Recruitment fees are the smallest line. Here is what an unsuitable overseas hire actually costs an employer over twelve months.
When employers compare recruitment agencies, they compare fees. It is the only number that is easy to compare, so it becomes the number that decides. That is a mistake, because the fee is rarely more than a tenth of what a wrong hire costs.
What you actually pay for
A hire that does not work out means the visa cost, the flights, the medical, the accommodation deposit, and the salary paid while the person was not productive. Then it means the replacement cycle: another two to three months of a vacant position, and a second set of the same costs.
The cost nobody counts
The larger cost is operational. A weak chef sends dishes back. A weak electrician creates rework a supervisor has to catch. A receptionist who cannot hold a phone conversation in English loses enquiries that never get counted anywhere. None of this appears as a recruitment line item, and all of it is recruitment.
Where screening pays for itself
Verifying a trade certificate takes an hour. Asking a chef which stations they have run and how many covers takes ten minutes. Testing typing speed for a data role takes five. Every one of those steps is cheaper than a month of the wrong person, and most of them are simply skipped when an agency is competing purely on price.
What to ask an agency
Ask what they verify and how. Ask what happens if a worker is unsuitable in the first three months. Ask to see the screening notes for a shortlisted candidate. An agency that cannot answer those three questions is selling you availability, not suitability.
