Beauty Recruitment Agency vs In-House Hiring: Which Is Better for Brands

Most beauty brands do not set out planning a recruitment strategy. You deal with product launches, stock levels and client experience first, and hiring becomes urgent after everything else bumps up against capacity.

The usual instinct is to do it in house. It feels cheaper and more controlled at first. But ask any brand that has tried both ways and they will tell you this does not always pan out.

We see it all the time. You start interviewing and suddenly the weeks tick past. Candidates look right on paper but do not live up to it in practice. You compromise on talent quality to fill a gap.

That slows everything down and before you know it the growth phase you were chasing is being held back by one role that should have been sorted swiftly.

Research from CIPD and Omni RMS shows that many employers are struggling to attract and retain skilled hires, especially in specialist areas where culture and experience matter most.

The report even highlights that poor recruitment practice is one of the biggest hidden costs for organisations. You can read more about that here https://www.cipd.org/uk/about/news/cipd-omni-rms-recruitment-retention-report-2024/

So really the question is not simply whether to hire internally or bring in support. The question is this, at your current stage of growth which approach actually helps you build momentum rather than stall it?

Why Beauty Brands Struggle to Hire the Right Talent

Hiring in the beauty industry is hard because it is not just recruitment. It is matchmaking. We see brands struggle when they treat beauty roles like any other commercial hire and then feel frustrated when the results fall short.

Beauty professionals bring niche skills that only work in the right setting. A product developer needs to care deeply about formulation and compliance.

A marketing lead needs to instinctively understand aesthetics, tone of voice and how customers emotionally connect with a brand.

When that industry specific understanding is missing, you end up with candidates who look good on paper but never quite fit in practice.

Candidate expectations have also changed. Salary still matters, but alignment matters more. People want to work with brands they genuinely admire and products they would proudly stand behind.

If your employer branding feels vague or generic, the strongest candidates often self select out before you even speak to them.

We also see brands underestimate how small and connected the beauty talent market really is. Word spreads quickly. One slow process or poor interview experience can shape perception far beyond a single hire.

That is why standard hiring methods often fail in beauty. They do not reflect how this market behaves or how beauty professionals choose where to work.

So are you struggling because there is no talent out there, or because your hiring approach is not built for the beauty industry?

What In House Hiring Really Looks Like for Beauty Businesses

In house hiring often sounds sensible at first. You already know your brand, your culture and what good looks like, so why not handle recruitment internally. In reality, this usually starts lean and quickly turns reactive.

A hiring manager or internal HR lead posts a role on a few job boards, asks around their network, and hopes the right person appears. Sometimes that works. More often, it does not.

What we see again and again is time slipping away. Screening CVs between meetings. Chasing candidates who looked great on paper but never show up to interview. Restarting the process because the shortlist was not right.

The interview process stretches out, decisions get delayed, and suddenly the role has been open for months. Meanwhile your team is covering gaps and growth plans slow down.

Beauty roles make this harder. You are not just hiring for skills. You are hiring people who understand product, customer expectation and brand tone. Candidates in this space are selective. They care about where the brand is going and whether the role fits their values, not just the salary. A generic job advert rarely tells that story well.

In house hiring also leans heavily on referrals. That feels safe, but it narrows the talent pool fast. You end up seeing the same profiles again and again, while strong candidates elsewhere never hear about the role. Is that really giving you control, or is it quietly limiting your options?

We are not saying in house hiring is wrong. It just demands more time, focus and consistency than most beauty businesses expect. When hiring becomes a side task rather than a priority, it often costs more than it saves.

When In House Hiring Makes Sense And When It Does Not

In house hiring does have its place, and we should be honest about that. If your team is stable, turnover is low, and you are hiring familiar roles you have filled before, doing it internally can work well.

You already know what good looks like. The process is predictable. The risk is lower because the role and expectations are clear. For established beauty businesses with steady growth and repeat hiring needs, this approach can feel efficient and cost controlled.

The problems start when the context changes. As soon as you move into a new growth phase, add seniority, or expand into a new market, the hiring strategy needs to shift.

Specialist beauty roles demand deep industry understanding. International expansion adds complexity around expectations, competition and availability. Urgent hires put pressure on timelines and decision making. In these situations, in house hiring often struggles to keep up.

We see this most when founders or hiring managers are stretched thin. Recruitment becomes reactive rather than planned. Shortlists narrow. Compromises creep in.

The role gets filled, but not always with the right person. That decision then shows up later in missed targets, team friction or brand inconsistency.

The real question is not whether you can hire internally. It is whether doing so gives you the outcome you actually need.

Does your current team have the time and market visibility to attract top beauty talent at the right moment, or are you relying on hope and speed to carry the process through?

There is no badge of honour in struggling through a hire alone. The smartest hiring strategies change as the business changes, and recognising that early protects both growth and culture.

How a Beauty Recruitment Agency Changes the Hiring Outcome

When you work with a beauty recruitment agency, the biggest change is not just speed. It is clarity. We are already inside the market you are trying to hire from. We speak to beauty professionals every day.

We know why they move, what they expect, and which brands they genuinely want to work for. That understanding removes a huge amount of friction from the process.

Most hiring stalls because the same questions are being asked too late. Is the salary realistic. Does the role match the candidate’s career stage. Will the brand values actually resonate.

When an agency lives in the beauty sector, those answers are known before the first introduction is made. That means fewer interviews, better conversations, and decisions that feel easier rather than forced.

Quality improves because the talent network already exists. Pre vetted candidates are not actively applying to job boards. They are usually working, performing well, and quietly open to the right opportunity.

When you rely on internal hiring alone, you often only see the loudest applicants. When you use a specialist agency, you see the strongest ones.

Speed improves because the groundwork is already done. Market insight replaces guesswork. Shortlists are shaped by fit, not volume. So ask yourself, would you rather spend months filtering applicants, or speak to a handful of people who already understand your brand and role.

The real value is outcome based. A good hire lifts performance, protects culture, and supports growth. A poor hire slows everything down. If you want to work with a partner that already understands how this market behaves, our beauty recruitment agency supports brands through smarter hiring decisions and better long term outcomes.

Cost vs Value The Part Most Brands Get Wrong

Most brands get stuck on the fee. They look at an agency cost next to a salary and decide it feels expensive. That comparison misses the point entirely. The real cost of hiring sits in time, momentum, and the damage caused when the wrong person lands in the role.

When a role drags on for months, someone internally is picking up the slack. That might be a founder, a manager, or a senior team member whose attention should be on growth.

Projects slow down. Decisions get delayed. Revenue opportunities slip quietly past. That time cost rarely appears on a spreadsheet, but you feel it day to day.

Then there is the risk of a bad hire. In beauty, a poor fit does more than miss targets. It can unsettle teams, weaken brand consistency, and force a second hiring round far sooner than planned.

Studies from the Recruitment and Employment Confederation have consistently shown that replacing a bad hire can cost multiple times their salary once lost productivity and rehiring are factored in. That matters because beauty roles are specialist and visible.

The brands that struggle most are the ones trying to save money at the wrong moment. They focus on the upfront fee rather than the downstream impact. We see it constantly. Fast growth plans paired with slow hiring decisions.

So the real question is not whether an agency costs more than doing it yourself. The question is what does it cost you to get it wrong, or to get it late, when your market is moving quickly and your competitors are not waiting?

Which Option Is Better For Growing Beauty Brands

If your brand is growing, the right hiring approach depends on what kind of growth you are dealing with. Stable growth with familiar roles is one thing. Change driven growth is something else entirely.

When teams are scaling steadily and roles are repeatable, in house hiring can work well. You build rhythm. Managers know what good looks like. Recruitment becomes part of normal operations rather than a disruption. In that context, control matters more than speed, and internal knowledge carries weight.

But most growing beauty brands are not operating in calm conditions. New product launches, international expansion, and senior hires all introduce uncertainty.

Expectations shift quickly. Candidate pools narrow. The cost of hesitation rises. This is where agencies earn their place. When change accelerates, specialist support reduces risk. You move faster because the groundwork is already done.

We see this most clearly with senior roles and market entry hires. These decisions shape culture and commercial direction. Getting them wrong can stall growth for a year or more. Getting them right creates momentum that carries forward.

There is no universal rule, and anyone telling you otherwise is oversimplifying. Growth brings different pressures at different stages. The real skill is recognising when stability supports internal hiring and when change demands outside perspective.

So ask yourself this. Are you hiring into familiarity, or are you hiring into the unknown?

Because the answer to that question usually tells you which option will serve your brand best right now.

Making The Right Hiring Decision For Your Brand

Making the right hiring decision starts with honesty. Not about budgets or preferences, but about where your brand actually is right now. We see too many beauty businesses default to what feels cheaper or more familiar, without stopping to ask whether it fits their current goals.

Every hiring choice sits at the intersection of timing, internal capability, and pressure. If your team has capacity, clear processes, and time to wait, internal hiring can make sense.

If speed matters, or the role will shape revenue, culture, or market perception, the decision carries more weight. At that point, the cost of delay or a wrong hire often outweighs the cost of getting help.

This is not about ego or control. It is about outcomes. Brands that grow well tend to separate emotion from decision making. They look at what is required, how quickly it is needed, and who is best placed to deliver it.

So before you post another job ad or start another round of interviews, pause for a moment. What is the real risk if this hire goes wrong or takes too long? And just as importantly, what would it be worth to get it right the first time?

Those answers usually make the decision clear.

Thanks for reading, if you need help hiring for your beauty brand give us a call on 0208 245 1192 and a member of our team will be happy to help :)