Look! Online recruiting, career websites, social media and active sourcing are the weapons of salvation in the war for rare talent. The latest IAB brief report offers us quite different data here. And since this is always a wallflower existence, by the common recruiter rather less heeded, but - as always - very interesting information ready, I feel as a blogger striving for enlightenment and a better recruiting world called to drag this into the light of day and a little dust off. Here we go!
For those who don't know what it's all about: The IAB (Institute for Employment Research) is a research institution of the Federal Employment Agency and produces the so-called IAB Brief Report at regular intervals. This in turn represents "current analyses from the Institute for Employment Research." This time under the heading "Robust demand for personnel in the West as well as in the East".
So let's get to the good news first: At 4.9 million, the number of new hires in 2013 was (still) at a persistently high level. The figures for the healthcare and social services sectors in particular have recently shown a very positive trend. It is interesting to note that although the number of applicants for a position has fallen significantly since 2007 (by around 30 percent in the west and by almost 50 percent in the east), the number of applicants deemed suitable has remained virtually the same. Tush! Fool's march! La Ola! Thesis of the IAB authors: "It is possible that some of the companies are already reacting in advance to the declining number of applicants and lowering the level of requirements." Yes, it would be nice (keyword Generation Y, different expectations of applicants, changing values, etc. pp and so on). However, according to the IAB, it is also conceivable "that a more efficient matching of supply and demand has recently come about by reducing information deficits on both sides of the labor market." Here, company involvement in local schools, job fairs or the services offered by employment agencies are named as possible drivers. For sure, some of this is true. However, the good old career website, the commitment of some companies on the social web and the increasing use of applicant and career orientation portals (e.g. meinpraktikum.de, whatchado, feelgood@work, etc.), whose importance has increased massively in recent years, should not go unmentioned.
Print beats career website and online job board
At least that's what I thought in my post-adolescentnaivety. But the IAB presents us with completely contradictory figures regarding the success of the individual search channels in recruiting. And I bet you're as surprised as I am.
It is true that the most frequently used search method is the (and I quote:) "job offer on the company's homepage". In 53 percent of new hires, hopeful candidates were sought through this channel (West, East was 46 percent). But now the disillusionment: "This search path led only in 9 percent (West) or 8 percent (East) of the new hires actually succeed." So. There we have the salad. But it comes still worse! Well, in proportion at least.
44 percent (30) rely on print in recruiting for jobs. This makes it the second most common step that companies take in their efforts to recruit new staff (which puts it ahead of online job boards. Monster can therefore completely stomp out its new offering ;-)). And - read this and be amazed - this path leads to success in 18 percent, twice as many cases as with job offers on the homepage. In the east, the figure is 11 percent. Print beats online. But so what! What to do, said Zeus. Well, let's just try an interpretation of the data.
A total of more than 15,000 companies took part in the representative survey conducted by the IAB. These are predominantly small and medium-sized enterprises (this is simply due to the structure of our economy, see also my comment on the last IAB report on the self-inflicted shortage of skilled workers). Furthermore, these are - let me call them that - "labor office-related" companies. Ergo, many companies for whom the Internet is still new territory and print advertising (not social media) is the savior. So when companies post jobs on their website, they have to be found first. And at many companies, that's more of a gauntlet for applicants. In any case, one not insignificant question is how the companies track the whole thing. Let's be honest: A company that doesn't even manage to place the career button prominently on its website and provide information about itself as an employer can hardly manage to evaluate its website statistics. The question then arises as to how it can judge the success of a "job offer on the company's homepage".
But this is only in passing. Anyone who would now like to accuse the IAB of perhaps embellishing the statistics a little too much and pushing the employment office ("use of the Internet services of the employment agencies") is mistaken. This is because it performs even worse, at 7 percent (6).
Even internal job advertisements do not lead to the desired success. Just 2 (1) percent of the efforts pursued through this search avenue resulted in success. Incidentally, the most successful search and staffing method is "via own employees/personal contact". In 27 (28) percent, this path led to success, giving it by far the highest success rate. This once again impressively underlines the importance of this channel. Incidentally, the training itself is also important and brings success. Unfortunately, the study is not particularly clear-cut here and lumps training, study and further education together.
Incidentally, social media recruiting is not acknowledged in this brief report. However, this would probably fall into the per mille range and is therefore not even mentioned in a footnote... So much for active sourcing, Twitter cards or Facebook career pages. Anyway, the hype around social media is overrated!
51 days for recruiting
But let's quickly take a look at search and fill times for new hires. Because placing a job ad or advertising a vacancy is one thing. Somehow it should be occupied. The actual duration of staffing (1) (i.e. the period between the start of the search for personnel and the actual start of work) is 77 days in Germany. The duration of the recruitment (2) (which in turn is the period between the start of the recruitment and the decision in favor of an applicant) is 51 days. The actual vacancy duration (3) (period between decision and actual start of work) is 26 days.
All of this is in stark contrast to what is planned. The planned staffing duration (4) (planned period between start of recruitment and desired start of work) is 53 days, the planned vacancy duration (5) (planned period between decision and desired start of work) is 3 days and the unplanned vacancy duration (6) (period between desired and actual start of work) is 23 days. As is so often the case, wish and reality diverge here. With the times given, you really have to wonder if a company can afford such long times when filling a position. And even applicants who have already accepted should not be left in the lurch and kept happy. Because one or the other is quite receptive to offers if he is not shown the necessary appreciation. And then it's back to the search... Print of course, is most successful :-)
Moreover, 87 (82) percent of all personnel searches were successfully completed in 2013. Overall, just over 800,000 positions could not be filled with a suitable external candidate in the first attempt in 2013. Four (seven) percent of the search processes were even terminated permanently. However, in cases such as the cleaning specialist with a lifeguard license, an officer reservation special or a lynx (!), I am not surprised (of course, it would look quite different if these positions had been advertised by advertisement in newspapers or magazines - clear, right?).
But let's recap: 800,000 jobs (zero point eight million!) could not be filled (in the first attempt). The billions of euros in damage that this represents for the German economy is beautifully illustrated by Martin Gaedt in his bestseller "Mythos Fachkräftemangel" (The Skilled Worker Shortage Myth). If you still haven't read the book, you should do so as soon as possible!
Clearly, the number of applicants is declining overall, leaving companies with fewer choices. However, it should be clear that companies are not pulling out all the stops when it comes to positioning themselves as employers among their target groups. Not all potentials are utilized when it comes to attracting new employees. This is not just about tools per se, but also about expanding the search radius. In other words, no longer just looking locally, but regionally, not just regionally, but also nationally, not just nationally, but also globally. However, one should always keep in mind that Spaniards are not a solution either. And, of course, it is not enough to play only one channel. Each target group has different requirements. You should be prepared for this. And accordingly align the ways of personnel recruitment to it. Remember: Many roads lead to the candidate. The mix is what makes it! The entire IAB brief report with further interesting information is available for download here. On that note, good evening, I need to finish my lynx application now!
Source: https://personalmarketing2null.de/2014/10/06/recruiting-print-schlaegt-online/