AI, data and processes
The real cost of recruitment, and how to cut it without a job board
By the Long Lever team · 7 min read · Last checked 6 November 2026
The short answer
The biggest recruitment costs are usually paid adverts, agency fees and the management time spent sifting and chasing. A careers page on your own website, set up so your vacancies appear free in Google's job search results, plus social posts and automatic replies, can cut most of that, typically to around £1,500 a year in hosting and upkeep.
Where does recruitment money actually go?
- Paid adverts on job boards, often renewed several times for hard-to-fill roles.
- Agency fees, commonly a percentage of first-year salary per hire.
- Management time reading applications, phoning candidates and arranging interviews.
- Lost applicants who never hear back and apply elsewhere, so you advertise again.
- Early leavers, which means paying for the same role twice.
The last two are the hidden ones. A slow or silent process loses good people, and a poor match leaves within weeks.
How can you advertise jobs for free on Google?
Google shows job vacancies directly in its search results when someone searches for work, such as warehouse jobs in Leeds. Your vacancies can appear there free, straight from your own website, if each job page includes the right structured information: job title, location, pay, hours, closing date and how to apply. Google publishes the specification for this openly.
Done properly, people searching for work near you see your vacancy alongside the job boards, and they apply on your site, not someone else's.
What does a low-cost recruitment set-up look like?
- A careers page on your own site with a page per vacancy, ready for Google's job search.
- A quick-apply form that works on a phone in under two minutes. No CV required for entry-level roles.
- Short screening questions that matter: right to work, shift patterns, driving licence, start date.
- An automatic reply to every applicant, and an update when the role is filled.
- Social posts for each vacancy, written once and shared on your company pages and by your own staff.
- A simple pipeline so managers can see who's applied, who's shortlisted and who's been interviewed.
What could that save?
An illustrative business hiring about 40 warehouse and logistics staff a year, paying £13.25 an hour for 40 hours a week (£27,560 a year):
| Before | After | |
|---|---|---|
| Paid adverts | 60 adverts at an average £200 = £12,000 | £0: own careers page, Google for Jobs and social posts |
| Agency fees | 5 hard-to-fill roles at 15% of £27,560 = £20,670 | 1 specialist role = £4,134 |
| Running your own system | £0 | About £1,500 a year for hosting, upkeep and a little SEO |
| Total a year | £32,670 | £5,634 |
Your numbers will differ, but the pattern is common: most of the cost is in adverts and agency fees that a well-built careers page can replace for most roles.
How does AI help, without making unfair decisions?
AI is useful for writing clear job adverts, turning one vacancy into several social posts, drafting replies and summarising applications against the criteria you set. It should not decide who gets an interview or a job on its own. Under UK GDPR, people have rights around decisions made solely by automated means, and fairness matters. A person makes the decisions; AI does the typing.
What this won't do
A careers page won't fill every role. Senior and specialist positions may still need an agency or a headhunter, and in a very tight labour market pay and conditions matter more than any advert. Appearing in Google's job results isn't guaranteed either; Google decides what to show. The set-up also needs someone to keep vacancies up to date and close them when they're filled.
Questions people also ask
How do I post a job on Google for free?+
Publish each vacancy on its own page of your website with Google's job posting structured data (title, location, pay, hours, closing date and how to apply). Google can then show it in its job search results at no cost.
How much does it cost to recruit staff in the UK?+
It varies widely by role, but adverts and agency fees are usually the largest costs. Agency fees are often a percentage of first-year salary, which for a £27,560 role at 15% is £4,134 per hire.
Can AI screen job applicants?+
AI can summarise applications against your criteria and draft replies, but a person should make the decisions. UK GDPR gives people rights around decisions made solely by automated means.
What does it cost to run our own careers site?+
Typically around £1,500 a year for hosting, upkeep and a little SEO, once it's built.
Sources
- Google Search Central: Job posting structured data
- ICO: Artificial intelligence guidance for organisations
Facts and rates last checked 6 November 2026. We review every article at least every six months.
About the Long Lever team
Long Lever Partnerships is a collective of business owners and operators: people who have built, run and sold businesses, some with multi-million-pound turnovers, and people who have spent their careers in the field. We have no software to sell and no commission from any provider.
We guide, you build and own it.
Want to know where this fits in your business? The free discovery check takes a few minutes, and the first conversation costs nothing.