Employers struggling to recruit the right talent finds survey

Employers are having to work harder than ever to find the right talent to fill vacancies, with the proportion of employers reporting an increase in competition for well-qualified talent increasing threefold from 20 per cent in 2009 to 62 per cent in 2013. The annual CIPD/Hays Resourcing and Talent Planning Survey 2013, which examines resourcing and talent planning strategies across private, public and voluntary sector organisations, reveals that six in ten organisations had experienced difficulties filling vacancies in the past year, and although more than half of organisations report that they make use of social media in resourcing, just two fifths have a dedicated strategy.

The survey shows that the rate of labour turnover has declined steadily since the start of the financial crisis in 2008, and one in six organisations reported that an absence of applicants has contributed to recruitment difficulties. Managerial and professional vacancies are the hardest ones to fill, (52 per cent of organisations reporting difficulties), compared to 46 per cent of organisations overall.

Ksenia Zheltoukhova, research associate at the CIPD, said: “Although our Labour Market Outlook survey found that the low-skilled jobs market is a battle ground for job seekers, with more than 40 applicants per vacancy, our annual resourcing survey shows that employers still struggle to find talent that is well qualified. Low rates of labour turnover suggest that some workers at the top end of the labour market are staying put in their jobs in these economically uncertain times, meaning employers have to work harder than ever to find the right talent to fill vacancies.

“As well as building a strong employer brand and thinking creatively about attraction and recruitment strategies in order to attract passive job seekers, employers will have to widen the pools from which they recruit and develop talent, as well as creating new and varied career paths driven by a culture of lifelong learning. For example, employers are increasingly appointing less qualified candidates and building their capacity to develop skills internally. Inclusive recruitment practices are also an investment in future skills retention, crucial as the war for talent intensifies.”

The survey, which is launched today at the CIPD’s annual Recruitment conference in London finds that most common approaches for addressing recruitment difficulties were to up-skill existing employees for hard to recruit for positions and to recruit candidates from a different sector.

Corporate websites and recruitment agencies are considered to be the most effective techniques to attract new talent. The survey also showed a marked increase in the use of social media, particularly professional networks such as LinkedIn, to attract candidates.

However, while more than half of organisations report that they make use of social media in resourcing, just two fifths have a dedicated strategy and only a similar proportion has someone on their team that has been trained in how to use social media effectively.

By Sara Bean