Written by

Frank Aneke

Filling an open vacancy with high-performing talent can be hard work for many employers. The time, resources, and coordination it takes to find qualified candidates, with the right skills and experience, can be difficult in today’s labour market. With so many positions available at a job seeker’s smartphone, it can be challenging for both job seekers and employers to find the perfect match in terms of role and talent. So, what are the hidden costs of prolonged vacancies and what effect does it have on your business?

In this concluding part of the two-part series, here are five more costs of unfilled vacancies in your business.

1. Reduced Customer Satisfaction: Maintaining a high level of customer satisfaction is essential for business growth and reputation. When product supply or promised service delivery are not being met because of unfilled vacancies, customer satisfaction plummets and some may take their business elsewhere. Keeping that in mind, it’s important to recognise that unfilled positions are more than just vacant chairs in the office; they could trigger unprecedented customer churn as well.

2. On-boarding and Training: Searching and shortlisting qualified candidates for unfilled vacancies is only the beginning of the hiring process. Once you have found the right candidate for your vacancy, you’ll have to spend time and resources training and on-boarding them. Some roles might require a couple of months of on-boarding and training while others could take up to six months depending on the complexities of the role.

3. Recruitment Expenses: Interestingly, the longer a position remains unfilled, the more recruitment-related expenses it can accumulate. These expenses include but are not limited to extended job postings, multiple rounds of interviews, and increased advertising to attract qualified candidates. All these contribute to higher recruitment costs that could strain the HR budget and diminish resources available for other crucial HR functions.

4. Increased Overtime Wages: To compensate for the absence of critical employees, some businesses may need to rely on overtime pay for existing staff. While this may seem like a short-term solution, it can quickly become a hidden cost that depletes the budget. Overtime wages that becomes a recurring expense can strain finances and impact business profitability.

5. Impact on Employee Engagement and Turnover: Whenever employees are burdened with additional tasks due to unfilled positions, their job satisfaction and engagement levels can plummet. This dissatisfaction may lead to higher turnover rates as employees seek opportunities with businesses that offer a more balanced workload.

Having said all these, unfilled vacancies can significantly impact your business on many levels. Investing the effort to avoid prolonged vacancies by prompt recruitment of qualified candidates when vacancies occur improves your business prospects in many ways. It also helps you stay one step ahead of your competition.

Meanwhile, you can follow or connect with me on LinkedIn to get a notification each time I post a blog. In next edition, I will be interrogating three classes of talent in the question: What Class of Talent Do You Hire? Watch this space!!