Hiring by subscription: Who needs this and why

Contents:

1. Hiring as a subscription service: Basic terms to know
2. Benefits of subscription recruitment
3. Fixed fee recruitment services’ drawbacks
4. How subscription recruiting services work at FreyStaff
5. Wrapping up

1. Hiring as a subscription service: Basic terms to know 

Recruitment subscription service is a business model in which customers buy sourcing and recruiting services for a recurring fee instead of a one-time expense. The recurring fee is usually paid monthly or yearly based on the customer’s choice. This model helps customers capitalize on third-party business relationships: they will continue to purchase the subscription until they see its value for their business.

For instance, if the customer does not have the necessary domain expertise in-house to build a relevant product, they no longer need to hire new specialists themselves. It is easier to find a vendor who offers subscription hiring services with a team of experts with the required expertise.

2. Benefits of subscription recruitment

Fixed price recruitment offers more flexibility and less management efforts. But does it have other benefits for businesses?

Here are a bunch of the most visible ones.

1. Reduced Upfront Costs
   Subscription hiring reduces the upfront costs for businesses. This allows businesses to get the team they need without having to make a large financial investment. We estimate that a fixed fee can save you up to 44% on recruitment compared to the traditional model. 
   
   For instance, did you know that a bad hire of tech talent can cost a business up to 300% of this specialist’s salary?  The only thing you need is to choose the most relevant subscription plan that covers your custom business objectives.
2. Scalability
   Using subscription recruiting makes it possible for businesses to scale their needs smoothly as their business grows.
3. Flexibility
   Hiring as a subscription service gives businesses the flexibility to switch between different projects as their needs change. Pay-as-you-go means that you pay for sourcing or recruitment only when and until you need it.
4. Access to expertise
   Businesses get access to a team of experienced recruitment professionals with expertise in necessary aspects of embedded recruitment, from sourcing and exclusive retained search to onboarding. This ensures that the overall process is of relevant quality and meets the business needs.
5. Faster hiring
   Clear process planning allows you to predict the time of successful hiring in advance and avoid prolonged searches for the right candidate.

All these benefits make a recruitment subscription service an appealing initiative that makes businesses stay ahead. But can everything be so nice? Let’s explore some negative things that are usually left behind.

3. Fixed fee recruitment services’ drawbacks

Subscription based recruitment is gaining more and more popularity now. While we see how many benefits this model can bring, there are also a bunch of drawbacks to keep in mind. Here are the most important ones.

1. Lack of control
   While a subscription gives you freedom and flexibility, you may get into a trap not controlling your hiring. Businesses should rely on the subscription provider only if they can report their work and make necessary updates and improvements. Also, make sure you can scale recruitment services you get in accordance with your specific needs.
2. Dependence on the provider
   Businesses can find themselves dependent on the provider for hiring, sourcing, and onboarding tasks. It is important to realize what to do if the recruitment provider experiences downtime or goes out of business.
   
   For instance, at FreyStaff, our clients have access to the platform where they can see progress and productivity in real time. They can simply see how many profiles to view and messages to send to close a position.
3. Security concerns
   This drawback is not related ultimately to subscription. It is more about your third-party partnerships. But you should be always aware that you entrust your data to the provider. Make sure that they take adequate measures to keep that data secure. 

If you run an in-house recruitment team, you won’t have 100% guarantee that your employees make you progress, build a successful hiring strategy,  and provide reliable data protection. From our experience, a reliable vendor and trustful relationships conquer all possible drawbacks of third-party contracts including subscription services.

4. How subscription recruiting services work at FreyStaff

Hiring as a subscription service can cover lots of custom business needs. Depending on internal recruitment processes and hiring objectives, we developed a bunch of strategies.

• Counseling
  This strategy includes consulting and individual training for your team. You will get the knowledge of how to build efficient hiring processes step-by-step and all-in-all recruiting guidance. We provide our recommendations and answer all questions you have. Recruitment counseling is the best option to start with. For now, that’s the top choice for businesses that need to run a go-to-market hiring strategy from scratch.
• Sourcing
  We expand your recruitment funnel with relevant candidates. Composing job descriptions, outbound sourcing and automated CV screening are included as well. From what we can see, that’s an ideal package for medium and big companies and enterprises. The sourcing plan works for strengthening your in-house team.
• Recruiting 
  Our killer plan that includes a full range of support from sourcing to pre-screening to get the most qualified candidates for your final decision. Job posting across platforms, interviewing, and technical assessment stages are included. That’s simply the best fit for start-ups and SMBs.
• Custom plan
  All your recruitment needs are entrusted to us: from recruiting to management and retaining. Say goodbye to the hassle of hiring, onboarding employees and overseeing recruitment teams.

5. Wrapping up

Wrapping up all that we shared above, hiring by subscription makes it easier to implement high-quality recruitment services. It offers you access to the widest pool of proven tech talents with relevant hard and soft skills. It is more cost-efficient than working with a traditional recruitment agency. Besides, fixed-fee recruiting is more efficient when your internal recruitment is not enough for efficient and productive hiring results. After a thoughtful analysis of your project requirements, the last thing is to choose the best fit for your business. 

At FreyStaff, we offer 4 subscription options, including counseling, sourcing, recruiting, and custom plans that cover specific recruitment needs, internal processes, and business objectives. These plans ensure our partners that embedded recruitment is their superpower in saving costs, taking control, and reducing hassle.

To get better understanding of core custom business needs, check out this article from our partners at DesignRush.