In this article6 min read
Find out how a fixed student pool lets you cover your seasonal peaks without recruiting all over again, and why more and more Belgian companies choose this route.
Do you know the feeling?
Every season starts the same way. The summer peak is coming, or a new assignment suddenly calls for extra hands, and you start from scratch: writing a vacancy, going through CVs, planning interviews, drawing up contracts. By the time someone is up to speed, the peak is over.
And the following year the same story repeats itself. The students who performed so well last year have dropped off your radar. You search again, when all you wanted was to call back familiar, reliable people.
You are in good company. For many Flemish and Brussels companies, recruiting flexible staff over and over again is one of the biggest sources of lost time and frustration.
In short: building a fixed student pool saves you recruiting every season, and saves time and money. The main points:
- Every new recruitment round quickly costs 3,300 to 6,000 euro and six to nine weeks per vacancy.
- Staff turnover costs up to 30 to 50 per cent of an annual salary per employee who leaves.
- A fixed pool puts known, screened people to work within 48 hours, with no induction time.
- Recruit a Student builds and manages your pool and handles all the paperwork, from the Dimona declaration to payroll.
What is a fixed student pool?
A fixed student pool is a group of screened, reliable students who already know your company, your sites and the way you work. Instead of recruiting all over again, you call back the same familiar people when you need them: at a summer peak, for a new assignment or for a temporary replacement.
The difference with one-off recruitment is considerable. Where a new employee first has to be trained, a pool member is ready straight away. You gain time, you keep quality on your sites and you build a relationship of trust that pays off every season.
Why does recruiting over and over cost you so much?
How much does it cost to recruit each time? Count on roughly 4,000 to 6,000 euro per filled vacancy when you run the whole process yourself, and still around 3,300 euro when you have an experienced HR colleague in house. On top of that comes a lead time of 32 working days on average, well over six weeks between the vacancy and the first working day.
And then there is turnover. For operational staff, replacement costs run to 30 to 50 per cent of the annual salary per departure. With an annual salary of 30,000 euro that quickly means 9,000 to 15,000 euro in direct and indirect costs. Every departure you have to fill again weighs on the margin of every assignment.
By way of comparison, this is what the different approaches cost you on average:
| Situation | Average cost | Lead time |
|---|---|---|
| Recruiting yourself with an experienced HR colleague in house | ± 3,300 euro per hire | 6 to 9 weeks |
| Recruiting yourself without an experienced recruiter in house | 4,000 to 6,000 euro per hire | 6 to 9 weeks |
| Fixed pool through Recruit a Student | Fixed, transparent cost per assignment | Within 48 hours |
Anyone who wants to limit that turnover structurally needs a fixed, reliable pool rather than starting from zero each time.
What does a fixed student pool deliver?
What do you gain from a fixed pool? Above all speed and certainty. Recruit a Student usually puts a suitable, familiar person to work within 48 hours, against an average of six to nine weeks for a fully in-house recruitment process.
Induction time also drops sharply: pool members already know your sites and processes. Quality on your assignments stays stable, including during peaks, and your clients notice the difference a team makes when it knows what it is doing. In short: lower search costs, less turnover and more continuity.
Would you like to start saving on recruitment costs now?
Recruit a Student helps companies in Flanders and Brussels find reliable staff quickly and flexibly, and helps build your fixed pool. From selection to contract: we arrange everything. Request a no-obligation conversation.
How do you build a pool together with Recruit a Student?
Why do more and more companies build a pool with a partner? Because it takes the work off their hands entirely. With Recruit a Student you build, step by step, a pool of students who already know your company and your sites, ready for every new season. We screen, select and support; you focus on your core business.
Recruit a Student also takes over all the paperwork: from the Dimona declaration to contracts and payroll through the payroll agency. With pool management you run your flexible workforce with the administration fully taken care of. That keeps a fixed group of trusted people on standby, ready when you need them.
Map out your real recruitment cost
Count the time of your team leaders, the cost of job platforms and the waiting time, not just the salary of the new employee.
Measure your turnover
Do you know how many departures you replace each year, and what that costs you in understaffing on your sites?
Start small and expand
Begin with a core of a few trusted students and expand your pool gradually as your peaks return.
Leave the paperwork to us
Recruit a Student arranges the Dimona declaration, the contract and payroll; you focus on your service.
Conclusion
Recruiting over and over quickly costs a Belgian company thousands of euro and several weeks per vacancy, with the structural cost of turnover on top. Building a fixed student pool with Recruit a Student shortens that lead time to 48 hours, takes the administration off your hands entirely and gives you known, screened people every season.
At Recruit a Student you have one fixed contact who knows your company. No being put through, no repeating explanations. Your account manager guides you at every step: from selection to managing your fixed pool and all the paperwork. You call one number, we arrange the rest.
Recruit a Student matches you with talented staff who are glad to contribute to the growth of your company. We screen, select and handle all the paperwork: from the Dimona declaration to payroll. Contact us without obligation to discuss the possibilities.
- Qualified and screened staff
- A fixed pool tailored to your company
- Complete administrative relief
A student agency with national coverage and local expertise
Recruit a Student combines coverage across Belgium with the personal approach of a local agency. From our offices in the main student cities we help employers organise their flexible workforce intelligently and offer direct access to the local labour market. Our recruiters are active throughout Flanders and Brussels.
Ready to approach this season differently? Request a no-obligation quote and let us discuss straight away what your fixed pool could look like.
