Bringing in an engineering recruitment agency is a worthwhile investment to attract the industry’s top talent, particularly as companies look to quickly bounce back following the COVID-19 pandemic.
A top engineering recruitment agency does cost some money, but have you ever considered the total cost of hiring an engineer? What about the cost of hiring a bad engineer?
In this post, the professionals at PHM Search will break down the many ways a top engineering recruitment agency saves you time and cuts down on common costs associated with the hiring process while ensuring you bring in the best possible engineering applicants.
1. In-house hiring expenses can add up while trying to fill engineering jobs
There are some serious costs associated with in-house employee recruiting and hiring. Actual costs obviously vary from company to company, but you should consider exactly how many resources you’re devoting to something that could be outsourced and delegated to dedicated professionals.
Costs associated with in-house engineer recruitment include:
Costs to fill an engineering job will depend on the salary level of the new employee and the salaries of others involved in the hiring process. A study found that the average cost to replace an employee that makes $8 per hour is nearly $9,500 per turnover. Higher-skilled employees cost much more to replace - roughly $125,000 to fill a job at a technology company, for example.
For companies that are trying to rebound following the COVID-19 pandemic, these extra expenses can have an even bigger impact on your company’s operating budget.
2. Engineering job openings that remain vacant make it harder to stay productive
Leaving an engineering job unfilled jeopardizes your team’s overall ability to complete assignments and take on new, more profitable projects. Missed opportunity costs can equate to thousands of dollars your company passes up, which means vacant engineering positions are slowly dragging your company’s bottom line lower and lower.
Even teams comprised of the best and brightest engineers need to have enough people to evenly distribute the workload and prevent burnout from overworking, especially as businesses bounce back after the pandemic. Meanwhile, competing companies that are able to complete more projects not only take business away from your team, but also become more appealing to your overworked employees who may be eager to advance their careers at a more productive workplace.
If your company is chronically understaffed, it not only impacts your company’s ability to complete the projects it has, but also its ability to grow and expand.
3. Engineering jobs that aren’t filled with qualified employees drain your company
The engineer hiring process can get tricky, and busy managers who also need to focus on vetting and hiring new engineers can easily get overwhelmed and overlook portions of an applicant’s resume.
Employees that aren’t properly vetted and end up being under-qualified for their position can drag the morale of your entire team down. Managers are then put in a position of either starting the recruitment process all over again, or investing in additional training to get the employee up to speed.
Meanwhile, the members of your team are frustrated that they need to either train or work harder to make up for the new hire’s shortcomings. It also makes other jobs at more established companies look much more appealing to your experienced employees, leading to even more employee turnover for your staff.
Spending more than you need to hire new employees can quickly drain your company of time and resources, but what does an engineering recruitment team have to offer that your staff does not?
1. Tried and true negotiation skills that attract the top engineering talent
Engineer recruitment teams are masters at scoping out applicants with the right skillsets and effectively attracting those individuals to your company.
Engineer recruiters are a neutral party who can advocate for your company as well as the applicant. They can objectively present the job duties, growth potential, and employee perks to the applicant and relay feedback to your team.
2. Recruiters are knowledgeable and have domain authority of a highly technical engineering industry
The top engineer recruitment firms have years of experience and a wide range of knowledge about what engineers do that make it easier for them to match the best candidates to the right jobs.
Such recruiters are able to discuss an applicant’s unique qualifications in detail and give them a sense that their skills and experience are valuable. Meanwhile, agency recruiters develop a strong sense of how applicants stack up against one another and have a complete understanding of the available talents available in an industry.
3. Engineer recruiters have a deep commitment to relationship management throughout the hiring process
Hiring skilled employees takes time and finesse. You can attract candidates with a great job description and company perks, but it’s important to quickly cultivate a meaningful relationship with candidates to keep them engaged throughout a lengthy hiring and vetting process.
If a candidate does not feel a strong connection during the hiring process, they can easily pull themselves out of the conversations and leave you back at square one. At that point, you’ve likely already sunk time and costs into the candidate and will need to spend those resources all over again with another, perhaps less-qualified, candidate.
Engineer recruiters take time to strategize relationship management and have systems in place to keep candidates engaged throughout the hiring process so they feel that their application is swiftly moving forward. In-house hiring teams may be full of amazing people, but they may not have the luxury of time to build value-driven candidate relationships.
4. Recruiters eliminate the need to subscribe to job boards
Did you know that half of all job applications come from job boards, yet nearly two-thirds of recruiters say they lack skilled and qualified job applicants?
Engineering jobs are generally very appealing, and your recruitment team can get inundated with resumes and applications within a few days of posting an open position to a major job board.
However, these job boards do little to nothing to vet out unqualified applicants and often do not attract highly skilled engineers.
So, while it may seem that your subscription to job boards may be yielding lots of great results because your inbox is full of eager applicants, you’re likely missing out on more qualified individuals who do not rely on job boards for employment.
Many of the best candidates are a bit harder to track down. They may be already employed somewhere else, completing an advanced degree, or moving to the area from somewhere else. Recruiters maintain a finger on the pulse of the engineering talent pool and can reach out to engineers on your company’s behalf who they know would be outstanding candidates for your opportunity.
5. Engineer recruiters reduce the number of declined offers
Imagine you’ve made it through the entire hiring process with a great job candidate and you’re eager to make them an offer. You call the applicant with the good news and present them with an offer that you feel is fair, but they decline.
Declined offers can cost your company thousands of dollars and hours of hard work.
Candidates decline job offers for lots of reasons. Perhaps they present a counteroffer that you weren’t expecting, you didn’t negotiate your offer to the fullest potential, or they received a better offer from another employer.
Recruiters are skilled negotiators and can objectively listen to a candidate’s wants and needs to help create a job offer that will appeal to them.
PHM Search has been recruiting engineers in Canada and the U.S. since 2001. Our team has shifted to remote engineering recruitment efforts as we continue to grow and evolve along with the rest of the engineering industry.
If your current recruitment strategy is not leading to the results you want, consider reaching out to us to discuss your hiring options.
Visit our Client Services page to learn about how we can future-proof your business to recruit the best talent for your company so you can collectively move forward from the pandemic.