One of the most common objections we hear when discussing our Talent Partnership Subscription is:
“We don’t recruit enough to make it worthwhile.”
It’s a reasonable concern.
After all, many organisations don’t begin the year expecting to hire ten or more people. Budgets are planned, growth forecasts are made and recruitment often seems relatively predictable.
But in reality, hiring rarely follows the plan.
Earlier this year, we spoke with a business about their recruitment strategy and introduced our Subscription Model.
At the time, they felt it wasn’t the right fit.
Their concern was that they wouldn’t recruit enough people throughout the year to justify the commitment.
Fast forward just four months.
The business had already hired 6 new employees using Precept Recruit.
While the business was pleased with the quality of the hires, it highlighted a challenge many organisations face: recruitment demand can increase far more quickly than expected.
Under our Talent Partnership Subscription, the new hires would have formed part of a package costing only £26,250 for up to ten placements (based on salaries under £50,000)
When we revisited the conversation, something interesting became clear.
The investment in those six hires alone had already exceeded the cost of the subscription model, despite only utilising six of the ten available placements.
With eight months of the year still remaining, the business could potentially face further recruitment costs as additional hiring needs emerge.
By contrast, the Talent Partnership Subscription would have provided capacity for up to ten hires, alongside predictable costs, ongoing recruitment support and complete visibility over hiring spend.
However, focusing purely on cost misses the bigger picture.
For many growing businesses, recruitment challenges aren’t limited to placement costs.
Hiring often creates additional pressures:
- Internal teams become stretched. Support is needed.
- Managers spend significant time reviewing CVs and interviewing.
- Hiring plans change unexpectedly.
- Recruitment costs become difficult to forecast.
- Businesses need specialist recruitment expertise but don’t require a full-time internal recruiter.
- The tools required to advertise roles, source talent and build candidate pipelines can be costly, particularly when hiring demand fluctuates throughout the year.
These challenges become even more prevalent as businesses grow.
Traditional recruitment works well when hiring is occasional and predictable.
However, for organisations with ongoing recruitment requirements, a subscription model offers a different approach.
Rather than treating every vacancy as a separate project, businesses gain access to consistent and reliable recruitment support throughout the year.
Benefits Include:
Predictable Costs
Instead of facing individual recruitment fees every time a role is filled, you’ll benefit from one fixed investment of 26,250 which can be spread over 3,6,9 or 12 monthly payments.
Better Cash Flow Management
Many businesses prefer predictable monthly costs, rather than large one-off invoices arriving unexpectedly throughout the year.
No Additional Internal Headcount
Hiring an internal recruiter can be costly when salaries, benefits, training, software and job board access are taken into account.
A Subscription Model provides access to recruitment expertise without increasing permanent headcount.
Access to Established Recruitment Infrastructure
Successful recruitment requires more than simply posting an advert.
Access to platforms such as Indeed, Reed, CV Library, Total Jobs as well as job boards, CV databases, sourcing tools, advertising channels and recruitment technology all come with a cost.
These are investments we, Precept Recruit, have already made. Allowing our clients to benefit from established infrastructure without additional expense.
Specialist Recruitment Expertise
Recruitment is our Core Focus.
We spend every day engaging with candidates, understanding market trends, refining recruitment processes and helping businesses attract the right talent for them.
For many organisations, accessing this expertise externally is more efficient than building it internally.
The Biggest Lesson
The biggest takeaway from this example isn’t that a business made the wrong decision.
It’s that recruitment demand can change very quickly.
New contracts are won.
Unexpected people leave.
Teams expand.
Projects launch.
Growth accelerates.
And suddenly, recruitment becomes a much bigger priority than initially anticipated.
For businesses expecting ongoing hiring throughout the year, having a scalable recruitment solution already in place can provide significant financial and operational advantages.
The question isn’t always “How many people are we hiring today?”
Sometimes the better question is:
“What will our recruitment needs look like 6 months from now?”
If you’re planning for growth and expect to make multiple hires over the next 12 months, it may be worth exploring whether a Talent Partnership Model could help you hire more effectively, manage costs more predictably, and build the talent pipelines needed for long-term success.
Interested in exploring a more flexible approach to hiring?