Recruitment problems plague UK firms

Almost three-quarters of employers experienced recruitment problems last year, according to research by IRS Employment Review, Personnel Today’s sister publication.

The latest HR Prospects survey found that private sector employers were more likely to encounter recruitment problems than their public sector counterparts, with 77% citing difficulties compared with 73%.

The manufacturing and production sector was the least likely to experience difficulties, with 65% citing recruitment issues, the study of 427 employers showed.

Recruitment problems were also more prevalent in larger organisations. Three-quarters (75%) of employers with more than 1,000 employees cited difficulties, compared with 68% of those with less than 250 staff.

www.irser.com

…while private sector employers struggle to retain staff

Almost half of all employers experienced retention problems last year, the IRS Employment Review study found.

As with recruitment, retention issues were found to be more prevalent in the private sector, with 57% of companies citing problems.
However, public sector organisations fared reasonably well, with just one-third (33.8%) claiming to have had retention difficulties, compared with 41% in the manufacturing and production sectors.

Companies with between 250 and 999 employees were the least likely to encounter retention problems, compared with 49% in employers with less than 250 staff.

Retention issues were found to be more prevalent in organisations with more than 1,000 staff, with half of the respondents citing difficulties.

…and attempt to cut recruitment spend to bring their costs down

BOXTEXT: Half of all employers (52%) attempted to cut their recruitment costs in 2005, according to the HR Prospects research.
Public sector employers were the most likely to try and cut expenditure, with 63% claiming to bring costs down.

Manufacturing and production organisations were the least likely to reduce recruitment outgoings, with 45% attempting to cut costs.

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Small companies (with less than 250 staff) were the least likely to take measures to lower recruitment costs (43%), while medium-sized employers (250 to 999 staff) were the most likely (56%).

Employers squeeze recruitment budgets as jobs cost more to fill www.personneltoday.com/35434.article