The salary fits your budget. Then you add recruitment fees, equipment, software and the time needed to train someone, and the figures start to look different.

Putting those costs together before the search begins helps you choose a realistic start date and plan the support a new employee will need.

Look beyond salary

Build a budget that includes pension contributions, National Insurance, any commission, equipment, software licences and training. Allow for a manager’s time during the first few weeks as well. Seeing those costs together makes it easier to plan the start date.

It is also worth considering the cost of leaving the role vacant. A delayed hire may mean the company loses sales, misses deadlines, puts too much pressure on the existing team or cannot take on work it would otherwise win.

Plan around the business cycle

Some hires are linked to predictable moments in the year. A company may need extra capacity ahead of a busy season, a new salesperson before a growth push or finance support before a reporting deadline. Looking ahead by even a few months gives more time to prepare the budget and the brief.

With a likely start date in mind, you can review the market and agree the offer before the workload becomes urgent. Leave time for interviews and the successful candidate’s notice period.

Make recruitment costs easier to manage

Large upfront recruitment fees can put pressure on cash flow, especially when a business is already investing in a new employee. Tenex gives SMEs a way to spread the recruitment fee into manageable monthly payments, helping employers access professional hiring support without absorbing one large cost at the point of hire.

This allows businesses to plan recruitment as part of their ongoing operating budget. It can make the decision to hire feel more achievable while keeping focus on the quality of the person being brought into the company.

Tenex supports SMEs with end-to-end recruitment and a more flexible payment model. We help employers understand the role, reach suitable candidates and manage recruitment costs in a way that works with day-to-day business cash flow.

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Tenex is a UK recruitment agency specialising in permanent white-collar placements across Finance, Sales, Marketing, IT & Tech, and Construction. Based in Maidstone, Kent, and operating nationally.