You know that effective and strategic talent acquisition can be vital to a business’s operations. Without it, your firm is unlikely to find, hire, and retain the most talented employees—the people who drive your business and allow you to excel at what you do. And since employees are a business’s biggest asset, it makes perfect sense to spend the time and effort required to find the right people. But there are plenty of other reasons that businesses need strategic talent acquisition; here are just a few of them.

The most obvious reason that companies need strategic talent acquisition is that they need the right people to fill positions in the firm. Recruiting can lead to high turnover, as firms hire people who don’t have the right skills, who just don’t fit the corporate culture, or who aren’t invested in the company and leave as soon as something “better” comes along.

Talent acquisition avoids those pitfalls by taking the time to intensively screen each candidate. Strategic talent acquisition allows you to seek out the ideal candidate—a person who has the skills you require, who really wants to work for your company, and who fits with the corporate culture. When your company has these people onboard as employees, you know you’re going to get the best of what they have to offer.

Talent acquisition is not focused on the here and now. While finding the right person to fit the position that’s currently open is important, the process of acquiring talent also allows employers to be more forward-thinking. It asks them to imagine where this person will be in five or ten years. What position will they hold in the company? Will they be mentoring with one of your senior employees to become your next CFO or COO? While what a candidate can do here and now is vital, what they can do in the future is just as important when you engage in talent acquisition.

Strategic talent acquisition plays up this futuristic thinking even more as it asks you to consider the business’s needs both now and in the future, and to plan your workforce accordingly. Where is your business heading? What positions are you likely to need filled as you expand into new markets or new fields of expertise? Asking these questions now will ensure you get the workforce you need to succeed in the future.

Many companies avoid talent acquisition because the process can be time-consuming and costly up front. But if you look to the longer term—as talent acquisition asks you to—you’ll notice something quite interesting: Engaging in the process of acquiring talent actually saves you money over the long run.

How? The process of hiring someone and onboarding them is no small investment for most companies; in fact, it can cost quite a bit not only to go through the process of interviewing and hiring, but also training someone. If that person then leaves, the company has lost its investment—and that costs firms hundreds of thousands of dollars per year. Acquiring talent instead of recruiting lowers the risks of candidates “not working out” and protects your investment in your employees.

Another way firms can save time and money using strategic talent acquisition as opposed to simply recruiting is inonboarding the future leaders of your company now; this will simplify the search for your next CFO or COO later. In fact, it can simplify the search for just about any position in the company. Rather than spending time and money looking outside the company, look inside to the people you considered talented enough to hire already! Chances are your next leader is already within your ranks.