Even though a majority of HR executives in the U.S. believe employee referrals are the best way to find the best job candidates, almost two-thirds of U.S. workers say their employers don't offer referral bonuses and many say they are even reluctant to refer others to work for their company. According to the recent Spherion Emerging Workforce Study, conducted by Harris Interactive , 58 percent of top HR executives from across the country say that referrals are the best way to recruit top talent. However, in separate survey of employed adults in the U.S., Spherion found that 65 percent of workers say that their company doesn't offer any incentives or bonuses to encourage them to do so.
"As the evidence shows, many HR executives are finding referrals to be the best way to recruit top talent. When you consider the potential costs of a lengthy recruitment process, using bonuses or incentives can be more cost effective in the end and deliver the best fit candidates directly to hiring managers," said Richard Lamond, senior vice president and chief HR officer of Spherion Corporation. "With the battle for top talent heating up, companies can not afford to miss out on any opportunities to recruit high quality talent."
Complicating the issue even further, Spherion also found that only 52 percent of workers say they would refer friends to work for their company, exposing a deeper problem for HR executives who are beginning to experience a tighter labor market for skilled workers.
"The fact that only half of workers say they would refer friends or family to work for their current employer is quite troubling," Lamond said. "This finding may indicate more serious issues for employers regarding their ability to attract and retain top talent. It's quite important to examine why so many workers aren't compelled to refer others."
HR Executives' View on Best Recruitment Methods to Find Top Candidates
Referrals 58%
Internet/Job boards 34%
Classified advertising 33%
Internal Recruiters 29%
Professional Associations 14%
Staffing/Recruiting agency 14%
Temp to hire 9%
Note: Based on question to HR executives: "By which of the above two recruitment methods do you feel you find your best candidates?"
About the Spherion Workplace Snapshot
As part of the Spherion Emerging Workforce Series of employment surveys, the monthly Spherion Workplace Snapshot provides workers' perspectives on a wide range of issues affecting them in the workplace. Topics include burnout, office parties, supervisor relationships and workplace romance.
Methodology
Employer Survey: The results of the employer survey are based on 502 telephone and online interviews with senior human resources executives at U.S. companies conducted by Harris Interactive on behalf of Spherion between March 21 and April 27, 2005. Companies were selected from a list provided by Dun & Bradstreet and the sample was stratified to ensure a certain number of interviews in each revenue category. The data were weighted by number of employees so that the total sample reflects the distribution of employees across company size. In theory, with a probability sample of this size, one can say with 95 percent certainty that the results have a sampling error of plus or minus 4.5 percentage points of what they would be if the entire population of senior human resource executives at U.S. companies had been polled with complete accuracy. The online sample is not a probability sample.
Employee Survey: The Spherion Workplace Snapshot survey is based on data from the Harris Interactive QuickQuerySM online omnibus conducted monthly by Harris Interactive on behalf of Spherion Corporation. A U.S. sample of 1,469 employed adults, aged 18 years and older, was interviewed in a poll conducted between July 6-8, 2005. Figures for age, sex, race/ethnicity, income, education and region were weighted where necessary to bring them into line with their actual proportions in the population. Propensity score weighting adjusted for respondents' propensity to be online. In theory, with probability samples of this size, one could say with 95 percent certainty that the results have a sampling error of plus or minus 3 percentage points of what they would be if the entire U.S. population of employed adults had been polled with complete accuracy. This online sample was not a probability sample.
About Spherion
Spherion Corporation is a leader in the staffing industry in North America, providing value-added staffing, recruiting and workforce solutions. Spherion has helped companies improve their bottom line by efficiently planning, acquiring and optimizing talent since 1946. To learn more, visit www.spherion.com.
About Harris Interactive
Harris Interactive Inc. (www.harrisinteractive.com), based in Rochester, New York, is the 13th largest and the fastest-growing market research firm in the world, most widely known for The Harris Poll and for its pioneering leadership in the online market research industry. Long recognized by its clients for delivering insights that enable confident business decisions, the Company blends the science of innovative research with the art of strategic consulting to deliver knowledge that leads to measurable and enduring value.
Harris Interactive serves clients worldwide through its United States, Europe (www.harrisinteractive.com/europe) and Asia offices, its wholly-owned subsidiary Novatris in Paris, France (www.novatris.com), and through an independent global network of affiliate market research companies.
