Recruitment marketing is often a more cost-effective way of recruiting staff than using a temp agency, as you make a one-off investment in your own reach and take candidates on as permanent employees, rather than paying a long-term hourly mark-up on top of their salary. For recurring vacancies, that margin adds up year after year.
Does this sound familiar? Your vacancy has been open for weeks, the bill from the recruitment agency is piling up, and you’re wondering if there isn’t a smarter way. That feeling is often spot on. In this article, you’ll work out the figures for yourself and see which approach yields the best results for you.
How much does it actually cost to recruit staff through a temporary employment agency?
A temporary employment agency applies a conversion factor to the gross hourly wage, usually somewhere between 1.5 and 2.5 times the employee’s hourly wage. This factor covers employers’ contributions, insurance and the agency’s margin. You pay this mark-up for as long as the employee works through the agency.
If the need is long-term or permanent, it becomes expensive. If someone works 40 hours a week for a year, the supplement on top of the basic wage can run into thousands of euros a month. This is justifiable for temporary peaks in workload, but rarely for permanent roles.
The labour market is making things even tougher: according to Statistics Netherlands (CBS), the number of unfilled vacancies in 2025 was still around 380,000, with persistent shortages in engineering and industry (CBS, 2025). This shortage is driving up agencies’ rates even further.
Why is recruitment marketing often more cost-effective?
Recruitment marketing is more cost-effective when you have recurring recruitment needs, as you pay for reach and candidate intake, rather than a margin on every hour worked. You build up your own visibility and the candidate joins your organisation without any ongoing commission.
Would you like to find out more about data-driven recruitment?
- Recruitment using AI and data
- Takes an average of 3–8 weeks to complete
With data-driven campaigns on Meta, Google, LinkedIn and TikTok, you can also reach passive jobseekers: skilled professionals who aren’t actively looking for work but are open to a better opportunity. It is precisely this group that you won’t find in a recruitment agency’s standard databases.
At FosFor, this approach is based on data from hundreds of recruitment campaigns, combined with public labour market and target audience data. “Employers often discover through this data that candidates prioritise very different factors than they had anticipated,” our account managers regularly observe. This allows you to tailor your job advertisement to what really motivates candidates. You can read more about this in what data-driven recruitment means in practice.
Temporary employment agency, recruitment and selection, or recruitment marketing: which should you choose?
Make your choice based on how often you recruit and whether you want to take someone on permanently. The table below compares the three options side by side so you can quickly see which one suits your situation.
| Aspect | Temporary employment agency | Recruitment & Selection | Recruitment marketing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost model | Rate per hour worked | Fee per placement (often % of annual salary) | Investment in the campaign + support |
| Dear bee | Temporary spike or replacement | A one-off, challenging vacancy | Recurring or multiple vacancies |
| Employment | Through the agency, not through you | Delivered straight to you | Delivered straight to you |
| Reach out to potential candidates | Limited | Network-dependent | Large-scale, via social media and search campaigns |
| Costs associated with long-term deployment | Is increasing year on year | One-off | Once per campaign |
For a short-term replacement, an employment agency remains the logical choice. As soon as a role becomes a permanent one, recruiting internally through marketing is almost always the cheaper option. Would you like to weigh up these options for your vacancies? Take a look at our data-driven approach.
How do you work out the costs fairly?
Don’t just factor in the invoice; take into account the total cost per hire and the duration of the vacancy. After all, an unfilled role costs the business revenue, overtime or lost production every week. Follow these steps:
- Calculate the costs associated with a property standing empty. Work out how much an unfilled vacancy costs per week in terms of lost turnover or extra hours.
- Add up all the recruitment costs. Advertisements, agency fees, your team’s time and onboarding are all part of the process.
- Check the term. Multiply the number of hours worked by a temporary worker by the expected number of months.
- Compare with your own intake. Compare that figure with a one-off campaign that puts the candidate directly in your employ.
- Take speed into account. Vacancies recruited by FosFor are filled within 3 to 8 weeks on average, which significantly reduces vacancy costs.
Speed is no trivial matter. According to the UWV, many technical and logistical roles are among the hardest to fill, which means that every week’s delay counts (UWV, 2025). Filling vacancies more quickly leads to immediate savings on hidden costs.
What else does recruitment marketing offer apart from a lower price?
As well as reducing costs, you’ll build a stronger employer brand and ensure a steady flow of candidates. Every campaign boosts your visibility, even amongst candidates you won’t need for another six months. That built-up brand awareness will continue to benefit you when you post your next vacancy.
What’s more, you’ll have more time on your hands. As FosFor handles the entire shortlisting process, on average you’ll only interview the 2 to 4 best candidates each month. Your team will spend fewer hours on applicants and more on the interviews that really matter. You can find evidence of this approach at our results, and specific roles within our current vacancies for top performers.
A temporary employment agency fills an immediate gap, but doesn’t build anything. Recruitment marketing turns every euro into lasting visibility and an employee who stays with you. For top-tier organisations that recruit more frequently, that’s the difference between paying over and over again and making a single, sound investment.
Frequently asked questions about cost-effective recruitment
Is an employment agency always more expensive than recruitment marketing?
No. For a short-term peak or a quick replacement, a temporary employment agency is often a better option, as you don’t need to set up a recruitment campaign. As soon as a role becomes long-term or a recurring one, the ongoing hourly rate becomes more expensive than a one-off campaign involving a permanent contract.
How quickly does recruitment marketing fill a vacancy?
Vacancies recruited by FosFor are filled within 3 to 8 weeks on average. The exact timeframe depends on the role, the region and the tightness of the labour market in the sector. For hard-to-find technical or maritime roles, it may take slightly longer, but our approach remains focused on a rapid, high-quality intake of candidates.
How much does it cost to leave a vacancy unfilled?
An unfilled vacancy costs money every week due to lost turnover, extra overtime or lost production. These hidden costs often outweigh the recruitment costs themselves. That is why speed is a key factor in any fair calculation of cost-effective recruitment.
Does recruitment marketing also work for blue-collar and maritime sectors?
Yes. FosFor specialises in blue-collar, technical, sales and maritime roles, where the shortage is greatest. Through data-driven campaigns, you can also reach skilled workers who are passively looking for work – such as welders, mechanics and drivers – whom you wouldn’t find through standard channels.
Do I hire the candidate myself through recruitment marketing?
Yes. With recruitment marketing, the candidate is employed directly by you, without any ongoing agency fees. That is precisely why this approach is often more cost-effective for long-term recruitment needs than hiring on a long-term basis through a temporary employment agency.
Would you like to know what the most cost-effective approach is for your specific vacancies? Book a no-obligation strategy meeting and work out together how much you’ll save with a data-driven approach.
Sources: CBS, labour market figures for 2025; UWV, hard-to-fill jobs in 2025; ABU, temporary employment sector knowledge base.