The Most Expensive Engineering Hire Isn’t Always the One With the Highest Salary

When businesses discuss the cost of recruitment, the conversation usually centres around salaries.

Can we afford to pay another £5,000 a year?

Will increasing the salary attract better candidates?

How do we compare with our competitors?

They’re all valid questions, but in my experience they’re not the most important ones.

The biggest cost often comes from hiring the wrong person.

An engineer who isn’t the right fit for your business doesn’t just cost their salary. They require management time, training, supervision and support. If they struggle to perform, colleagues often have to step in to fill the gaps, productivity suffers and projects can quickly fall behind schedule.

In engineering environments, the consequences can be even greater. Delays can affect production, customer relationships and delivery deadlines. In some sectors, mistakes can have significant financial implications long before anyone reaches the difficult decision that the appointment hasn’t worked out.

That’s why recruitment should never become a race to find the cheapest solution.

A thorough recruitment process may take a little longer, but it gives you a much better chance of appointing someone who will contribute to your business for years rather than months.

It’s also worth looking beyond technical ability alone. Of course, engineers need the right qualifications and experience, but they also need to communicate effectively, solve problems and work collaboratively with colleagues, customers and suppliers. Those qualities don’t always stand out on a CV, but they often make the difference between a competent employee and an exceptional one.

Over the years, I’ve seen businesses hesitate over recruitment fees or salary expectations, only to lose far more through a poor appointment. Equally, I’ve seen companies invest in finding the right person and benefit from years of loyalty, knowledge and stability.

Good recruitment should always be viewed as an investment rather than simply another business expense.

At ASL Technical, our aim isn’t just to fill vacancies. It’s to help engineering businesses make appointments that strengthen their teams for the long term.

Final Thought

The cheapest hire isn’t always the most cost-effective. In engineering, getting the right person into the role first time is often the best investment you can make.




Photo by Md Ishak Rahman on Unsplash

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The Most Expensive Engineering Hire Isn’t Always the One With the Highest Salary
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Co-Founder & Director