.png)
Around 62% of companies expect their hiring volume to rise, but only 42% say their recruitment budget will increase. Once again, HR is going to be asked to do more with less. Asking for additional budget, even for a program you really could use, can be daunting. So it’s crucial to be prepared.
62% of companies expect their hiring volume to rise, but not their budget. Read more:
When asking for a larger recruiting budget, it’s important not to rely on off-the-cuff estimations. You must do your research, prove the importance of the proposed budget and fashion an irresistible pitch. These steps will do far, far more to win over C-Level executives, free up a larger budget and give you the ability to hire talent that will make a difference.
Do Your Research
Need help with looking at and analyzing the numbers? Have a chat with your finance and operations teams. Ask them big picture questions to gain a better idea of some realistic numbers and goals to set. For example, let’s say a typical Marketing Coordinator brings $1 million into your sales pipeline and your demand generation team is tasked with contributing $4 million in additional pipeline for the upcoming quarter. Using the information you have, you can see you will need to hire three more Marketing Coordinators to hit that specific goal.
You will need to dig deeper into your current recruiting metrics as well. How much does it cost to get a single job application? What is your average cost-per-hire from each individual recruitment channel? Taking a thorough look into this data will set the stage for additional budget requests.
Find out how to calculate cost-per-hire the right way.
Justify the Proposed Budget
Knowing and understanding your business’ cost-per-hire from each recruitment channel will help you optimize your existing recruiting budget, as well as justify the need for a larger budget for channels that are performing the best. Suppose a job board is performing well and delivering high quality applications, it’s important to emphasize how you will spend money here. Asking for budget becomes a whole lot easier when you have numbers to backup the top-performing source of your recruitment efforts.
Need a larger recruiting budget, but management says no? Find out how to convince them:
Now, it’s time for you to put on your marketing hat. One of the biggest recruitment budget helpers is a strong employer brand. Showing off a great company culture, mission and work/life balance will amplify recruiting efforts year-round. Achieve this by having a space on your career page showing candidates an inside look at what it’s like to work for your company, including everything from the benefits you offer to photos of what’s going on in the company. Encourage your current employees to show off company life and leave reviews on Facebook and Google. In an EBI employer brand report it was found that good employer brand can lower recruiting costs by 22%, so this step is crucial to proving you’re serious about getting a larger recruiting budget.
Are you tracking these 3 recruitment funnel metrics?
Make the C-Level Pitch
Your top executives want facts and real-world metrics, so your pitch should be fiscally-minded. The business case should be, “If we spend X amount more money on recruiting additional hires next quarter, we will be able to deliver X amount in sales, business or bookings in the quarter following.”
Keep the momentum going by showing how you took the time to look at the numbers and analyzed how a larger recruiting budget would affect the business in a positive manner. Top executives are always looking for ways to reduce costs where they can and spend money on what matters most, so it’s up to you to prove that hiring the right employees matters most.
It’s not easy to get your nerves together to ask for a budget increase, but imagine the payoff if your wish is granted. Craft a smart, detailed proposal full of numbers and strategies that prove why your budget increase means improvement throughout the company as a whole.
Recent Posts:
