The CIPD recently published their 2009 annual report on Recruitment, Retention and Turnover.
These are the highlights (click here for the full report)
Resourcing strategies and objectives
• 58% report having a formal resourcing strategy.
• 76% cite attracting and recruiting key staff to the organisation as the main objective of their resourcing activities. Enabling the achievement of the organisation’s strategic goals (63%) and meeting future skills requirements of the organisation (48%) are the second and third most important resourcing objectives according to survey participants.
Recruitment difficulties
• Although there was a dramatic decrease in the number of vacancies organisations tried to fill in 2008 compared with 2007, a high proportion of these organisations still experienced recruitment difficulties (81%).
• The key reason for recruitment difficulties is reported to be a lack of necessary specialist skills (73%).
• Appointing people who have the potential to grow but who currently don’t have all that’s required for the job role is the most frequently used initiative to overcome recruitment difficulties (74%).
• The most effective recruitment initiative was deemed to be providing additional training to allow internal staff to fill posts (75%).
Attracting and selecting candidates
• By far the most commonly used methods for attracting candidates are through the organisation’s own corporate website (78%), recruitment agencies (76%) and local newspaper advertisements (70%).
• Competency-based interviews (69%) and interviews following contents of a CV/application form (68%) are the most frequently used selection methods.
• The average recruitment cost of filling a vacancy per employee is £4,000, increasing to £6,125 when organisations are also calculating the associated labour turnover costs.
Resourcing in turbulent times
• Half of the organisations surveyed say the recession is having a negative impact on next year’s resourcing budget and activities.
• 56% of organisations are focusing more on retaining than recruiting talent.
• 40% of organisations say they will be recruiting fewer people in 2009 than in 2008.
• 72% think employers will use the downturn as an opportunity to get rid of poor performers and bring about culture change.
It would appear from these figures that finding the right poeple for key roles is still hard depsite the drop in overall recruitment. A number of commontators have suggested that in recession, organisations retain their star players but use the exercise to remove under performing individuals. If true, this begins to explain why it is so hard to find people with the right skills and knowledge.
It is important that organisations find ways of retaining staff when wage increases may be hard to justify. This can only be done by finding regular ways of checking on their aspirations and motivation levels. If a key player does leave this means that they have been planning the move well in advance.
So wether organisations are trying to hang on to staff, develop better performers or reduce their recruitment costs, employee engagement continues to surface its ugly head. It is shame then, that effective staff engagement so often takes a low priority for managers.
Let me ask, what would it mean to your organisation if managers could consistently develop their teams, identify people at risk of leaving and reduce the need to advertise externally?
We feel we have the unique solution to these problems called Development Complete.
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