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There are a growing number of companies who are recruiting alone via the use of job boards as a way to lower their HR/Recruitment spend.  The reasoning behind this is logical; posting adverts on job boards initially seems like a cost effective way to source candidates, especially in our buoyant employment market.  But unfortunately, many employers are finding out about the shortfalls of going alone and the costs involved with getting it wrong.

It is important to remember job boards only assist with one element of the recruitment model – that is sourcing candidates.  Other key elements, such as screening, short listing, interviewing and reference checking are left to the employer to fund and manage themselves.

To help you understand exactly what the risks are when recruiting alone, let’s look at the steps typically involved when recruiting staff.

Sourcing candidates:

Once an advert is posted, CV’s from applicants who’ve deemed themselves suitable will start arriving.  These CV’s are by no means pre-qualified; the experience listed has not been validated.  While screening these applicants CV’s – these have to be taken at face-value.  There are a number of applicants applying for roles, and quite often they are unsuitable.  People are resorting to sending out ‘blanket’ applications in their efforts to find work.

Keep in mind is that a job board advert only provides you with a snap-shot of the candidates on the market at a certain time.  The risk is run that other talented professionals will be missed.  Also, when times are tight, the lowest performing employees will be pushed out first, which means there is generally a lower level calibre of candidates frequenting job boards.

This is not always the case; there are a number of talented professionals who have been affected by re-structures and retrenchments.  These people too visit job boards to source roles, and some lucky employers will come across these people when recruiting alone to fill their roles.  It’s important to remember that these people don’t often spend a lot of time on the employment market.  These success stories are definitely a reality, but unfortunately, they are limited.

Short listing / Interviewing

The next key steps are short listing and interviewing suitable applicants.  For many companies with HR personnel this is not a problem.  However, for smaller businesses, without dedicated HR staff, this stage can be miss-handled.  If the interviewer does not ask the right questions to determine whether the candidate will be able to perform the tasks required and whether they will have a good ‘team-fit’ with existing staff members – the wrong person will be hired.

Reference checking

Then we come to the all-important reference checking stage.  Reference checking will often uncover whether the candidate correctly/honestly compiled their CV, however, at this point much time has already been invested into screening, short listing and interviewing candidates.  Reference checks, if done correctly will provide an employer with the information they need to justify offering the successful candidate the role.

Is there a better option?

With Crackerjacks – we provide a safety net so you don’t have to walk the tightrope of recruiting alone.  And at the same time, our fees are only a tad more expensive than what job-board adverting costs.  Click here to see more information on our pricing model. The fresh new approach we take with contract recruitment means that companies are supported right from the start (sourcing candidates) through to the end of the process where the candidate is engaged.

So what is Crackerjacks?  We are an HR tool that services the professional contracting industry.  What we are not is a job board pretending to be a recruitment agency.  Because Crackerjacks presents the business community with a whole new approach to HR/Recruitment – we can deliver a comprehensive solution that will save your business time and money.  Inevitably we take the hassle out of contract recruitment by providing a savvy online tool and support system so you don’t run the risk of getting it wrong when recruiting.

Why are Crackerjacks better?

Crackerjacks provide businesses with a pre-qualified database of professional contractors they have direct access too 24/7.  Our talent pool holds over 2,500 candidates, and our rating system means that every individual that appears in searches have had at least one reference check completed.   This means your recruitment can be put on the fast track, while not compromising on the quality of candidates.

Our network of Support Partners means that you will have a dedicated Account Manager helping you along each step of the way, just to make sure you get it right and to also get you accustomed with the Crackerjacks system.

The benefits of Crackerjacks are clear – you can go direct with your recruitment while enjoying the reassurance of having Crackerjacks assisting you each step of the way.