The Generator Group Talent Acquisition Trends Survey is an annual analysis of talent acquisition and management trends with a focus on economic impact, hiring priorities and recruitment. The survey is in its third year and has collected data from fifty-four well-known consumer products brands. The breakdown of company types includes 67% manufacturers, 22% retailers and 27% other industry firms. Individual respondents included C-level, executive and HR professionals from companies of varying sizes of annual sales from $5 million to $1 billion. Below is a summary of some of the findings from the survey.
The report showed that 58% of companies have experienced a layoff or reduction in force over the last twelve months, with an additional 4% citing it as a future possibility. At the same time, the current economic climate has made it easier to find and attract top talent according to 47% of companies, versus 27% of respondents in 2008. On a brighter note, 64% of companies still will hire at least one net new position in 2009. While relocation and commute issues have greatly declined in their impact on attracting and retaining key talent.
The report also showed that improving quality of hire and retaining key employers remain top priorities to 75% and 58% of respondents respectively. However, other hiring priorities have shifted dramatically. Only 38% of respondent place importance on filling positions faster, versus 73% in 2008. Reducing the cost per hire has also become less important, with 42% of respondents citing this as a priority versus 58% in 2008.
There has been an increase in volume of high quality resumes at both the executive, 9% versus 5% in 2008, and mid to senior level, 22% versus 15% in 2008, indicating more high quality talent may be available in the marketplace due to the current economic climate. While the use of social networking sites for hiring is a hot topic, 38% of respondents cite Twitter and 29% of respondents cite Facebook as one of their least effective recruiting tools. LinkedIn, however, continues to grow in effectiveness, with 11% citing LinkedIn as one of their most effective recruiting tools versus 8% in 2008. The toughest jobs to fill still include marketing, sales and product creation positions. Compensation does not appear to be a major factor in retaining employees, with only 8.9% citing “unsatisfied with salary” as a common reason given when employees leave, versus 36% in 2008. However, 47% of respondents cite “compensation not competitive” as a key issue in attracting new talent versus 38% in 2008.
