Ten stats that all Talent Acquisition leaders should be aware of

In all of my articles I love to share stats that are both insightful and impactful.  Whilst economists and analysts debate the likely impacts of inflation and recessions, most of us are still experiencing high hiring volumes and an incredibly tough labor market.  Now is the time for TA leaders to be brave in setting strategies that will be transformative for their companies – re-imagining internal hiring, hiring for potential over job-readiness, accessing hidden talent pools, creating or segmenting candidate value propositions.  To build the business case for change we need to demonstrate to our stakeholders that there is an imperative to act now. 

So here are 10 statistics that I think all TA leaders should be aware of, all stats that will help position the need for change.

1. A third of the workforce will quit their job this year.  Attrition levels have been rising year on year for well over a decade save for a blip in the midst of Covid.  If you’re banking on a dramatic reduction in attrition to tame your hiring levels you will likely be disappointed.
2. Typical workers who change jobs will achieve a 9.7% increase in wages v’s a 1.7% fall for those who stay.   With inflation and the cost of living increasing so dramatically it’s no wonder people are leaving their existing jobs at such a rapid rate.
3. 50% of job-seekers who accept a counter-offer from their current employer will be back on the market within 2 months.  You can’t solve your attrition challenges by trying to retain people at the point that they resign.
4. 65% of job leavers are leaving their industry completely.  Talent pools of job-ready candidates are diminishing; if your strategy is predominantly to hire talent from your competitors then your life is going to get increasingly tough. 
5. Only 60% of new jobs are being filled.  Whilst a recession may close the gap, companies are struggling to hire. 
6. Only 33% of employees that searched for a new opportunity searched internally first.  It’s far harder for employees to find a new role internally than it is for them to find a new role externally.  If you want to reduce your Talent Acquisition challenges then there’s no better place to start than fixing internal hiring to retain existing talent. 
7. The total number of skills required for a single job is rising 10% year on year.  If you solely hire job-ready talent you’re not future-proofing your organisation.  We need to hire talent that has the potential to develop, up-skill and re-skill.
8. Home working today is up five-fold on seven years ago.  Workers want flexibility and those companies that can’t or won’t provide it will lose access to talent.
9. There are millions of hidden workers that recruiters are failing to consider.  We need to tap in to new talent pools to acquire the skills we so desperately need and companies that do so are 36% less likely to face talent and skills shortages.
10. 74% of companies underperform when it comes to recruitment.  Talent Acquisition is so critical to business success, now is the time to act.

There we go, 10 stats that should be thought-provoking and impactful.  What’s the solution to all of these challenges?  There are a myriad of opportunities that TA leaders can take to transform and optimise their hiring challenges.  The article linked below describes my vision of the talent function of the future.