Talent teams are working harder than ever, trying to do more with less and drive greater returns on investment to their organization. Competition is fierce these days, to attract and retain the best talent, talent teams need to stay on top of the latest trends and find new solutions to help them reach, attract, and engage talent.

However, given the current economic climate and increasing competition for skilled candidates, budgets are shrinking, and ROI has become even more critical. In this blog post, we will discuss best practices for planning, adjusting, and communicating the ROI of your TA budget to gain buy-in from the C-suite and maximize value from your vendors.

Creating a talent acquisition budget that includes flexibility

When allocating your TA budget, you need to leave some room for flexibility. One way you can do this is by not spending all your budget at once. It's essential to spread spending across different quarters to ensure that you have enough resources to engage candidates all year round. 

Additionally, having a flexible budget allows you to pivot when conditions change suddenly. For example, if you experience a spike in hiring needs, you can use your reserve budget to attract top talent.

This flexible budget can also be used for experimentation and A/B testing. As growth marketing principles and tactics are increasingly being adopted by talent teams, a key part of implementing these tactics is having a budget for regular experimentation and testing with new platforms, tactics or ideas.

Gaining buy-in from the C-Suite

A budget that is not approved by the C-suite is doomed to fail. Therefore, it's critical to explain the importance of TA to your business goals and how investing in recruitment activities impacts ROI. 

Always provide data to support your strategy. For example, studies have shown that companies with excellent employer brands have a 50% lower cost per hire compared to those with a poor employer brand. Showcasing such facts can help you justify your budget and gain buy-in from the C-suite, but it’s just as important to measure and validate your own results against these insights.

Maximizing value from your HR tech vendors

Working with vendors can help you optimize your recruitment strategies. Vendors provide specialized services such as job advertising, candidate sourcing, and employer branding. However, working with too many vendors can cause your budget to skyrocket.

Additionally, other costs like recruitment agencies can quickly blow out the cost of each new hire

For example, a platform like Outhire can provide a full talent marketing stack, with features like:

• Job description insights;

• Employer Branding content calendar;

• Video and written employee brand content;

• Automated, optimized social media job campaigns;

• Direct reach into professional communities to source talent;

• Light ATS functionality to manage candidates and re-engage your talent database; and

• Video applications and screening.

Therefore, it's essential to consolidate your activities with a few trusted vendors who can provide you with the best possible value. 

Measuring and communicating ROI

Tracking your recruitment activities is essential to understand your ROI. It's essential to measure metrics such as cost-per-hire, time-to-hire, and source of hire to evaluate the success of your recruitment activities. 

Gathering this data can help you identify areas where you need to adjust your strategies to optimize your ROI. Additionally, communicating your ROI to stakeholders such as the C-suite and your team is crucial to showcase the impact of recruitment on your business goals. 

When it comes to measuring your ROI, it’s essential to frame this in the context of what matters for C-Suite. As a business unit, talent needs to understand where they impact the objectives of their business. Fundamentally, things will always come down to profit. Since talent is not a revenue-generating team, they will impact profits by reducing costs or operating more efficiently with the budgets they have.

Final thoughts

At the end of the day, planning, adjusting, and communicating the ROI of your TA budget require strategic thinking and open communication with stakeholders. It's essential to have a flexible budget, gain buy-in from the C-suite, maximize value from vendors, and measure and communicate your ROI to optimize your recruitment strategies. 

By following these best practices, you can ensure that your recruitment activities are aligned with your business goals and provide a positive impact on your bottom line.

If you’re looking for a comprehensive talent marketing solution that drives your budget further, book a demo of Outhire today!

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