The fine folks over at Harris Allied have today presented the results from an extensive survey aimed at putting some numbers on recruiting, hiring, and retention. The findings represent the experiences and concerns of all manner of talent, from Analysts up to CEOs, and now that they have three years in the books, some trends are beginning to make themselves more clear. Let's take a look at some of the key findings.
Unsurprisingly, the biggest HR issue keeping professionals up at night is finding and hiring top talent. If only there were some sort of vast searchable database of in-depth, detail rich profiles which also included advanced predictive analytics and emailing tools! Related to employee retention, a growing concern for these same professionals is "having to do more work with fewer people", expressing a worry that responsibilities will balloon faster than teams can grow, or valued team members may not stick around.
It's interesting to note how the top strategies for attracting and retaining employees have shifted over the past two years. In 2012, employers focused on offering professional development and a career path, while in 2014, compensation appears to be the ace in the hole for those surveyed. Check out Harris' sleek graphic below to see the shift a bit more clearly.
The survey closes with a section on respondents' plans for hiring and growth. While there is some encouraging results here for those looking for jobs --15% of participants anticipate their headcount to grow by 15% of more-- what's particularly concerning here is a massive, blank, grey void labeled "Hiring Plans are TBD". See for yourself:
This year, 40% of respondents don't have the confidence to slap a number on how much hiring they plan to do. While it can be slippery to talk specifics about hiring goals because so many other factors are in play, a giant shrug when it comes to hiring plans suggests several items:
- Lack of communication between team leads, recruiters, and execs
- Uncertainty surrounding projected company performance
- No bar by which to assess Recruiters
Here's a link to the full study. Does anything surprise you? What other conclusions can we make from the results?
