Recruitment Agency Crib Sheet: How to Reduce Costs

New Year, new financial resolutions. Paying attention to the detail is one way to ensure your recruitment business thrives in 2014. Here’s how recruitment agencies can cut costs without driving down quality or competitiveness in what remains a challenging industry sector.

Utility Savings

Your office may be small but you still pay out a lot of money each year to heat it and light it. The Carbon Trust says that British companies could, as a whole, save around £300 million a year by taking simple steps to reduce consumption of energy. You may think about how you can save money on your home heating and lighting but are you forgetting your recruitment business? Outlay some capital on increased energy efficiency – LED lights, new bulbs, and energy efficient heating systems. You can also remember to turn your computers off at night – this represents a surprisingly large cost saving throughout the year, not counting the energy you save as a company.

In addition, stop sending packets through the post and start sending “large letters” - redesign products or packaging so it fits this Royal Mail size. Better still, cut down on the amount of physical mail you send. Invest in systems that streamline your operations and take paper out of the equation – payroll is one department that will benefit from this cost-saving exercise.

Staffing Costs

While you’re focused on the staffing needs of other companies, don’t forget to look at your own personnel costs. If someone leaves, don’t replace them immediately unless you know they are absolutely crucial to the running of your recruitment agency. Sometimes you find that other staff take on aspects of the role because they want to progress their own careers – you could hire a more junior person at a reduced cost instead of automatically replacing like-for-like. This is particularly important if you are just starting up - setting up a recruitment agency is expensive and if you can reduce your overheads by thinking smart about staff, all the better.

Freeze Non-essential Purchases

Take a look at the areas where you spend money every year and suspend the buying if you are looking to reduce your outgoings. For example, the stationery bill is often high and stationery purchases can be put on hold for a month without significantly compromising the running of your agency – your staff generally find hidden stockpiles of envelopes or post-its when they have to.

Outsource Debt Chasing

Chasing unpaid bills and waiting for clients to pay up is a drain on any recruitment business. By outsourcing this area of the business to a specialist you free-up time, reduce stress, and also give yourself more working capital to grow the company and innovate in other areas. You can also save money that you would spend dipping into your overdraft, or incurring interest charges. Instead of chasing bad payers you can focus on the positive clients you are nurturing. For more advice on keeping costs down with your recruitment business, you can look at sites such as: http://www.startupsimply.co.uk/.