For small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), recruitment can often feel like a never-ending challenge. Finding the right candidates, managing the hiring process, and staying within budget requires significant time, effort, and resources—things many SMEs simply don’t have to spare.
If you’re struggling with recruitment, you’re not alone. Many SMEs are turning to Outsourced Recruitment (RPO) as a smarter, more efficient solution. In this blog, we’ll explore exactly how outsourcing recruitment can help SMEs save time, reduce costs, and ultimately drive business growth.
The Cost of Managing Recruitment In-House
Recruitment is far more time-consuming and costly than many business owners realise. For SMEs, where resources are already stretched, managing recruitment in-house often pulls managers and leaders away from their primary roles.
Here’s a quick breakdown of the time typically spent on each hire:
- Job advert creation and posting: 4-6 hours
- Application reviews and shortlisting: 8-10 hours
- Candidate screening calls: 2-5 hours
- First- and second-stage interviews: 5+ hours
- Offer negotiation and follow-up: 1-2 hours
That’s an average of 20-25 hours per hire—the equivalent of three full working days. If your business is hiring for five roles in a year, you could lose up to 125 hours of valuable time that could be better spent on business growth.
For SMEs with limited HR resources, this creates two major challenges:
- Time lost: Leaders and managers are pulled away from revenue-generating activities.
- Cost impact: The longer a role stays unfilled, the greater the financial strain due to lost productivity.
How TiaTalent’s Outsourced Recruitment Saves You Time
TiaTalent’s RPO service provides SMEs with a dedicated Hiring Manager who takes full ownership of your recruitment process. From writing job descriptions to onboarding new hires, we handle everything so you don’t have to.
Here’s how outsourcing recruitment to TiaTalent saves you time:
- Job advert optimisation: We write and post job descriptions that attract top talent quickly.
- Candidate sourcing and screening: We proactively search for candidates, screen CVs, and conduct initial interviews to ensure only qualified candidates reach your shortlist.
- Interview coordination: We schedule and manage interviews, saving you from endless back-and-forth with candidates.
- Offer management and onboarding: We guide successful candidates through offer negotiation and ensure a smooth onboarding process.
With TiaTalent managing these tasks, you reclaim 20-25 hours per hire—time that can be reinvested into growing your business, supporting your team, and driving revenue.
The Hidden Costs of Traditional Recruitment Agencies
Many SMEs rely on traditional recruitment agencies to fill roles quickly, but the fee-per-hire model can be expensive. Most agencies charge 15-25% of the candidate’s annual salary, which adds up fast for businesses hiring multiple roles.
For example:
- Hiring five employees with an average salary of £30,000 at a 20% fee = £30,000 in recruitment costs.
These high costs are hard for SMEs to justify, particularly when hiring is unpredictable. Traditional agencies also focus on filling roles quickly, which may lead to poor hires, higher turnover, and additional costs in the long run.
How TiaTalent’s RPO Saves You Money
TiaTalent’s Outsourced Recruitment model offers a fixed monthly or annual fee, providing predictable, affordable costs for SMEs. This approach allows businesses to plan recruitment expenses with confidence, eliminating the surprise of large, one-off fees.
Here’s why SMEs save with RPO:
- No per-hire fees: Your monthly fee covers all your recruitment needs, regardless of how many roles you fill.
- Significant savings: Compared to traditional agencies, RPO delivers cost savings of up to 70% for businesses hiring multiple roles.
- Reduced turnover costs: By focusing on cultural fit and quality, we help you hire candidates who stay longer, reducing the financial impact of replacing employees.
For example:
- Hiring five employees with a traditional agency at a 20% fee = £30,000.
- With TiaTalent’s RPO service, you’ll pay a predictable, fixed fee, often less than half the cost.
This budget-friendly solution makes high-quality recruitment support accessible for SMEs without compromising on results.
Why Outsourced Recruitment Is a Smart Move for SMEs
When you outsource recruitment to TiaTalent, you’re not just hiring a recruiter—you’re gaining a strategic partner dedicated to your success.
Here’s what SMEs gain with TiaTalent’s RPO model:
- Time savings: Reclaim up to 25 hours per hire, freeing your team to focus on business growth.
- Cost efficiency: Predictable, fixed costs save money compared to traditional agency fees.
- High-quality hires: Our Hiring Managers prioritise cultural fit and long-term success to reduce turnover.
- Scalability and flexibility: Whether you need occasional hires or a complete team build, our RPO service adapts to your needs.
- End-to-end support: From job descriptions to onboarding, we manage the entire recruitment process seamlessly.
For SMEs juggling limited resources and tight budgets, TiaTalent’s RPO model provides a smarter, more effective way to recruit.
Take the Stress Out of Recruitment with TiaTalent
Recruitment doesn’t have to be time-consuming, costly, or stressful. With TiaTalent’s Outsourced Recruitment (RPO) service, SMEs gain the support they need to attract and hire top talent efficiently and affordably.
If you’re ready to save time, reduce costs, and hire the right people for your business, book a Discovery Call today to learn how TiaTalent can transform your recruitment process.