Recruitment Taking Up Too Much Time? Here’s How to Outsource It Efficiently

Have you ever looked at the clock in the office and realised that you've already spent half a day on recruitment? While you'd prefer to be doing other tasks, you're screening CVs, conducting interviews, and checking references. External hiring takes a lot of time and that's a reality many business owners struggle with.

Did you know that recruitment takes an average of 23 hours per vacancy? And that's only the time you actually spend on the recruitment process. Add in preparation time, administration, and aftercare, and you're quickly spending days on a single vacancy.

Not enough time for recruitment is a problem for many organisations. You want to grow, you need extra expertise, but where do you find the time to find the right people?

Why has recruitment become so time-consuming?

Some causes of a lengthy recruitment process include:

• Writing job descriptions
• Posting vacancies on various platforms
• Screening dozens of CVs
• Conducting initial interviews
• Performing reference checks
• Contract negotiations
• Administrative processing

Do you recognise this scenario? You post a vacancy and are flooded with responses. But 80% of the candidates don't meet the basic requirements. You spend hours eliminating unsuitable candidates before you even get to the interesting profiles.

In the current job market, there are several factors that make recruitment extra time-consuming, including the tight labour market. In a tight labour market, finding staff can be a challenging process; after all, you are competing with other employers for the same candidates. This highlights the importance of attracting and convincing the right talent.

Increased expectations of candidates and digital complexity

Candidates have become more critical. They expect a professional recruitment experience, quick feedback, and transparency about the process. This requires more attention and time on your part.

Paradoxically, all the digital tools sometimes make recruitment more complex. You want to be present on LinkedIn, Indeed, your own website, and dozens of other platforms, and each platform has its own rules and optimisations.

Have you ever calculated what recruitment really costs you?

Not just the hours you spend, but the opportunity costs also make recruitment a significant investment. While you're busy screening CVs, you're missing out on revenue, strategic projects are put on hold, and innovation lags behind.

Let's make it concrete. Suppose you earn €100 per hour as an entrepreneur and spend 25 hours on a vacancy. Then that vacancy costs you €2,500 of your own time. Add to that:

1. Cost of job board postings (€300-800)
2. Time of other team members for interviews (€500-1000)
3. Possible hiring of recruitment agency for difficult vacancies (€3000-8000)

What if you had spent those 25 hours on client acquisition or product improvement? The opportunity costs could be much higher than the direct costs.

Signs that it's time to get help with finding staff

Do you recognise yourself in one of these situations?

• You've had an open vacancy for months without success
• You spend more than 20% of your time on recruitment activities
• Your team complains about workload because positions aren't being filled
• You've hired the wrong candidate several times
• You miss deadlines because you're spending too much time on recruitment

These are clear signs that you need help with recruiting staff. And that's not a sign of weakness!

Strategic outsourcing as a solution

What if you could outsource recruitment to experts who can do it better and faster? At HeadFirst, we believe in the power of specialisation. You focus on your core business, and we ensure you find the right people.

With our Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO) service, we take over the entire recruitment process. From vacancy analysis to contract, we handle it all.

What does this mean for you? You save time on CV screening, your recruitment runs faster, you get better candidates, and you fully comply with employment law.

Total Talent Management

Our Total Talent Management approach goes a step further. We look not only at your immediate recruitment needs but at your entire talent strategy. Thus, we connect permanent and flexible hiring for the right mix. 

Questions we ask:

• What skills will you need in 2 years?
• Can certain roles be better filled by external experts?
• How can we make the most of your existing team?

With our Managed Service Provider (MSP) service, these questions are tackled. Instead of communicating with ten different agencies, you have one point of contact. We manage your entire external workforce and ensure you always have the right people at the right time, in the right mix (permanent and flexible). The benefits are measurable! Time savings for your HR team, cost savings through better negotiating positions, and a faster time to hire.

Need temporary fulfillment of a crucial role?

In case of illness, leave, or during an organisational transition, HeadFirst quickly provides seasoned professionals who add value immediately. With our Interim Management service, you gain senior expertise without long-term commitments.

This approach is ideal for project assignments, offers solutions for temporary reinforcements, and allows you to explore new roles without risk. You benefit from flexibility, decisiveness, and visible results.

Ready to make the switch? Follow this practical step-by-step plan

The pressure on recruitment is increasing, while time, capacity, and specialist knowledge are often lacking. Whether you want to get a grip on your processes or are considering (partially) outsourcing: a well-thought-out approach is essential. With this step-by-step plan, you take the first concrete steps towards more efficient, effective recruitment.

Step 1: Analyse your current situation

• How much time do you spend weekly on recruitment?
• What are your average costs per hire?
• How long does it take for a vacancy to be filled?

Step 2: Identify your pain points

• Where do you get stuck in the process?
• Which steps take the most time?
• Where do you make the most mistakes?

Step 3: Determine your outsourcing strategy

• Which parts of recruitment do you want to outsource?
• What do you want to keep in-house?
• What is your budget for external assistance?

Step 4: Choose the right partner

• Look for a partner with proven expertise
• Ask for references and case studies
• Ensure a good cultural fit

By following these steps, you lay a solid foundation for your recruitment strategy. You make deliberate choices, avoid ad-hoc solutions, and work towards sustainable improvement. Ready to start? HeadFirst is happy to help you on your way.

What happens when you outsource recruitment structurally? 

By outsourcing recruitment, you save valuable time and strengthen your organisation with expertise that delivers immediate results. Recruitment professionals have access to hidden talent pools, up-to-date insights on labour law and compliance, extensive networks, and powerful tools and technology.

Are you ready to gain time and quality? It all starts with recognising that recruitment is a profession in its own right. The next step is choosing a partner who realises your ambitions with knowledge, network, and decisiveness. HeadFirst has everything needed to fulfill that role. Ask yourself: what could you achieve if you had an extra 25 hours each month to focus on your core activities? The answer shows exactly why smart organisations choose strategic outsourcing.