Eager to Emerge Victorious in the War for Talent, Employers Turn to Their Own Ranks

Internal promotions, internal recruiters, and referrals among top-ranked tactics for filling vacancies

New York City (Jan. 14, 2022) – Over two-thirds (69%) of U.S. companies expect to increase their workforces this year, yet nearly nine in 10 (89%) believe it’s going to be a pain in the you-know-what.

To cope, employers are reevaluating their efforts to fill vacant roles. According to XpertHR’s recently released Recruiting and Hiring Survey for 2022, promoting from within, leveraging internal recruiters, and trusting employee referrals are among the most effective recruitment methods for winning the current talent war. Also, companies are generally willing to negotiate salaries after an offer has been made.

The new data is drawn from XpertHR’s survey of 325 U.S. employers across various industries and workforce sizes. The findings offer valuable insight into how companies are dealing with the most pressing human resource concern of 2022: recruiting and hiring. Among the results:

– 80% of companies perceive both internal employee promotion and internal recruiters as “somewhat” or “very” effective solutions for the current talent shortage.

– Ads on online job boards (such as Indeed or Glassdoor) were deemed effective by just over three out of four responding organizations (76%).

– Employee referrals (72%) rounded out the top four most effective methods organizations are using to attract talent.

– Nearly nine in 10 (89%) responding organizations are open to negotiating salaries for either some or all positions once a job offer has been made.

– While employers appear willing to talk dollars and cents when it comes to salary, just 37% of organizations are open to negotiating bonuses, while only 32% are willing to negotiate benefits.

“Interestingly, our survey indicates that what we’d classify as ‘internal’ activities—such as promoting from within, leveraging in-house recruiters and trusting employee referrals—are perceived as among the most effective recruiting methods,” said Emily Scace, Legal Editor at XpertHR. “This suggests that those companies whose employees feel connected to and inspired by the internal culture may have an advantage in the tussle for talent.

How long should businesses expect to wait before open roles can be filled? XpertHR’s survey found that the time to fill a vacancy typically increases as the supervisory nature of the role increases, with staff-level roles taking a median of 30 calendar days to fill, compared with a median of 60 calendar days for manager-level vacancies, and a median of 90 calendar days for executive-level positions.

XpertHR’s Recruiting and Hiring Survey 2022 was conducted from Nov. 9 to Dec. 3, 2021. The survey included responses from 325 U.S. employers of various industries and workforce sizes, representing over 570,000 workers. The survey report explores key aspects of recruiting and hiring, such as candidate-attraction methods and their effectiveness, soft skills and how they are evaluated in the hiring process, the post-pandemic future of video interviews, the time it takes to fill positions, vacancy costs, and more.

Editor’s Note: Emily Scace, Legal Editor, XpertHR is available for comment. To schedule an interview or request a press report, please contact Kyle Woosley at kwoosley@wordsworthweb.com or 859-274-2924.

Image caption: Eighty percent of organizations that use internal employee promotion as a candidate-attraction method rated it as “somewhat” or “very” effective, compared with an internal recruiter (80%), ads on online job boards, such as Glassdoor and Indeed (76%), and employee referrals (72%).

Image caption: Nearly nine in 10 organizations (89%) are open to negotiating salary or hourly wages for either some or all positions once a job offer has been made but are far less likely to negotiate bonuses (37%) or other benefits (32%).

About XpertHR: XpertHR has been providing HR solutions since 2002, empowering organizations across the globe to build successful workforces and create a purposeful workplace for all. The platform delivers expert insight, trusted resources, data analysis, and practical tools to help achieve greater efficiency, reduce risk and increase employee engagement. XpertHR is developing smarter data analysis tools and cutting-edge technology to support future demands on HR in an increasingly digital world. To learn more visit xperthr.com.

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