Choosing recruitment outsourcing for entry- and mid-level roles: costs and best fit for commissioned recruitment, staffing and in-house hiring
Whether to outsource entry- and mid-level hiring depends first on how long you need the person: for long-term permanent staff, outsourced recruitment fits (a one-time payment after the hire starts, averaging from 1.5 months' salary, nothing if no one starts); for short-term, seasonal, or still-uncertain needs, temporary staffing fits (monthly payment of wages, statutory costs, and a management fee). If HR has time and the role is easy to fill, hiring yourself is cheapest.
Why is hiring for entry- and mid-level roles hard?
This refers to roles such as administration, customer service, retail staff, warehouse and logistics, production line or technicians, engineering assistants and sales assistants. Their shared difficulty isn't "no applicants" but rather:
- High volume: often several people needed at once
- High turnover: people join, leave, and get replaced again, and HR keeps repeating the same work
- Many applicants, few qualified: Plenty of résumés, but few people who can work the shifts and location and will actually show up on day one
- Interviews that never get scheduled, offers that never turn into start dates: candidates for frontline roles usually apply to many companies at once
So the main value of outsourcing is handing off the most time-consuming part: screening, scheduling interviews, and following up through the start date.
Three approaches compared: hiring in-house, recruitment outsourcing, staffing
| In-house hiring | Outsourced recruiting (recruitment outsourcing) | Staffing | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who is the employer | Your company | Your company | Staffing agency |
| Cost | Ad costs + HR time | Paid once after the hire starts; averages from about 1.5 months' salary | Monthly: salary + statutory costs (about 18%) + management fee |
| Position not filled | The time cost has already been spent | Generally free of charge | No placement, no fee |
| Someone left | Rehire from scratch | Free replacement within the guarantee period (per contract) | The staffing agency provides a replacement (per contract) |
| Best for | HR has time; the role is easy to fill | Long-term permanent roles, several openings at once, HR stretched thin | Short-term projects, seasonal needs, or not yet sure about long-term use |
How do the costs compare? A worked example for one hire
Take a position with a monthly salary of NT$35,000 as an example (the following is an estimate, assuming a 20% management fee; actual terms depend on the contract):
| Agency recruitment | Staffing | |
|---|---|---|
| Payment method | Once, after the hire starts | Monthly |
| Amount | About NT$52,500 | About NT$48,300 / month |
| The extra you pay compared with hiring directly | This NT$52,500 | Management fee about NT$7,000/month |
The key is the last row: whether you hire directly or use staffing, you pay salary and statutory costs either way; what staffing adds is the monthly management fee.
52,500 ÷ 7,000 ≈ 7.5, which means: for a role you expect to fill for more than 7–8 months, commissioned recruitment is usually cheaper than staffing; for short-term staff needed less than six months, staffing is more flexible and you don't have to handle resignations.
Many companies only compare which number is bigger, “placement fee vs. management fee,” but the real cost is hiring the wrong person, or hiring someone who soon leaves. So beyond comparing prices, be sure to ask about the guarantee period and replacement terms.
When should you outsource hiring?
- HR is only one or two people, who also handle payroll, labor and health insurance, and training
- Many openings at once, each one screened and scheduled in-house
- A clear start-date deadline: a new store opening, a production line starting up
- High turnover, so you want a guaranteed replacement and don't want to start from zero every time
Conversely, if the role is attractive enough, you only fill a few positions a year and HR has the time, hire it yourself—no need to outsource.
Five questions to ask before choosing a vendor
- When do fees start? Only when the hire starts, or is part charged upfront at signing?
- How long is the guarantee period? If the candidate leaves during the guarantee period, how is the replacement handled?
- Who screened candidates before they were sent? Are they just forwarding résumés, or has someone checked by phone or interview first?
- How soon will the first candidates arrive?
- How is progress reported? How often are updates sent, and can you see which stage each candidate is stuck at?
Rules that still apply when you outsource
- Salary must be disclosed: for jobs with regular pay below NT$40,000, the salary range must be publicly shown or disclosed (Taiwan's Employment Service Act, Article 5, Paragraph 2, Subparagraph 6). Most entry- and mid-level positions fall within this range
- You can't screen by age, gender or similar criteria: the rule still applies when you outsource (Taiwan's Employment Service Act, Article 5, Paragraph 1). Write requirements as job conditions themselves, such as "able to work rotating shifts" or "forklift license required"
- You can't interview or hand-pick dispatched workers in advance: the client company may not interview or designate specific individuals before the staffing agency signs a contract with the worker (Taiwan's Labor Standards Act, Article 17-1)
FAQ
What's the biggest difference between outsourced recruiting and staffing?
The employer is different. People found through recruitment outsourcing become your full-time employees; a dispatched worker's employer is the staffing agency, and you are the "client company." On cost, recruitment outsourcing is paid once after the hire starts, while staffing is paid monthly.
Can headhunters be used for entry- and mid-level roles?
Yes. Many headhunting and recruitment consultancies now handle commissioned permanent hiring, not just senior roles. Fees for entry- and mid-level roles are usually calculated based on monthly salary.
What if someone hired through a recruiting agency quits soon after?
A guarantee period is agreed before engagement; if the hire leaves within it, a free replacement is usually provided. Actual terms depend on the contract, so be sure to ask before signing.
Can fees be negotiated if we commission several roles at once?
Yes. The number of openings, role difficulty, and contract length all affect the rate, so laying out all your needs at once during discussions makes it easiest to quote.
Not sure which one suits you?
Tell us the job title, headcount, salary band, and how long you'll need the people, and a consultant will compare the cost of the three approaches and tell you straight which one doesn't fit.
Talk with a consultant on LINERelated reading: Recruitment services for employers · How are staffing costs calculated? · Legal risks of temporary staffing · How to do mass hiring · Headhunting vs. recruitment outsourcing vs. staffing: full comparison
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