The True Cost of Your Workforce Strategy

Explore the financial impact of your vacant roles and understand the true cost of internal hiring. Learn how staffing partners like SEEK help employers reduce costs and improve overall workforce performance.

The Hidden Costs of Vacant Roles

Every unfilled position costs your business more than you might realize. While the impact on productivity is obvious, the ripple effects run much deeper. Projects slow down, employees become overextended, customer satisfaction slips, and your bottom line quietly and continuously erodes with each passing day.

To help employers visualize the true cost of open roles, we created an interactive Cost of Vacancy Calculator. By entering a few simple details, you can instantly see how much potential revenue, productivity, and opportunity may be slipping away while a position remains unfilled.

When employers see the numbers, it often serves as a wake-up call. Even a single vacancy can cost thousands of dollars each month. Beyond the financial hit, unfilled roles strain team morale and disrupt company culture. Recognizing these realities encourages employers to move from reactive hiring to proactive, strategic workforce planning.

💡 Data Insight:

The global average time-to-hire is 44 days (SHRM), which means over six weeks of lost productivity per open role.
On average, top candidates remain available for only 10 days before being hired (Linkedin). Slow hiring costs both money and talent.

The True Price of Hiring Internally

Hiring internally may seem like the more affordable option at first glance, but once hidden costs are factored in, the picture changes dramatically.

Empty manufacturing floor with abundant hiring signs

Time Spent on Recruitment

From crafting job descriptions to screening resumes and coordinating interviews, internal HR and management teams invest significant time that could be better spent on core business priorities.

Cost of Turnover

A poor hiring match can double or even triple the total cost per position when you consider lost productivity, retraining, and replacement time.

Administrative Expenses

Background checks, onboarding, benefits enrollment, and compliance requirements, among others, all carry costs that quickly add up.

Our Hiring Cost Comparison Tool highlights these internal expenses side-by-side with the cost of partnering with a staffing agency like SEEK.

💡 Data Insight:

The average cost per hire in the U.S. is $4,683 (SHRM).
For executive-level positions, the average cost exceeds $28,300 (SHRM).
Soft costs such as lost time and productivity increases total hiring costs 2x higher than hard costs (SHRM).

Understanding Staffing Agency Pricing

It is a common misconception that staffing agencies are expensive or suited only for temporary roles. In reality, the pricing model is designed to deliver value and consistency regardless of the role or industry.

When you partner with SEEK, your staffing investment includes more than just wages. It covers:

Expert recruitment and targeted outreach
Thorough screening and onboarding
Payroll processing and benefits administration
Compliance and risk management

By consolidating these services, you remove redundant internal expenses and allow your HR team to focus on employee engagement and retention instead of administrative tasks.

Transparency Tip:

Staffing agency fees typically range from 15% to 35% of a new hire’s first-year compensation (SHRM). While that percentage might seem high at first, it replaces a mix of unpredictable and often hidden internal costs with a fixed, predictable expense.

Why Partnering with SEEK Pays Off

Partnering with SEEK means more than filling a position quickly. It’s partnering with a team that understands your business and what’s most important to you. SEEK’s employment experts are committed to Servicing Your Success through smarter staffing strategies that align with your business goals and team culture.

When you work with SEEK, you gain:

Access to pre-screened, high-quality candidates
Expertise in local markets and industry-specific hiring trends
Support that enhances retention and reduces turnover
Transparent pricing and measurable cost savings

Take the Next Step

If you are ready to uncover the true cost of your workforce strategy, explore SEEK’s free employer tools:

Calculate Your Cost of Vacancy

Compare Costs of Internal Hiring vs. Staffing Partnership

Staffing Assistance Request Form

Together, these tools empower employers to make informed, data-driven decisions that strengthen both workforce performance and profitability.

Key Takeaways for Employers

Every day a role sits vacant, productivity and revenue are lost.
The average vacancy lasts 44 days, costing thousands in unrealized output.
Internal hiring carries hidden costs such as turnover, training, and administrative time.
Staffing partners like SEEK simplify hiring, reduce expenses, and accelerate results.