The cost of hiring new talent is very easy to calculate but have you considered the cost of unfilled position?  There is an ongoing war for talent in Ireland at the moment and hiring managers are to the pin of their collar to find, attract and retain talent for their businesses.  Vacant seats in your organisation is a real cost financially but also poses larger problems that need to be considered.

Direct Fee Earning staff

If your vacancy is for a role that is directly fee earning such as sales or a billable role, the cost is obvious. For every day the role is not filled, there is the measurable, direct cost of unearned income.

Threat to existing staff

So, you think you have a problem now?  How would you cope if you lose more staff? Existing staff will have to pick up the slack if roles are left unfilled.  Workload on the business doesn’t fall off just because you are down an employee, even though it might if the situation goes on for too long.  This in turn leads to these employees being overworked and eventual burnout and a real risk that you will lose them as the situation is not sustainable.

Opportunity lost

As less staff have to cover more bases, existing staff are pulled in different directions and  potential to attract more clients, solve more problems, drive more initiatives and contribute more ideas are all minimised which in turn impacts the business’ overall performance.

So what can you do?

Plan for the future

Think ahead about who you may  need in the medium term and have a plan around where you will find them.  Take the pressure off and advertise the roles nice and early.

Tap into a wider market

Do you go back to the same well all the time?   A lot of us fear change and old habits die hard but the labour market is changing and what has worked before won’t necessarily work going forward.  Consider new talent pools.  If existing methods aren’t working, try new ones.

Embrace diversity and inclusion

It is now widely accepted that diversity in the workplace is not only the right thing to do but also makes great business sense.  If your business is looking a little ‘pale, male and stale’, it’s time to take a look at your hiring practises and see are you looking for the right talent.

Examine your company brand

How do others perceive your business as a place to work?  How you treat your existing employees will be the first yardstick future candidates look to when considering a role with you.  Investing in employee welfare is crucial to attracting talent and free snacks and lunchtime pilates is no longer enough.  The top benefit employees are looking for is flexibility so if you can offer this, you are way ahead of the field.  Happy workers are much more productive so this is one way to reduce cost and make a real difference to employee satisfaction levels.

If you are considering hiring, we’d love to help – visit FinanceTalent.ie or contact Jane on janedownes@financetalent.ie