New research from a compliance software service has revealed the industries in which compliance regulations cost recruitment agencies the most per candidate; with the healthcare industry topping the charts at £400-£600 per candidate.
New research from a compliance software company has highlighted the costs facing recruitment agencies due to ever-increasing compliance regulations, with those within the healthcare industry facing the largest costs-per-candidate; in excess of £400.
The calculations were made by www.NowWeComply.com, a newly-launched compliance software, and aimed to highlight the growing costs facing recruitment agencies placing candidates within heavily regulated industries.
Ben Stoneham of NowWeComply.com was keen to point out the effect of recent price rises on compliance cost, for agencies fulfilling the most basic of regulations:
“The costs of undertaking even run of the mill compliance processes, such as collecting references and checking ID, have ballooned over the past few years. Recent headline cases involving agencies, like the Care and Quality Commission, the pressures and costs (particularly for roles in banking, finance, health and social care, which often now mandate a ‘no-gaps’ & ‘5 reference policy’) have increased time and cost for recruitment agencies enormously. In turn, many agencies are finding that referees are less inclined to respond quickly, due to increased demand upon them.
“What was surprising was just how high those costs were, even in industries and sectors that are not obviously over-regulated.”
According to calculations by NowWeComply.com, below are the top five most expensive sectors, in terms of compliance-cost per candidate:
- Healthcare £400 - £600 (compliance cost per candidate)
- Social Care £400 - £600
- Finance and Banking £200 - £325
- Oil, Gas and Energy £200- £325
-
Transport £150 - £225
The research by NowWeComply.com also revealed that almost three-quarters of the total cost of compliance across all sectors was attributable to manual processing; including collecting information, references, checking statuses and getting contracts signed.
“Compliance in health and social care has grown rapidly since 2006, particularly following the reorganisation of supply frameworks under GPS,” explains Ben Stoneham. “Whilst recent ‘scandals’ in the press have tried to point the finger towards agency fees when it comes to the extortionate cost of agency healthcare staff, these fees have actually been set by a governmental framework.”
Ben continued:
“Inevitably, this increase in cost of compliance comes down to increased red tape and nanny-state risk aversion. Our research shows that since the last election, compliance regulations across all sectors have grown, impacting upon agencies across all sectors.
“With the NowWeComply software, we aim to help cut the cost of compliance drastically by automating processes that cost time and money. Our customers have reported savings of between 60-80%, and in such a regulation-rich market, there’s no excuse for not doing all you can to cut cost wherever possible.”
http://www.NowWeComply.com
