• Recruiters
    • For Recruiters
    • About NPAworldwide
      • About NPAworldwide
      • International Recruiters Network
      • Practice Groups
      • Geographic Areas Facilitate Split Placements
      • Split Placement Network Return on Investment
      • Split Fee Network Leadership
      • Governance of NPAworldwide’s Recruiting Professionals Network
      • Meetings & Events
    • About Membership
      • About Membership
      • 9 Reasons to Join NPAworldwide’s Split Network
      • Group Discounts for NPAworldwide Members
      • Join Our Recruiting Professionals Network
      • Cost of Membership in our Split Fee Recruitment Network
    • Recruiting Resources
      • Recruiting Resources
      • Help
    • Find A Member
  • Employers
    • For Employers
    • About NPAworldwide
      • About NPAworldwide
      • How NPAworldwide Works
      • The Benefits of Working with NPAworldwide Recruiters
    • Services
      • Services
      • Recruiting Resources: Contracting Employees
      • Recruiting Resources: Background Checks
      • Recruiting Resources: Pre-Employment Testing
      • Recruiting Resources: Outplacement
    • Links for Employers
    • Find A Member
  • Job Seekers
    • For Job Seekers
    • About NPAworldwide
      • About NPAworldwide
      • How NPAworldwide Works
      • The Benefits of Working with NPAworldwide Recruiters
      • Trading Groups
    • Career Resources
      • Career Resources
      • Job Seeker Resources
    • Find A Member
  • Job Board
  • Resources
    • Become A Sponsor
  • Blog
    • Independent Recruiting Blog
    • Press Releases
    • Video Testimonials
  • Ready to Apply?
  • Contact Us
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • YouTube
  • Instagram
  • —
  • —
  • —
  • —
NPAworldwide - Global Recruitment Network
  • Recruiters
  • Employers
  • Job Seekers
  • Blog
  • Member Login
NPAworldwide - Global Recruitment Network
Apply Today
  • Navigation
    • Home
    • Recruiters
    • Employers
    • Job Seekers
    • Blog
    • Member Login
    • More
      • Recruiters
        • For Recruiters
        • About NPAworldwide
          • About NPAworldwide
          • International Recruiters Network
          • Practice Groups
          • Split Placement Network Return on Investment
          • Split Fee Network Leadership
          • Governance of NPAworldwide’s Recruiting Professionals Network
          • Meetings & Events
        • About Membership
          • About Membership
          • 9 Reasons to Join NPAworldwide’s Split Network
          • Group Discounts for NPAworldwide Members
          • Join Our Recruiting Professionals Network
          • Cost of Membership in our Split Fee Recruitment Network
        • Recruiting Resources
          • Recruiting Resources
          • Help
        • Find A Member
      • Employers
        • For Employers
        • About NPAworldwide
          • About NPAworldwide
          • How NPAworldwide Works
          • Advantages of Working with NPAworldwide
        • Services
          • Services
          • Recruiting Resources: Contracting Employees
          • Recruiting Resources: Background Checks
          • Recruiting Resources: Pre-Employment Testing
          • Recruiting Resources: Outplacement
        • Links for Employers
        • Find A Member
      • Job Seekers
        • For Job Seekers
        • About NPAworldwide
          • About NPAworldwide
          • How NPAworldwide Works
          • The Benefits of Working with NPAworldwide Recruiters
          • Trading Groups
        • Career Resources
          • Career Resources
          • Job Seeker Resources
        • Find A Member
      • Job Board
      • Resources
        • Become A Sponsor
      • Blog
        • Independent Recruiting Blog
        • Press Releases
        • Video Testimonials
      • Ready to Apply?
      • Contact Us
      • Social Media
        • Facebook
        • Twitter
        • LinkedIn
        • YouTube
        • Instagram
      • International
        • —
        • —
        • —
        • —

In Recruiting, You Get What You Pay For

by Liz Carey

When you have the perfect candidate for an opening your client gave you, but the candidate is at the top end – or higher – than your client’s stated pay scale, it can be hard to convince your client to budge.  But as the saying goes, you get what you pay for.

Poor hires can result in lost productivity and expenses in hiring, recruiting, and training replacements. A survey by the Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM) found that the average cost per hire is just over $4,000.  But, the average cost of a bad hire is up to 30% of the employee’s first-year earnings according to the U.S. Department of Labor. However, The Undercover Recruiter reports bad hires can cost as high as $840,000 in expenses, due to hiring, retention and pay.

So, doesn’t it make sense just to bite the bullet and pay more up front to get that top talent and retain them? Sure, but convincing your client of this may take some work.

In his article, Top Talent: 10 Steps to Attracting and Retaining the Best Employees, the author offers up several tips for companies looking to cultivate high performers, including:

  • Confirm top talent is indeed top talent. Thoroughly assess a candidate to ensure s/he is indeed the top talent you are seeking as otherwise, you may be overpaying for average talent. My experience is certain people have an innate ability to identify top talent but even then, more assessment is warranted. Obtain multiple data points from trusted interviewers. A candidate’s prior experience and achievements are important yet you also need to assess personality and cognitive ability. Consider a more formal, scientific assessment technique as there are many affordable options. Given the high standard you are seeking, consider hiring a professional recruiter who can more quickly provide you a candidate pool which meets this standard.

  • Be prepared to pay top dollar. Top talent often requires top pay. If your company has HR policies and strict budget guidelines which require managers to hire within predefined competitive pay bands, this can be a deterrent to hiring top talent. Find a way to persuade those within the approval process to seek an exception. Even if you hire top talent near the top of a given salary grade, this will become a non-issue when the employee is promoted in the coming years. I submit that the incremental pay difference given to the top 10% of performers versus an average performance is exponentially returned to the organization.

  • Treat hiring people like a major investment. Why? Because it is! It amazes me how sometimes managers are ill prepared to interview candidates and view the hiring process as a lower value administrative process. This is a critical sales process. Assume a salaried employee who earns $60k/year costs $80k/year when benefit costs are included. If the average employee stays at a company for five years, this is a $400k total cost. Approach hiring decisions like you would with a major investment decision.   

There are several other points that the author makes as far as the company engaging and retaining its new top talent, but the four above are crucial to the hiring process, and a qualified independent executive recruiter can help. When you engage an executive recruiter, they can help save you countless hours and reduce turnover costs. Sure, a recruiter will cost money, but think of it this way – due to their in-depth expertise, experience, and network, an executive recruiter will give you a properly-vetted, more qualified, better fit employee.

Tags: recruiting tips | Posted in: Recruiting Resources

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

  • Explore Membership Split-Fee Sample
  • Subscribe to our Blog
  • Recent Posts

    • What We Learned About Leadership From Tom Brady Winning The Super Bowl
    • Lead Generation Tips for Recruiters
    • Preparing for a Post-Covid Turnover Boom
    • Is Candidate Ghosting Damaging Your Candidate Experience?
    • Contingency Recruitment vs. Other Models
  • Press Releases

    • NPAworldwide Members Predict Hiring Uptick
    • Recruiting Network NPAworldwide Adds 9 Locations
    • NPAworldwide Announces 7 New Recruiter Award Recipients
  • Blog Topics

    • What We Learned About Leadership From Tom Brady Winning The Super Bowl
    • Lead Generation Tips for Recruiters
    • Preparing for a Post-Covid Turnover Boom
  • Quick Links

    • For Recruiters
    • For Employers
    • For Job Seekers
    • Apply Today
  • For more than 60 years, NPAworldwide has been connecting independent global recruiting firms to facilitate split placements. NPAworldwide is the oldest recruiting network of its kind, with an international membership of recruiting firms located throughout Europe, Asia, Australia, Africa, and the Americas.
    ©2021 • NPAworldwide
    Privacy Policy