The birth of the internet and job posting websites was a major advancement in the world of recruiting. Many thought that the prospect of posting a job and receiving hundreds or thousands of resumes would promise to solve all problems for recruiters. However, any recruiter with modest experience knows that large numbers of resumes only means more time needed to scan each one to find those with the right skills and experience. The idea of having more choice is attractive, but can you find the best candidate AND hire them before you lose them to a competitor?
Technology recognized the problem and created the Applicant Tracking System (ATS) with the promise to sort resumes using software that sorted resumes based on keywords. The recruiter could then come into work, turn on their workstation, and a pile of relevant resumes was waiting for them. Sounds like a dream, and that is exactly what it was. The reality is that candidates learned to add the right keywords for specific jobs and recruiters found that all the time saved on sorting resumes was lost in the extra time needed to do proper background checks to vet their skills and experience.
The truth is that job posting websites and ATS technology are useful solutions, but certainly not silver bullets. When dealing with human capital, there is no stand-alone solution that will magically fill your empty position with a perfect candidate. Some candidates lie, and time is needed to uncover the truth. Some candidates may not have every skill on your wish list, but time is needed to learn enough about a candidate to know they have the potential to get the job done. And time is needed to get to know candidates to assess cultural and personality fit with your current team. Time is the most common denominator to factor into any recruiting service or tool.
Of course, dollars are pretty important, too. The most successful companies assess Cost Per Hire (CPH) as a traditional benchmark metric forecast recruiting budgets and measure the cost effectiveness of their efforts. The accepted formula among HR professionals is:
CPH = (Internal Costs + External Costs) / Total # of hires in a set time period
This figure differs for every organization because the items included in Internal and External Costs vary widely based on what a company values as essential to their recruitment strategy. Internal costs are typically recruiter wages and the hardware needed to allow them to make good hires. External costs are the job posting websites, ATS technology, background checks, and various innovations that promise to enhance your recruiting process. Finding the right CPH for your company takes experience to know the right balance of internal and external costs essential to find the best candidates for your organization. And to find that balance, let’s take a look at what it really costs to utilize a few of the popular offerings out there.
JOB POSTING WEBSITES
Of the hundreds of job posting websites, we took a look at 3 of the most popular websites: Monster, Workopolis, and Indeed.
MONSTER
Cost/posting: $605 (Single posting for 30 days). Price is based on the number of postings purchased with a ceiling of $385/posting when 25+ postings are purchased as a package.
WORKOPOLIS
Cost/posting: $595 (Single posting for an undisclosed period of time, presumably at least 30 days). It is important to note that a posting at this price does not allow you to add your company logo, become a “featured” posting on Workopolis’ job seeker homepage, and also does not allow “job bolding” to highlight your posting in bold font. These features in a single posting make the cost for a single job posting jump to $795.
INDEED
Cost/posting: FREE. Yes, posting a position on Indeed is actually free. However, it is important to note that Indeed is essentially a job search engine that makes you compete with job postings for the same position with competitors. You can pay to “Sponsor” your posting so that it appears at the top of a job postings search and you pay per click, identical to Google’s Adwords. Each click on your posting charges your account anywhere from an average of $0.25 – $1.50 per click (even if the applicant does not submit a resume).
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Using job posting websites will always be the staple of the small business that cannot afford to spend large amounts on ATS technology. Large companies that isolate recruiting to individual stores or offices will also use them if hiring needs are less than 50 employees per year. While you are able to cast a wide net, be ready to put in the time to sort resumes, conduct employment references and background checks, and conduct multiple interviews to sniff out any inconsistencies with what a candidate writes on their resumes
APPLICANT TRACKING SYSTEMS
ATS solutions do not proactively provide costs for their technology because ATS technology is typically designed for large companies that have constant hiring needs in very large numbers. They are designed with components, kind of like buying a car and choosing what options you want. Pricing is usually provided through custom quotes, which consider what components are purchased, and then based on either number of employees in the client company or the number of users that will actually use the software. And like car shopping, there is a range from Skodas to Mercedes Benz.
Siftery.com is a company whose mission is to uncover the true costs of software and technology by analyzing data provided by anonymous, actual users. They released interesting date in their ATS Pricing Benchmarks survey which showed an average cost of $3000/yr for companies with less than 10 employees, up to over $125,000/yr for companies with over 5000+ employees. Regardless of how intimidating these costs can look, it is hard to conceive any company succeeding in hiring great candidates without an ATS to at least sort resumes, track the hiring process, and store data compiled on each candidate.
ALL-IN-ONE SOLUTIONS (Recruitment Outsourcing Solutions providers)
One significant truth about technology is that while it can save time, it can take time to learn how to use it. And then it takes more time to learn to implement it to maximum efficiency. That requires the proper human capital meaning having recruiters that either have extensive experience with the software used in your company or paying the money to receive training and support from your technology provider.
In today’s world of endless technology, Recruitment Outsourcing Solutions (ROS) providers have grown in popularity because they deliver an all-in-one solution. They typically solve both the technology and human capital problems by providing recruiting teams that are highly proficient with the newest technology. As an added bonus, they can help your company navigate the constantly evolving online world that has made social media competence an integral part of managing your company’s brand in order to attract the right candidates to your job posting.
Mindfield is an innovative ROS provider that has taken recruiting services to a new level. Specializing in hourly employees, Mindfield provides a complete recruiting life-cycle service from designing and publishing a job posting to presenting qualified, exceptional candidates ready for your hiring manager to make a final decision. Vetting through resumes, reference checks, and initial phone screening is also provided to further save you time in the recruitment cycle. We even utilize behavioural assessments built into the application process to further ensure that the candidates we present to you are simply the best that are available.
The cost of a Mindfield Outsourced Recruiting Solution is based on your job type, the number of positions you are looking to fill, and the location of the jobs you are looking to recruit for. Our custom-built pricing will save you time and money when compared to the cost of a basic recruitment program consisting of a job board program paired alone. Our experience and buying power allow us to offer all of our customers an executive level search for all hourly employees.
