organization. Such categories include:

• Marketing, which can mean job boards and advertising
• External recruiting, for example recruiting agency fees
• The salaries of your hiring team and understanding those costs

Let’s explore this further by starting with the end in mind.

Explore the Time, Money and Opportunity Costs

Saving time or money is not an either or proposition, but a both, and, in which you’re able to factor both time and money into your decision making. And that calls for a plan. A plan isn’t always in place, however, or current, but things happen, organizations grow, new opportunities arise, and when they do we encourage you to ask yourself, what is most important, saving money or time? If time is of the essence, don’t skimp on resources.

The argument for this resides in part on the opportunity costs for the organization. Leaving a job unfilled puts a serious strain on the rest of the team. Teams that are pulled away from their day to day responsibilities to interview dozens of candidates are not being used to their highest capabilities, much less being used efficiently. Furthermore, hiring managers spending a lot of time sifting through resumes or Linkedin isn’t the best use of their time either.

Final Thoughts

How much time and how much money are you prepared to spend to ensure you’re making the best hires for your organization?

These are important questions and as you answer them, be sure to consider the:

1. Opportunity costs for your staff when you engage them in the hiring process;

2. Areas where you want to spend money and the impact of that spending; and

3. Steps you can take that won’t cost you money, but will enhance the steps you budgeted for.

If you need any assistance addressing any of these considerations, please let us know.

Bill Gates