What to Consider When Requesting a Recruitment Budget Increase

Asking for a bigger piece of the pie for the recruitment budget can be a difficult process to undertake. Businesses are always hyper-focused on cutting margins and saving wherever they can, which may leave HR with more work than their budget can handle. With conviction and thorough research, lobbying for a higher budget in the HR department can become a lot easier—here’s how.

Master the market
Technology plays a tremendous role in the recruitment process today. Software in the form of an applicant tracking system (ATS) can speed up an otherwise tedious process by consolidating resources, allowing for quicker and more efficient recruiting. Additionally, the vast number of websites available to post a job listing makes an ATS invaluable because of how it allows HR to weed out résumés, categorize them and highlight certain keywords companies are looking for.

Understanding how you allocate funds for efficient results in acquiring human capital is first and foremost in procuring a larger budget. If the numbers don’t suggest a larger budget can allow for other means of attracting top-tier talent, or if there are no numbers at all, management doesn’t have any reason to consider expanding HR’s budget. Even though it may make HR’s life easier and save the company money in the long run, the only way HR can secure that is by defending the expense that goes against keeping margins tight.

Figure out where exactly the budget needs to be expanded and why. Chances are, there are several reasons, according to Career Builder. A larger budget could assist in acquiring a newer ATS or provide more avenues for job listings. Properly-researched proposals may even list ways to link up with other divisions in the company to offset any financial impact.

A successful budget increase pitch will have all the numbers available.

Do the math
Don’t skip out on the numbers. According to Glassdoor, understanding the cost-per-hire can show you have control over your research. The source also pointed out there are a few different statistics that need to be crunched before the big pitch to the CFO:

• What does the money get you: Research how recruiting translates to business. For example, if you spend 2 percent more on job listings, how does that impact finding qualified candidates? The same goes for upgrading an outdated ATS. How will the money spent on the system impact the workforce?
• Employer branding: This plays a role in how prospective employees see the business. For example, Glassdoor found 69 percent of job seekers thought better of a company after seeing it respond to a review. An ATS can also improve branding by positioning job listings on the most visible sites and allowing HR to attract a wide array of candidates.
• Paying to upgrade an ATS will allow HR to allocate their time elsewhere in the recruiting process. Time needs to be given the same weight as money in these discussions.

The crux of the argument for an increased budget needs to rely on facts, not on wishes. If HR feels that more money in its pocket will result in bigger gains for the company, make sure to prove it before anyone asks.