The Search Party research: Revamping Recruitment in the UK April 2014

Revamping recruitment in the UK

April 2014

© Loudhouse 2014 www.loudhouse.co.uk

17%

2%

2%

3%

3%

3%

4%

7%

7%

7%

9%

10%

12%

17%

Other

Accountancy services

Publishing / media

Legal services

Defence / Aerospace

Hospitality / leisure

Engineering

Utilities / transport

Finance & Banking

Manufacturing / construction

Local government

IT / telecoms

Retail / wholesale

Business / consultancy services

S4: In which of the following industries does your organisation operate predominantly? S6: How many employees are there within your organisation?

100 – 999 employees

50%

1,000 – 4,999 employees

22%

5,000 employees and over

28%

Company size Industry

Research overview

200 online interviews with line managers with hiring responsibility (March 2014)


The Recruitment Revamp

Recruiting new staff is felt to be one of the most stressful experiences for line managers

Despite headcount increasing over the last year, businesses are struggling to find the right candidates with the right skills

After advertising internally, businesses rely on recruitment agencies to supply them with

appropriate candidates

Yet businesses don’t feel they have full visibility of their ideal candidates

Without visibility of the right people, the search process lengthens leaving vacancies unfilled

Managers spend less time looking after their own team

Employees feel overworked and stressed

Managers end up making a ‘less than ideal’ hire

Businesses need better information about and greater access to better candidates and the tools to give them greater control over the process


Story stats (1)Recruitment gripes• Three quarters (66%) believe recruiting new staff is a hassle

• 86% believe the recruitment process will never be completely foolproof and perfect

• Over half (52%) of all hires in the last two years failed to completely meet the original recruitment specification – 33% partially met the requirements with 19% not meeting them at all. The main reason for compromise is that the process takes too long (46%). In 48% of cases, it takes more than 2 months to recruit someone

• The biggest stresses for line managers relate to recruitment inefficiencies - managing staff who are underperforming (56%), finding staff with the relevant skills to match their business needs (41%) and managing a team which is understaffed (40%)

• Unfilled vacancies are resulting in employees becoming overworked (66%), feeling more stressed (54%) and low employee morale (42%)

• Candidates lacking necessary skills (52%), the recruitment process taking too long (52%) and overall cost (35%) are the key challenges of the recruitment process

• Over half (53%) of businesses often feel recruitment agencies are not sharing all their possible candidates with them


Story stats (2)Time for a recruitment revamp?• Nearly half (46%) believe the popularity of LinkedIn is due to problems with more

traditional recruitment channels

• Nearly half (49%) believe accessing quality candidates is a key recruitment challenge over the next 12-18 months, followed by reducing time to hire (42%) and ensuring candidates’ skills match business needs (37%)

• Over three-quarters (77%) would like more control in searching for the right candidate

• Over three-quarters (77%) feel hiring managers should have ultimate control over the recruitment process

• Three quarters (74%) think the recruitment industry could make better use of technology to better service recruitment needs

• Less ‘unwanted’ candidates (54%), more choice of ideal candidates (54%) and less time spent searching for candidates (49%) are the perceived benefits of having an online platform which allows access to unlimited, pre-vetted candidates


Bad recruitment experiences

“Being pushed to hire staff too quickly resulted in unsuitable person being hired.”

“…We usually just have to pick the one we feel will most likely improve from a poor bunch of applicants just to fill the position and then we end up having issues in training

and improving the successful applicant.”

“…I sometimes get frustrated when recruiters send CV's from clients totally unsuitable for

the position advertised.”“Not enough candidates and quality very low, so more time conducting extra interviews. Very time

consuming.”

“Recruitment companies do not fully understanding our needs, sending applicants without enough

experience in the working environment.”

“Recruitment agencies who enthuse about candidates and then try to fit a square peg into a round hole! Generally the high calibre candidates

are at their mercy and when they arrive for interview they tend to feel demeaned or let down if

the job is not suitable...The agencies can end up costing us more money as a result and waste a lot

of people's time.”

“While the job specifications for the candidate may have been broad based, it was quite difficult to get

the person with the right amount of experience and skills for the role.”

Small business, publishing / media

Small business, Retail

Small business, business services

Small business, manufacturing

Small business, manufacturing

Large business, IT

Large business, finance & banking


+10% differenceRecruitment gripesTotal

Small businesses

Large businesses

% agreeing recruiting new staff is a hassle 66% 69% 63%% agreeing the recruitment process will never be completely fool proof and perfect

86% 86% 85%

Met recruitment requirementsCompletelyPartiallyNot at all

48%33%19%

48%33%19%

48%33%19%

Compromise on recruitment because the process takes too long 46% 47% 45%Length of time to recruit (2 months or more) 48% 40% 55%Most stressful experiences at workManaging staff who are underperformingFinding staff with the relevant skills to match your business needsManaging a team which is understaffed

56%41%40%

53%40%38%

59%42%41%

Impact of unfilled vacanciesEmployees becoming overworkedEmployees feeling more stressed Low employee morale

66%54%42%

59%53%40%

72%55%44%

Key challenges of the recruitment processCandidates lacking necessary skills The recruitment process takes too long Overall cost

52%52%35%

52%47%41%

51%57%28%

% agreeing recruitment agencies are not sharing all their possible candidates with them

53% 60% 46%

Small businesses: 100-999 employeesLarge businesses: 1,000+ employees


Time for a recruitment revampTotal

Small businesses

Large businesses

% agreeing the popularity of LinkedIn for recruitment is due to problems with more traditional recruitment channels

46% 54% 37%

Key recruitment challenge over the next 12-18 monthsAccessing quality candidatesReducing time to hireEnsuring candidates’ skills match business needs

49%42%37%

60%43%32%

38%40%41%

Would like more control in searching for the right candidate 77% 74% 80%

% agreeing hiring managers should have ultimate control over the recruitment process

77% 77% 77%

% agreeing the recruitment industry could make better use of technology to better service recruitment needs

74% 81% 67%

Benefits of having an online platform which allows access to unlimited, pre-vetted candidatesLess ‘unwanted’ candidates More choice of ideal candidates Less time spent searching for candidates

54%54%49%

52%62%55%

56%46%43%

+10% difference

Small businesses: 100-999 employeesLarge businesses: 1,000+ employees

Recruitment gripes

http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&frm=1&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&docid=dyoycHCbFisi6M&tbnid=jZu3LYVWQ8j9KM:&ved=0CAUQjRw&url=http://thestarbook.wordpress.com/2012/03/05/the-rough-road/&ei=8Po7U_OqB4Kp0QWhyYHQDQ&psig=AFQjCNEhLxiybQ4JEw4t609gV0xD9EEpqw&ust=1396526178598849


http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&frm=1&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&docid=v7weSB3A6g9XOM&tbnid=l1gqfp2q8yXSqM:&ved=0CAUQjRw&url=http://spoki.tvnet.lv/tribine/Kapec-mes-medzam-velu-aiziet-gulet/691206&ei=sf47U_bNDMTE0QWC-YHQCQ&psig=AFQjCNEA6OOxKqr8fDQXjSWjvhiuX2yfeg&ust=1396527137114613

http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&frm=1&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&docid=v7weSB3A6g9XOM&tbnid=l1gqfp2q8yXSqM:&ved=0CAUQjRw&url=http://spoki.tvnet.lv/tribine/Kapec-mes-medzam-velu-aiziet-gulet/691206&ei=sf47U_bNDMTE0QWC-YHQCQ&psig=AFQjCNEA6OOxKqr8fDQXjSWjvhiuX2yfeg&ust=1396527137114613


5%

1%

16%

19%

21%

23%

25%

27%

34%

34%

37%

40%

41%

56%

None of these

Other

Moving office / location

Technology not being used to streamline processes

Managing the effects of high staff churn / turnover

Change in management personnel

Meeting unrealistic personal objectives

Ensuring a staff vacancy is filled within a certain time

Personally taking on more and more roles / responsibility

Pressure to reduce costs / working to a reduced budget

IT equipment not working / underperforming

Managing a team which is understaffed

Finding staff with the relevant skills to match your business…

Managing staff who are underperforming

Line manager stresses

Q1: Which of the following do you find stressful at work?

Base: Total (200)

Top 3: result of ‘recruitment inefficiency’


Attitude towards staff recruitment

Dread it / too much hassle and stress

11%

Tolerate it / it’s necessary but not

something I like doing50%

Enjoy it / I like the challenge and

opportunities it may bring39%

Q3: Which of the following best describes how you feel about recruiting staff?

Base: Total (200)

Recruitment revellers

Recruitment revilers

Recruitment tolerators


86% believe the recruitment process will never be completely fool proof and perfect

66% believe recruiting new staff is a hassle

Searching for ‘Mr Perfect’

52% think it is difficult to admit that they made a recruitment mistakeSmall businesses (59%), Large businesses (44%)


Meeting the recruitment requirements

Completely met the original

recruitment specification / requirement

48%Partially met the original recruitment

specification / requirement

33%

Did not meet the original recruitment

specification / requirement

19%

Q9: Being brutally honest, what percentage of hires in the last two years do you feel completelymet the original recruitment requirements, in terms of skills, experience, attitude?

Base: Total (200)


10%

4%

3%

2%

3%

7%

11%

26%

19%

18%

Don’t know

Over 50%

41% - 50%

31 – 40%

21 – 30%

16 – 20%

11 – 15%

6 – 10%

1 – 5%

None – 0%

Willingness to pay on top of candidate’s salary

Q16: Typically, how much are you prepared to pay on top of a candidate’s salary to ensure that a hire is the correct one?

Organisations are prepared to pay an extra 10% on top of a candidate’s salary to ensure a hire is a correct one

Base: Total (200)


Annual change in staff count

Increased42%

Stayed the same37%

Decreased21%

S7: Has your organisation’s staff count increased or decreased in the last 12 months?

Base: Total (200)


19%

27%

41%

55%

58%

61%

Directly advertised for vacancy via socialnetwork sites (e.g. LinkedIn, Twitter)

Consulted own personal network (includingLinkedIn)

Directly advertised for vacancy via newspapers,magazines, other press

Directly advertised for vacancy via online jobboards

Used a recruitment agency

Advertised vacancy internally

Preferred recruitment methods

Q2: Which of the following methods have you used to fill a vacancy within your organisation in the last 12 months?

Base: Total (200)

Small businesses: 48%Large businesses: 34%




3%

11%

14%

16%

20%

33%

4%

9%

16%

19%

19%

9%

Directly advertised for vacancy via socialnetwork sites (e.g. LinkedIn, Twitter)

Consulted own personal network (includingLinkedIn)

Directly advertised for vacancy via newspapers,magazines, other press

Advertised vacancy internally

Directly advertised for vacancy via online jobboards

Used a recruitment agency

Most difficult

Most easy

Most easiest / difficult recruitment methods

Q2b: And which method do you generally find the easiest / most likely to be successful? Q2b: And which do you generally find the most difficult / least likely to be successful?

Base: Chosen recruitment method in the last 12 months


2%

20%

24%

27%

29%

30%

33%

34%

35%

52%

52%

None of the above – no challenges

Staff retention / need to frequently repeat recruitmentprocess

Persistent contact / cold calls from recruiters

Receiving too many CV from recruiters

Limited / no access to the highest quality talent

Lack of resources to support / attract the highest quality talent

Receiving poor quality / not suitable candidate CVs fromrecruiters

Candidates lacking knowledge of role / company

Costs too much

Takes too long

Candidates lacking necessary skills / talent

Challenges of the recruitment process

Q5: Which of the following have you experienced as challenges with the staff recruitment process?

Base: Total (200)

Small businesses: 47% Large businesses: 57%




Over half (53%) of businesses often feel recruitment agencies are not sharing all their possible candidates with them

Small businesses (60%), Large businesses (46%)

Are we seeing the whole picture?

Base: Total (200)


7%

3%

10%

12%

14%

15%

15%

18%

25%

31%

36%

36%

40%

45%

45%

There are no barriers

Other

Certain groups prohibit recruitment

Longer search time and time to fill vacancies

Lack of available consultancy / recruitment advice

Lack of available industry specific detail

Not sure how to do this effectively

Inappropriate candidates coming to interview

Difficult to use as a ‘recruitment tool’

Time wasted by targeting passive candidates

Not all users wish to be contacted by companies / recruiters

Profiles lack relevant information

Profiles are often not up-to-date

Profiles / references may be incorrect or false

Not all desirable candidates have a LinkedIn profile

Key problems of LinkedIn

Q14: Which of the following do you think are the key problems with using LinkedIn to search for or recruit candidates?

Base: Total (200)

46% believe the popularity of LinkedIn is due to problems with more traditional recruitment channels



6%

1%

20%

33%

35%

38%

42%

59%

None of the above

Other

Managing finances

Completing administrative tasks

New business development and sales

Servicing existing clients

Training / developing your own skills

Training / developing existing employees

Preference of spending time outside of recruiting

Q7: Rather than spending your time searching for candidates, how would you prefer to spend your time?

Base: Total (200)


1%

3%

6%

15%

15%

24%

31%

33%

26%

18%

20%

7%

2%

1%

1%

1%

Length of processit actually takes

Length of processit should take

Less than a week One week – fortnight Fortnight – one month

One – two months Two – three months Three – six months

Over six months Don’t know

Time taken to recruit

Q6a: From identifying a recruitment need, to filling the position, how long does this process typically take? Q6b: From identifying a recruitment need, to filling the position, how long should this process take in your opinion?

6 weeks

9 weeks

Average time

Base: Total (200)


5%

1%

18%

19%

26%

30%

30%

41%

42%

54%

66%

None of the above – I have no concerns

Other

Clients leave / go elsewhere

Reduced revenue / profits

Business will struggle to grow

Clients are underserviced

Further employees leaving

Reduced productivity

Low employee morale

Employees feeling more stressed / anxious

Employees becoming overworked

Concerns about unfilled vacancies

Q8: Which of the following concern you most about having vacancies left unfilled within your business?

Base: Total (200)


13%

20%

25%

26%

41%

46%

None of the above

We didn’t invest enough time in the recruitment process at our end

Our recruitment budget wasn’t big enough to find the right candidates

Specification was unrealistic / too niche

Could not find anyone to meet this specification /pool of candidates too small

Taking too long to find someone / need to recruit ina hurry

Reasons for compromising on candidates

Q10: What are the main reasons why you may end up compromising on candidates during the recruitment process and not hiring someone who completely meets the original specification?

Base: Total (200)

Time for a recruitment revamp?




1%

2%

2%

3%

7%

6%

8%

7%

16%

8%

9%

27%

10%

15%

17%

20%

20%

24%

24%

25%

31%

35%

36%

45%

More equal opportunities / white-labelling of candidates

Better knowledge of industries / sectors from recruiters/tools

Better understanding of business needs

Spend less money filling each vacancy

Greater flexibility to negotiate on recruiter’s commission for each candidate

Less contact / cold calls from recruiters

Greater access to a higher volume of candidates

Greater flexibility to negotiate on candidate’s salary / benefits

More control of the recruitment process myself

Better information about candidates

Spend less time searching for candidates

Greater access to higher quality candidates

Current improvements needed

Biggest improvement needed

Improving the recruitment process

Q15a: In which of the following ways can your current recruitment process be improved? Q15b: And what do you believe would be the single biggest improvement?

Base: Total (200)



3%

1%

13%

13%

14%

18%

18%

27%

30%

31%

37%

42%

49%

None of the above

Other

Improving visibility of potential candidates beyond the UK

Utilising technology and data to inform better recruitment…

Improving internal communication between HR and the…

Ensuring ROI on new hires

Utilising internal talent to fill vacancies

Improving staff retention

Ensuring candidates match company culture

Reducing cost of hire

Ensuring candidates’ skills match our business needs

Reducing time to hire

Accessing quality candidates

Key recruitment challenges over the next 12-18 months

Q17: Which of the following do you believe are the key recruitment challenges over the next 12-18 months?

Base: Total (200)





Recruitment control

None at all – I fully rely on recruiters

providing the right candidates for me

5%

Some control – I have some level of

control over the recruitment

process55%

Total control – I am in full control of searching for the right candidate

40%

Q4a: How much control do you feel you have over searching for the right candidate? Q4b: Ideally, would you like more control in searching for the right candidate?

77% would like more control in searching for the right candidate

Base: Total (200)


Shift in recruitment responsibilities

Over three-quarters (77%) feel hiring managers should have ultimate control over the recruitment process

Base: Total (200)

54% believe the HR department is less involved in the recruitment process than it was 2 years agoSmall businesses (59%), Large businesses (48%)

“The HR Team has no understanding of the requirements of the job and have done a pre-sift of applicants thus excluding possible

suitable applicants from interview”

“When we have appointed someone on HR

recommendation alone”

Recruitment nightmares…

“HR support not experienced enough to support interview process”


7%

19%

24%

31%

32%

33%

49%

54%

54%

None of the above

Being on a level playing field with other employersregardless of size and budget

More scope to negotiate candidate’s salary / benefits

More control over the recruitment process

Candidates details in one manageable place

Spend less money filling each vacancy

Spend less time searching for candidates

More choice of ideal candidates

Less ‘unwanted’ candidates

Benefits of an online recruitment platform

Q12: If you had access to unlimited, pre-vetted candidates that you could search according to your own parameters online, what benefits do you see this giving you?

74% think the recruitment industry could make better use of technology to better service recruitment needs


Base: Total (200)




9%

26%

29%

47%

51%

51%

None of the above

Up-to-date information on candidates salary,benefits, etc

Interactive portal between you and recruiters

Ability to Instantly search for candidates by differentattributes

Organise / manage candidates in a single place

Compare different candidates in a consistent format

Most useful tools of an online recruitment platform

Q13: Which of the following would you consider to be the most compelling and useful aspects of an online recruitment platform where you have access to unlimited, pre-vetted candidates where you could search according to your own parameters?

Base: Total (200)

Appendix


Research Sample (1)

1 or 210%

3 or 414%

5 or 620%

7 to 1018%

More than 1038%

S2: How many people do you manage day-to-day within your team? S5: Typically, how many candidates are you involved in hiring over the course of a year?

113%

2 - 327%

4 - 518%

6 - 1019%

Over 1023%

Number of people managed Annual number of hires


2%

2%

5%

6%

7%

8%

11%

12%

49%

Newcastle / Tyneside

Cardiff / Wales

Glasgow / Scotland

Birmingham / West Midlands

Liverpool / Merseyside

Leeds / West Yorkshire

Bristol / South West

Manchester / Greater Manchester

London / South East

Research sample (2)

S8: In which of the following cities, or surrounding areas, do you work closest to?


Attitude statements

Q20. To what extent do you agree or disagree with the following statements

11%

9%

19%

12%

16%

16%

25%

29%

35%

43%

34%

42%

50%

59%

53%

57%

30%

31%

25%

32%

28%

14%

18%

13%

4%

14%

5%

12%

5%

2%

3%

0%

21%

4%

18%

4%

2%

10%

3%

2%

The popularity of LinkedIn for recruitment is due toproblems with more traditional recruitment channels

It is difficult to admit you have made a recruitmentmistake

I often feel recruitment agencies are not sharing all theirpossible candidates with us

The HR department will become less involved in therecruitment process than it did 2 years ago

Recruiting new staff is a hassle

The recruitment industry could make better use oftechnology to better service recruitment needs

Hiring managers should have ultimate control over therecruitment process

The recruitment process will never be completely foolproof and perfect

Agree strongly Tend to agree Tend to disagree Disagree strongly Don't know

Base: Total (200)

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