What can HR and recruiting professionals learn from statistics and data? The answer: a lot. Staying up-to-date on employment data is crucial to becoming a leader in HR and recruiting trends. Looking beyond internal data and keeping an eye on national trends in areas such as benefits and perks, paid time off, parental leave and diversity and inclusion keeps your HR and recruiting teams ahead of the pack.
This data is also becoming more readily accessible, with websites like Glassdoor able to find important workplace trends through analyzing the millions of reviews that are annually posted. These statistics reveal truths about HR and recruiting that you may not expect — download Glassdoor's 65 HR & Recruiting Stats for 2018 ebook to read all of them.
1. Speedy Hires Are Rare
It's hard to tell objectively whether or not your hiring process takes the right amount of time. When you've got an open requisition that really needs filling, for example, even a couple of weeks of interviews seems like forever. Or, if you're in a slow-to-hire industry like government or aerospace and defense, a 45-day interviewing window might seem like a win. But the true average lies somewhere in between —research conducted by Glassdoor's Chief Economist shows that the average length of the job interview process in the U.S. is 23.8 days. Any longer and you risk having frustrated candidates drop out; any shorter and you may not be properly vetting for quality.
[Related: How to Balance Time and Candidate Quality In Your Interview Process]
2. Finding New Employees Is Costly
Although you may want a new employee in the door ASAP, it pays to take the time to ensure they're the right fit (within reason, of course). If you choose the wrong candidate for the job, it can be costly — it costs employers 33 percent of a worker’s annual salary to hire a replacement if that worker leaves, according to a 2017 report from the Work Institute.
3. Higher Base Pay Increases Retention
While salary isn't the only thing on a candidate's mind, it does play a role in their overall satisfaction. Glassdoor research found that, on average, a 10 percent higher base pay is associated with a 1.5 percent higher chance that a worker will stay at the company for their next role — a statistically significant effect. It will benefit your company in the long run if you make sure that salary offers are competitive.
4. Diversity & Inclusion Are More Important Than Ever
Increasingly, diversity and inclusion programs aren't just seen as "nice-to-haves," but rather, must-haves. Though the topics of diversity and inclusion have been present in the HR and recruiting circles for decades, they've really picked up steam lately. Even over the past few years, there’s been a sharp uptick in awareness about diversity and inclusion in the workplace: according to Deloitte, 69 percent of executives rated diversity and inclusion as an important issue in 2017, up 32 percent compared to 2014.
5. Moms Are Increasingly Entering the Workforce
Whether due to changing attitudes about women in the workplace, the implementation of mom-friendly benefits or simply a need for greater household income, working mothers have become the rule rather than the exception. According to a 2015 study by the Pew Research Center, 70 percent of moms with kids younger than 18 are in the labor force, up from 47 percent in 1975, and about three-fourths of all employed moms are working full time. Needless to say, if your company hasn't already taken parents into account when designing your benefits package, it's time to start.
[Related: 8 Must-Offer Benefits That’ll Attract & Recruit Working Moms]
6. Americans Are Reluctant to Take Vacation Days
Just because your company offers paid time off doesn't mean employees are actually taking advantage of it — a study from Glassdoor shows that the average U.S. employee (of those who receive vacation/paid time off) has only taken about half (54 percent) of his or her eligible vacation time/paid time off in the past 12 months. If this doesn't seem like an issue to you, keep in mind that vacations have been shown to reduce stress, improve productivity and even prevent heart disease.
7. Office Culture May Prevent Employees from Taking Time Off
One reason employees may be hesitant to take their vacation time? The same Glassdoor poll found that 66 percent of employees feel that their company culture is ambivalent, discouraging or sends mixed messages about time off. If you want your employees as refreshed and productive as possible, creating a PTO-friendly culture is critical.
8. Work/Life Balance Isn’t Just Hoped for – It’s Expected
Think it's not your job to help employees find work-life balance? Think again. A Glassdoor study found that 85 percent of employees/job seekers expect their employer to support them in balancing their life between work and personal commitments. A few ways companies can support their employees in this effort: implementing flexible schedules, a work-from-home policy and generous vacation time.
9. Health and Wellness Is a Top Priority for Millennials
Flashy perks like game rooms and free lunch are nice, but in the end, most employees care about the fundamentals. Case in point: more than 40 percent of Millennials will select an employer based on their health and wellness benefits, says Bersin by Deloitte. If you're going to invest more in your benefits program, consider eschewing the superficial perks and looking into things like employer-paid insurance premiums, wellness stipends and gym passes or discounts.
[Related: 8 Steps to Create a Positive and Healthy Work Environment in 2018]
10. Glassdoor Has Amassed a Huge Wealth of Information on Jobs and Companies
Today, Glassdoor is the second largest job site in the U.S.*, set apart by the millions of valuable data points that help job seekers find the perfect opportunity for them, and for recruiters to find the perfect candidate for their open positions. In fact, Glassdoor now has more than 35 million reviews and insights for more than 700,000 companies** — information that's leveraged by the nearly 57 million unique users visiting Glassdoor each month.***
*comScore Media Metrix, February 2018
**Glassdoor Internal Data, March 2018
***Google Analytics, CQ1’18 average
