Webster Buchanan Research conducted a survey among 100 HR directors and managers in the UK to analyse the different approaches organisations take to recruitment and the challenges they encounter. The project assessed a broad range of issues facing mid-sized and large organisations, from the shift to web-based recruitment and their overall recruitment philosophy, to the way they report on the effectiveness and business impact of their recruitment activities.

Key findings from the survey include

:
• The vast majority of respondents (85%) believe recruitment should be viewed as a sales and marketing exercise, not purely an HR administrative task, and that HR should actively seek to learn lessons from colleagues in sales and marketing to improve its effectiveness
• While national newspaper and trade media print adverts are the most effective sources for generating high-quality applicants today, respondents expect their relative value to decline sharply in two years time as online recruitment dominates. However, there is scepticism about the effectiveness of social networks as a recruitment tool
• The biggest challenge facing respondents is the difficulty of finding good quality candidates. Respondents see web-based recruitment as part of the solution, helping them extend the reach of their campaigns and market their organisations more creatively
• However, the level of adoption of web-based recruitment is still relatively low. Four out of five interviewees will be using their own websites to display vacancies within the next year, but only 16% currently allow job applications to be submitted via their site. Less than one in ten is currently able to handle web applications electronically throughout the entire recruitment process
• The market for recruitment automation is growing fast. Only 14% of respondents use software to manage their internal recruitment activities today, but almost a quarter plan to do so within the next twelve months
• Speeding up the recruitment process was identified as the second most important benefit of purchasing recruitment software (after cutting costs). Three out of five respondents identified delays caused by line managers as a challenge, while two out of five said it was difficult to manage the recruitment cycle quickly enough to beat competitors to job offers