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Recruiting and Hiring: HR & Compliance Center 2020 Survey

With record low unemployment, employers are pursuing a variety of channels to engage with potential applicants, using online tools, social media and emerging technologies. At the same time, applicants are expecting more from employers during the recruiting and hiring process, so candidate experience is a high priority as well.

About This Survey Report

This report covers key findings from HR & Compliance Center's Recruiting and Hiring Survey 2020. Over 120 organizations participated in this survey, including small, medium, and large employers from a variety of industries across the US. This survey was conducted online in December 2019. See Our Research for details about our sample.

Executive Summary

  • Finding qualified applicants is the key challenge. All survey participants agree that in this competitive job market, finding qualified candidates in a timely manner is their greatest frustration.
  • Time-to-hire remains steady. Almost one-half of survey respondents report that the time-to-hire has stayed the same. Whereas 22 percent feel it is getting shorter for their organization, 22 percent perceived it as getting longer. Unsurprisingly, it takes longer to hire directors and managers than staff.
  • Costs associated with recruiting and hiring may be increasing. While over one-third of respondents report that the cost-to-hire has stayed the same, one-third said it is increasing.
  • The candidate experience is essential. Most survey respondents said the candidate experience is either important or very important in their organizations. To achieve this, they aim to provide timely communication, an easy-to-use application process, clear job descriptions and consistent brand messaging.
  • Online job advertisements are the preferred route to candidates. Whether or not they are on general job boards, professional online communities such as LinkedIn, or the organization's own website, online job advertisements are the preferred avenue to attract candidates today. Survey respondents said online recruiting gives them access to a larger number of candidates (85 percent) and just over one-third (35 percent) report that this method shortened hiring time.
  • Most use social media for recruiting. Almost three-quarters of survey participants use social media to either market to or screen potential employees. Facebook is most widely used for both attracting candidates and marketing to them. Instagram and Twitter are used primarily for marketing.
  • It takes longer and costs more to fill higher-level jobs. Not surprisingly, there are notable differences in recruiting and hiring at different job levels in an organization. On average, survey respondents report that it takes six weeks to fill a director opening, four weeks for a manager and three weeks for staff. It is also more expensive to recruit for higher level roles, costing on average $1,500 to hire a director, $1,000 to bring on a manager and $650 to fill a staff position.
  • Training for hiring managers is not prevalent. Less than one-third of survey respondents offer training for their line managers, be it classroom or e-learning, on how to effectively interview and hire. Most rely on HR to give support to the manager.