Get in touch

Jump To:

85%

of companies still actively hiring despite recession fears (CFO.com).

11%

Companies that rely solely on cutting down their workforce during a downturn have only an 11% chance of achieving breakaway performance once the crisis is over (HBR).

underline

5 Benefits Of Using A Flexible Recruitment Solution

For many, the immediate instinct is to freeze hiring and focus on cost-saving measures such as cutting overheads, postponing projects, and even making layoffs. But as we’ve discussed in a recent article, “How To Use A Market Slowdown To Optimize Your Recruitment Processes,” – we think that’s a bad idea. 

In this article, we’ll discuss why during times of economic uncertainty is the perfect time to onboard a flexible talent partner — such as Talentful. We’ll share some of the benefits of using a flexible recruitment solution during a recession and explain why it’s a more financially prudent decision than increasing your internal talent team. 

What is a flexible recruitment solution?

A flexible recruitment solution is a talent acquisition model that involves outsourcing all or part of your recruitment process to an external team of experts. It’s a type of RPO, or recruitment process outsourcing. But crucially, it’s also flexible enough for you to scale your recruitment up and down according to your changing needs. This makes this model the perfect solution for times of economic uncertainty, when you’re not sure what the next 6–12 months will look like.

1. Reduced Costs & Increased ROI On Your Recruitment Spend

Many companies that want to survive the recession will have to cut costs. And investing in an external talent partner might seem like one of those extra expenses you should be cutting. However, it could actually help you to save money when compared to increasing your in-house team. 

The expertise that an external partner will bring to your organization can help you to reduce cost-per-hire. That means you’ll get more value for every recruitment dollar you spend.

Plus, the pricing models that flexible partners such as Talentful offer mean you’ll only pay for what you use. That means no more wasting money on resources you no longer need when hiring slows down.


2. Scalable Support That Helps You Navigate Uncertainty

In the current economic climate, you might not know right now what your hiring needs will look like in six months or a year. That makes it difficult to effectively plan resources and shape your internal talent acquisition team. After all, you don’t want to hire, onboard, and train a ton of recruiters only to have to lay them off down the line. 

With a flexible recruitment partner such as Talentful, you can simply scale your recruitment resources up and down in line with your changing hiring needs. You won’t waste money on resources you don’t need in slower periods, and you’ll be able to quickly scale back up once the economy recovers.


3. A Dedicated Team Taking A Data-Driven Approach

Understandably, recruitment is not always top of mind during a recession. But continuing to recruit for strategic roles could be key to surviving and even thriving once the economy returns to normal. 

Working with an external recruitment partner gives you access to a dedicated team of talent acquisition professionals who will work solely on your business, wherever you need the support, from sourcing to recruiting to talent operations. This will free up your internal teams to focus on other strategic initiatives.

Opting for a solution like Talentful also means you’ll benefit from a data-driven approach to talent acquisition. Our expert recruitment partners will closely track and monitor market data, using this to inform your strategy. In a situation where conditions can change rapidly, this could be crucial to success. 


4. Access To New & Unexpected Talent Pools

The rise in remote work over the past two years has broken down borders when it comes to accessing top talent. The perfect candidate’s location is no longer (necessarily) a deciding factor in your hiring decisions. 

However, sourcing global talent isn’t easy — especially without expert support. Talent acquisition experts can tap into unexpected talent pools that you may not be able to access on your own. And this doesn’t just help you to find top talent: you may even be able to cut costs by targeting geographical areas where demand is lower for hard-to-fill or high-value roles.


5. The Power To Leverage Technology To Its Full Potential

Talent acquisition technology is constantly evolving. But in times of economic difficulty, companies need to be sure they’ll see a big ROI before they invest in a new tool. 

When you work with a talent partner, they’ll bring the deep knowledge and expertise needed to help you optimize your existing technologies. They can also help you to make strategic decisions and put your money in the right places when you’re investing in new tools. Even better: at Talentful, all of the recruitment tools that our experts use to source you top talent are included in our pricing — with no hidden costs.


Flexible RPO Recruitment Vs. In-House: What’s The Advantage?

In normal circumstances, there are some advantages to keeping your recruitment in-house. For one thing, your internal team is automatically closer to your company’s culture, mission, and values, and better placed to make hires based on these factors. Keeping everything internal also allows you to maintain control of your employer branding, communications, and candidate experience — which isn’t always possible with an external agency. 

Here’s the thing, though: when you opt for an embedded solution like Talentful, you keep all of those benefits. Our experts act as a fully integrated part of your team, which gives them inside access to your company culture. They’ll also work with you to hone your sourcing, recruitment, and selection processes, so you won’t lose control of your branding or CX. 

And in an economic downturn, there’s another advantage to using a subscription-based partner instead of increasing your internal team: you don’t need to try and predict the future and end up having to make painful layoffs down the road. The whole point of a flexible solution is that it’s flexible — it can expand and contract as you need it to. 


The Storm Will Pass & Your Business Needs To Be Prepared

According to data from after the Great Recession of 2007–2009, companies that rely solely on cutting down their workforce during a downturn have only an 11% chance of achieving breakaway performance once the crisis is over. 

While a looming recession feels scary, it will be over one day. And companies that remained calm, planned ahead, and continued to drive growth will be at a huge advantage over those who didn’t. It might be tempting to freeze hiring and focus entirely on cost-cutting measures. But the recession could actually be the perfect time to optimize your recruitment processes by onboarding a strategic partner. That way, you’ll be ready to ramp up hiring as soon as the storm passes.


Talentful: Your Flexible Recruiting Partner

Talentful is not a recruitment agency. And we’re a bit different from a traditional RPO provider too. We call our solution embedded recruitment. 

As an RPO provider would do, we act as a strategic partner, advising our clients on best practices and using our expertise to help them build effective processes. Unlike with traditional RPO recruitment, we embed ourselves fully into every organization we work with. This allows our experts to learn about your culture and build productive relationships with your internal team. Ultimately, this creates a more efficient hiring process and helps you secure the best talent. 

The best part? Our solution is flexible — which means you won’t be stuck paying for internal recruiters you can’t afford if the worst happens. With Talentful, you can slow down recruitment when you need to — and we’ll be ready to ramp back up at a moment’s notice once the situation improves.

Want to learn more about Talentful? Get in touch to arrange a call with one of our experts.

Subscribe For Updates From Talentful