BCC Survey Reveals Recruitment as Biggest Challenge When Managing a Workforce

The latest survey conducted in February 2011, by the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) has revealed that recruiting new employees was identified as the greatest challenge when managing a workforce.

The survey conducted with over 500 small and medium-sized businesses across the UK showed that recruitment is a costly and time consuming process.

Highlights of the survey results include:

• Over 40% of companies responding to the survey estimated that the cost of recruiting a new employee is more than £2,000.

• 53% of the businesses surveyed, highlight that the business owner is responsible for recruitment. Less than a quarter of the businesses have personnel departments to handle staffing.

• Only 3% of the businesses regularly use a recruitment agency. Just over half use agencies occasionally, while 46% said they would never use a staffing agency. Two-thirds of respondents cited high costs as a reason for not using external agencies and 11% indicated that the use of staffing agencies is too time consuming.

• Online job boards and websites that allow employers to post open job positions and job seekers to post their curriculums vitae, fare only slightly better. Almost one-fifth of respondents always use online job boards, 43% occasionally, and 39% said they never would. Nearly half of all companies responding to the survey indicated that the curriculums vitae they receive via online job boards do not match the requirements of their job openings while 20% indicated that the use of job boards is too time consuming.

Director of the BCC commented "There are many barriers for companies attempting to recruit new staff. As the Maximus survey shows, the cost and time involved in hiring new staff can be difficult for small- and medium-sized firms. There are currently almost 2.5 million unemployed individuals in the UK, including over one million young people, so we must make it easier for companies to recruit."

The Recruitment & Employment Confederation (REC) has challenged the findings of the survey. Tom Hadley, the REC's Director of Policy and Professional Services, said "The length of time it takes to recruit is often due to ongoing skills shortages, even at a time of relatively high unemployment. We agree that finding the right person is an extremely time-consuming exercise, in fact, this is one of the key reasons for using agencies with the experience and networks to source and filter appropriate candidates."

"With regards to cost, the priority has to be finding the right person for the job, someone who can contribute and make a real difference. It is worth investing some time and resource in getting it right. The reality is that the real cost of recruitment is getting it wrong."

Source Danbro