How Much Should You Spend on Recruitment Ads?

Great companies depend on great talent. It’s no accident that there is heavy competition for the most desired jobs with the best employers. Those companies understand how to develop and market a culture that attracts the best and brightest talent. With the proper knowledge and resources, your business can do the same.   

Building a talented team takes effort. Finding high-performing employees requires strategy, such as a savvy recruitment ad campaign. Your ads can not only influence potential applicants but can leave a positive impression on your customers. However, whether you are running ads as part of a more extensive campaign or solely as a recruiting effort, you must know how to plan them appropriately.  

Creating a Recruitment Budget 

A budget for your recruitment efforts is a must. Remember, this is an investment, and your goal with investments is to produce a positive ROI. You may want to keep it completely separate or as line items under your marketing budget. You’ll also need to adjust your expenditures based on the level of the role, such as executive hires vs. entry or mid-level staff.  

There are several considerations in setting your recruitment budget. Some may vary by position and skills required for the role. Potential expenses include: 

• Advertising costs for job boards, such as Indeed or industry-specific ones 
• Branding and culture materials, such as company videos, social media content, banners, and print materials 
• Candidate background checks 
• Contingency costs, such as turnover 
• External recruitment agency fees 
• Interview expenses, such as meals, travel, or hotel  
• Networking and recruitment events  
• Onboarding costs, like relocation expenses, training classes, and other onboarding expenditures 
• Professional social network  costs, like LinkedIn 
• Salaries or temporary agency staff expenses 
• Technology costs 

Costs of Recruitment Ads 

Drilling down into your line items, you’ll need to consider the types of recruitment ads you’ll use. The cost of airing your ads on the radio can vary significantly depending on when they air and how long the ad runs. Radio recruitment ads can cost anywhere from $300 to $1,000 for production costs. Weekly costs can run between $200 and $5,000, similar to standard ads but reaching a wider audience.  

Digital recruitment ads provide a wide range of options. You may choose to pay for sponsor posts on Indeed or LinkedIn.  Display or PPC ads in searches are also a popular choice. Many businesses now leverage social media for their recruiting campaigns, as well. You must record all those costs must as part of your recruitment budget.  

If these recruitment campaign ad numbers seem high, consider the cost of a bad hire. A Harris Interactive poll revealed that 41% of respondents said a bad hire cost them more than $25,000. 25% said that their poor hiring choice cost more than $50,000. In this context, it should be apparent that investing in high-quality ads is the best financial strategy.  

What To Budget for Recruitment Ads 

The size of your company combined with the specific needs of the role helps you determine your recruitment campaign strategy. The methods used to recruit highly skilled or executive-level positions will be different and more considerable than those used for a position that doesn’t require significant training, education, or experience. You’ll also want to separate the types of ads. Itemizing the costs separately is a necessity for calculating your ROI accurately.  

Another reason for itemizing your expenses is to measure which methods are the most effective. To do that, you’ll need to consider the costs for different mediums, such as radio production costs or those for producing digital ads. Radio ads are highly effective for recruitment and can fit your budget based on how much you designate for production, and which spot you choose. Combined with digital, it is a highly effective recruiting strategy that reaches the broadest possible target audience.   

Skimping on Your Recruitment Campaign Could Cost You More in the Long Run 

Your employees are the key to your long-term success. They affect how your customers perceive your brand, the quality of your goods and services, and represent your company culture. Your profitability and customer engagement directly reflect your care in selecting, onboarding, and retaining them. It also significantly impacts your ability to recruit top performers.  

So how do you reach the best candidates? It is using a well-planned, carefully considered, and professionally executed recruitment strategy. A concentrated recruiting process helps counteract the leading causes of bad hires, such as rushing to fill a position quickly, failing to consider all the skill requirements of the role, and failure to vet your candidates adequately. It also prevents the impacts of bad hires, such as decreased productivity, reduced employee morale, poor company culture, and decreased customer satisfaction. All of these factors impact your brand, your ability to recruit quality talent, and, ultimately, your bottom line.  

Targeted radio and digital recruitment ads make reaching the most qualified candidates easier. Itemizing the costs helps keep you on track to follow best practices for hiring the right candidate and provides the input you need to calculate an accurate ROI. The medium you choose helps you engage with a diverse audience with a wide variety of skills and experience. It also lets you establish a connection with your potential new hire so you can determine their cultural fit for your company and your team.