Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
    • Advertise
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Equality, diversity and inclusion
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • XpertHR
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Pricing
    • Free trial
    • Subscribe
    • XpertHR USA
  • Webinars
  • OHW+

Personnel Today

Register
Log in
Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
    • Advertise
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Equality, diversity and inclusion
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • XpertHR
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Pricing
    • Free trial
    • Subscribe
    • XpertHR USA
  • Webinars
  • OHW+

Yardstick Update

Recruitment budgets are under pressure…

by Personnel Today 19 Sep 2006
by Personnel Today 19 Sep 2006

Recruitment budgets are coming under pressure, with 95% of employers having reviewed what they spend during the past 12 months and 74% cutting back, a survey by Personnel Today’s sister publication IRS Employment Review reveals.

The research found that employers are typically moving advertising online, using “preferred providers” among employment agencies, and even cutting the size of their job ads to save money. Others are now more likely to promote internally than recruit.

Reductions in recruitment spend are biting deepest in the public sector, where nearly nine out of 10 organisations surveyed have cut back. One local authority in the study said it now relied on “free” advertising through Jobcentre Plus and its own website.

But while nearly one in four (24%) of the 127 organisations taking part in the study forecast further cuts in the year ahead, almost as many (23%) expect to increase their spend Ð reflecting the difficulty of filling key posts.

However, nearly half (46%) have no formal budget for recruitment, leaving many to struggle in their attempts to manage the unknown.

…but the sums involved are still huge

Estimates of the total size of the recruitment market vary. But spending on online recruitment – one of the lowest cost options – is expected to reach more than £250m this year.

Just 81 of the organisations taking part in the IRS study provided data on their annual recruitment spend. But this alone amounted to more than £21m in 2005, with agencies taking the lion’s share.

The survey shows that employers are spending an average of £151,872 a year on agencies. When the spend is broken down by number of employees (not number of recruits), small and medium-sized employers spend most.

Smaller organisations are also likely to spend a larger proportion of their recruitment budget on using agencies.

The lowest spend is on online recruitment – totalling £20,700 per employer, or £11.65 per employee. The low cost of this option is one of its main attractions, and the survey reveals that employers in private sector services are moving particularly strongly away from traditional advertising and agency use to rely on the internet.

Employers say the main attractions of both job boards and their own websites are their cost-effectiveness, speed and ease of use for both applicants and HR departments.

…and print holds off an online assault

Although local newspapers are having a tough time, the IRS survey shows that they remain the most widely used of all media types for job advertising. And employers rate professional journals as the best source of high-quality applicants.

But the rise of the internet remains unchecked, with almost as many employers using their own websites to attract recruits. And when asked which medium they used most regularly, the corporate website emerged in first place.

However, the survey shows that employers look to different media for different benefits.

Corporate websites are rated best for value for money, ease of administration, and convenience. Local newspapers are considered best for numbers and diversity of applicants.

 

Personnel Today
Personnel Today

Personnel Today articles are written by an expert team of award-winning journalists who have been covering HR and L&D for many years. Some of our content is attributed to "Personnel Today" for a number of reasons, including: when numerous authors are associated with writing or editing a piece; or when the author is unknown (particularly for older articles).

previous post
New organisation set up to represent members of UK Armed Forces
next post
Ministers split on benefit of mandatory pay audits

You may also like

Private sector organisations predict 2% pay rise

12 Nov 2009

Performance-related pay hit during recession

28 Oct 2009

Recession redundancies vastly underestimated by employers

20 Oct 2009

Housing association staff pay continues to rise

12 Oct 2009

Psychometric testing increasingly used in pre-employment screening

8 Oct 2009

Impact of recession on learning and development

2 Oct 2009

Health-related benefits provision is in decline

15 Sep 2009

Staff benefits and allowances 2009: childcare vouchers top...

1 Sep 2009

Public sector bodies most likely to tackle diversity

18 Aug 2009

Use of employment agencies on the wane

17 Jun 2009
  • 6 reasons why work-based learning is better than traditional training PROMOTED | A recent Fortune/Deloitte survey found that 71% of CEOs are anticipating that this year’s biggest business disrupter...Read more
  • Strengthening Scotland’s public services through virtual recruiting PROMOTED | This website is Scotland's go-to place for job seekers looking to apply for roles in public services...Read more
  • What’s next for L&D? Enter Alchemist… PROMOTED | It’s time to turn off the tedious and get ready for interactive and immersive learning experiences...Read more
  • Simple mistakes are blighting the onboarding experience PROMOTED | The onboarding of new hires is a company’s best chance...Read more
  • Preventing Burnout: How can HR help key workers get the right help? PROMOTED | Workplace wellbeing may seem a distant memory...Read more

Personnel Today Jobs
 

Search Jobs

PERSONNEL TODAY

About us
Contact us
Browse all HR topics
Email newsletters
Content feeds
Cookies policy
Privacy policy
Terms and conditions

JOBS

Personnel Today Jobs
Post a job
Why advertise with us?

EVENTS & PRODUCTS

The Personnel Today Awards
The RAD Awards
Employee Benefits
Forum for Expatriate Management
OHW+
Whatmedia

ADVERTISING & PR

Advertising opportunities
Features list 2022

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Linkedin


© 2011 - 2022 DVV Media International Ltd

Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
    • Advertise
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Equality, diversity and inclusion
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • XpertHR
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Pricing
    • Free trial
    • Subscribe
    • XpertHR USA
  • Webinars
  • OHW+