How to Reduce Your Company’s Cost-per-Hire in 2025
In 2025, businesses are under increasing pressure to meet hiring demands while managing tighter budgets. According to CIPD, the UK average cost-per-hire is £6,125. Reducing this figure without sacrificing quality has become a priority. For organisations experiencing growth, transformation or recovery, improving recruitment efficiency is key to remaining competitive.
At Greenbean, we partner with employers to design cost-effective recruitment solutions that deliver both quality hires and long-term results. Here are some of the most effective ways to reduce your cost-per-hire in the current market.
1. Accelerate Your Recruitment Cycle
A vacancy left unfilled for too long can cost your business far more than just lost productivity. Hiring manager time, advertising fees and candidate drop-off all add up quickly.
Ways to improve time-to-hire include:
Automating early-stage screening and interview scheduling
Allowing hiring managers to fast-track high-potential candidates
Adopting agile methodologies to reduce decision-making delays
Shorter hiring cycles reduce cost, improve the candidate experience and give your business a performance boost by filling key roles faster.
2. Strengthen Your Employer Brand
Your employer brand plays a decisive role in reducing recruitment costs. A strong reputation helps attract high-quality applicants, meaning you spend less on job advertising and external agency fees. Several pieces of research states that a high percentage of job seekers will not apply for a role if a company does not clearly communicate its values and culture.
You can improve your employer brand by:
Defining a compelling Employee Value Proposition that reflects what makes your organisation different
Sharing employee stories on platforms like Glassdoor, Indeed and LinkedIn
Promoting benefits such as flexibility, development opportunities and wellbeing support
A clear, authentic employer brand makes it easier to attract and retain candidates who align with your values, helping reduce attrition and future recruitment costs.
3. Scale Your Internal Capacity Without Compromising
While managing recruitment in-house may seem cost-effective, internal teams can quickly become overwhelmed during hiring spikes or project launches. A stretched team can result in increased vacancy time, rushed decisions and inconsistent candidate experiences.
A flexible approach includes:
Working with a Recruitment Process Outsourcing partner to manage high-volume or time-sensitive hiring
Accessing wider talent pools through experienced recruitment professionals
Maintaining quality and consistency without overburdening your internal team
RPO gives you the ability to scale up or down as needed, helping you stay agile and control costs during busy periods.
4. Track and Optimise Recruitment Metrics
Many companies underestimate the full cost of hiring by focusing only on direct expenses. Tracking the correct recruitment data can uncover hidden costs and show where improvements can be made.
Useful metrics to monitor include:
Cost-per-hire by source and channel
Time-to-fill and time-to-productivity
Offer acceptance rates and candidate drop-off points
Using data to understand and improve your recruitment process helps you make smarter investments, reduce inefficiencies and deliver long-term savings.
Reduce Your Cost-per-Hire with Greenbean
Greenbean provides flexible, scalable recruitment solutions that integrate with your internal team. Our approach is designed to reduce your cost-per-hire while helping you build a sustainable pipeline of quality candidates.
Whether you are facing a high-volume recruitment drive or looking for ways to improve day-to-day processes, our team can help you meet your goals while keeping recruitment spend under control.
To find out how Greenbean can support your hiring strategy in 2025, get in touch to arrange a FREE consultation.
