30 Interesting Statistics Recruitment & Turnover

We have been conducting a series of internal projects to see what sort of statistics are available on a broad range of workplace topics including leadership, teams, culture, diversity, millennials, engagement, and recruitment. 

• 75% of hiring and talent managers use recruiting software and/or applicant tracking software when hiring. (Capterra) Source
• 84% of organisations are currently using social media for recruitment. Source
• Over one-third (36%) of organisations disqualified candidates based on information found in social media. Source
• According to the survey data, the three most effective social media platforms for recruitment are LinkedIn (73%), Facebook (14%) and professional or association networking sites (9%). Source
• In 2016, 56% of recruiters said they can't make good hires because of lengthy hiring procedures. (2016 Recruiter & Employer Sentiment Survey MRI Network). Source
• 64 percent of Millennials would rather make $40K a year at a job they love than $100K a year at a job they think is boring. Source
• There are 5 things job seekers take into account before accepting a job offer. From most to least important: 1) salary and compensation, 2) career growth opportunities, 3) work-life balance, 4) location/commute, and 5) company culture and values. Source
• Mobile recruitment represents one of this years’ game-changing hiring trends. In fact, statistics show that more than 70% of candidates visit a company’s website via their mobile device to check out career opportunities, and almost 50% used their phones to apply for an open position. Source
• In one study, 16 out of 41 individuals mentioned poor treatment by recruiters as a reason for deciding that an employer they initially favoured was no longer a good fit. Source

Top trends for the future of recruiting:

• More Diverse Candidates - 37%
• Focus on Soft Skills Assessment - 35%
• Investment in Innovative Interviewing Tools - 34%
• Company Mission Used as a Differentiator - 33%
• Big Data - 29%
• (LinkedIn Global Recruiting Trends 2017) Source
• In the past, companies have typically placed the main emphasis on skills and experience, but, according to JobVite, 60% of recruiters will prioritise job fit in 2017. Source
• Recruiters take an average of 6 seconds to scan a resume. (TheLadders)
• The average job opening attracts 250 resumes. (Glassdoor)
• The interview process takes an average of 22.9 days. (Glassdoor)
• 42 days is the overall average time it takes to fill a given position. (SHRM)
• When reviewing resumes, specifically looking at just the name, those associated with caucasian descent received 50% more callbacks than those associated with African American descent, regardless of the industry or occupation. (National Bureau of Economic Research).
• 16% of organisations currently measure the return on investment (ROI) of their recruitment processes. A substantial 70% of organisations don’t measure ROI, with a further 14% unsure of whether they do or not. Source
• By far the most popular recruitment metric that companies track is cost per hire (81%), followed by the turnover rate of new hires (75%). Source
• A 2012 study found that employers that excelled in recruiting experienced 3.5 times more revenue growth and twice the profit margin of employers that were less capable in recruiting. Source
• A Brandon Hall talent acquisition study showed organisations that invested in a strong candidate experience improved their quality of hires by 70 percent. Source
• Career opportunity is the #1 reason people change jobs. (Linkedin) Source
• It may surprise you, but according to research from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, employees today stay longer with a company than they did 25 years ago. In 1983, the average employee tenure was around 3.5 years. Fifteen years later, in 1998, people stayed on the job an average of 3.6 years before leaving. In 2014, the average employee stayed 4.6 years. This rise, by the way, includes passing through four recessions from 1983 – 2014. Source
• The median rate of labour turnover has increased again since our last survey and sits at 16.5%. Source
• Research by PwC on employee turnover identified Australia as last amongst 11 developed countries at 23% for staff turnover within 12 months. There’s a lot of room for improvement, as the Netherlands topped the chart with just 4% turnover of new hires within 12 months. Source
• The cost of turnover in Australia, according to PwC, is estimated to be $3.8 billion in lost productivity. Source
• The survey found that 31 per cent expect to change jobs every one to two years, while 39 per cent consider leaving their employer every two to four years. Meanwhile, 30 per cent indicated they will stay with their employer for five or more years. Source
• Studies on the cost of employee turnover are all over the board. Some studies (such as SHRM) predict that every time a business replaces a salaried employee, it costs 6 to 9 months’ salary on average. For a manager making $40,000 a year, that's $20,000 to $30,000 in recruiting and training expenses. But others predict the cost is even more—that losing a salaried employee can cost as much as twice their annual salary, especially for a high-earner or executive-level employee. Source
• The average cost-per-hire is $4,129. (SHRM). Source
• More than half (55%) of HR managers said that loss of productivity is the biggest problem associated with making the wrong recruitment decision. Almost a quarter (23%) said that a poor hire reduces staff morale while almost one in five (19%) HR managers allege it has resulted in significant financial costs. Source
• On average, interviews last 40 minutes (phone interviews 30 minutes), however in a survey of 2,000 hiring managers, 33% claimed to know whether or not they would hire someone within 90 seconds. Source
• Almost 40% of recruiters and hiring managers have not gone through the job application process on their own website to test it. (CareerBuilder) Source

The Recruitment process can be longer depending on screening methods:

• Phone Interview +6.8 - 8.2 days
• Group Panel Interview +5.6 - 6.8 days
• One-on-one Interview +4.1 - 5.3 days
• Background Check +3.1 - 3.4 days
• Presentation +2.7 - 4.2 days
• IQ Test +2.6 - 4.4 days
• Job Skills Test +0.6 - 1.5 days
• Personality Test +0.9 - 1.3 days
• Drug Test +0.3 - 0.8 days
• (Glassdoor)

How many interviews come before an offer? According to recruiters:

• Three - 51%
• Four - 22%
• Two - 17%
• Five or More - 9%
• One - 1%
• (2017 Recruiter Sentiment Study MRI Network)

Here’s what recruiters say will get a resume rejected in 2016:

• Impersonal Applications (No Hiring Manager’s Name) - 84%
• No Thank You Note After Interview - 57%
• Resumes Aren’t Customised and Tailored - 54%
• No Cover Letter - 45%
• No Follow Up With Employer After Interview - 37%
• (Career-builder)