One in three organisations expects to increase its overall recruitment spend in the next six months, according to research published in Cranfield School of Management’s Recruitment Confidence Index.
In all, 84% of employers believe they will need to spend more or keep spending at current levels. Just one in six of the 557 senior managers questioned for the study expects its recruitment spending to fall by the summer.
But the study, produced in association with Personnel Today, also shows that a substantial number of organisations fail to evaluate the success of their overall recruitment process or of individual recruitment exercises.
The research suggests that most employers should have a good strategic grasp of recruitment, with two-thirds (66%) of managers reporting that the process is run centrally. A further one in four (23%) manages recruitment at branch or location level. Small numbers leave recruitment to individual managers (6%) or departments (5%).
The survey also shows some degree of centralisation of recruitment decisions, with senior managers involved in a decision to recruit in more than half (54%) of organisations, and in the selection of recruitment method in one-third (30%).
Although HR is involved in the decision to recruit in just one-third (32%) of organisations, it is more often involved in the choice of recruitment method (61%) and the section of advertising media (21%).
…but few know whether they get value for money
Two out of three organisations (66%) aim to evaluate the success of their overall recruitment process, the Recruitment Confidence Index research shows.
But fewer than half (49%) systematically evaluate the success of an individual recruitment exercise, and just one in five (19%) does so on a cost-per-hire basis – regarded as the true measure of value for money.
In evaluating the overall success of their recruitment process, employers typically look at measures such as the number of applications received that can be shortlisted (37%), the time taken to fill vacancies (35%), and the overall cost of recruitment (34%).
The most common measures used to evaluate an individual recruitment exercise are broadly similar, but in each instance are used by far fewer organisations.
The survey also found that about one-third (32%) of organisations have invested in a recruitment management system that could help them to track cost-per-hire, but just half (51%) of these are using their systems to produce statistics that work for individual recruitment methods.
Adam Wright, client services director at Konetic, which sponsored the research, said too many firms brought software and then changed their internal processes to match the way it works – creating friction within the organisation and a resistance to change.
…and most rely on previous experience
Employers are most likely to base their choice of recruitment method on their past experiences, the Recruitment Confidence Index survey shows.
More than nine out of 10 said first-hand experience of the success of any given method was either very important (49%) or important (43%) in deciding what to do next time. The ability of a particular method to target specific groups was cited as very important or important by 77%, as was the reach of the chosen method (75%).
Most organisations showed little interest in copying their competitors’ approach to recruitment, with just 36% citing this as very important or important in their decisions.
The report is available from Dr Emma Parry and is priced at £50. Tel: 01234 754 808. E-mail emma.parry@cranfield.ac.uk
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