Recruitment 2000 - CIPD

June 2000IPD surveyreport14 recruitmentNearly half of employers are using the Internet to recruitINSTITUTE OF PERSONNELAND DEVELOPMENT

ecruitmentrecruitmentThis report summarises the key findings of ourresearch into recruitment practices in the UK.About the researchThis survey consists of a total of 262 telephoneinterviews conducted in February 2000. It is the fourthsurvey of its kind to be conducted by the IPD. Thevalue of the survey this year is enhanced by twomethodological additions compared to previous years.First, we have returned to a matched sample of 100participants in last year’s survey in order to gain aclearer picture of changes taking place in recruitmentand selection practice. Second, we have introduced aqualitative element to enhance the analysis of the surveyfindings. Two focus groups were held of members of theIPD’s Recruitment Forum to explore in more detail thefactors shaping recruitment practice in the UK.Last year’s interview schedule included a number ofchanges compared with previous years. In this year’sresearch, we have used broadly the same set ofquestions but with a few additions.Systematic evaluation of effectiveness is acknowledgedto play a key part in good recruitment practice, yet lastyear’s survey indicated that many employers do notcarry out formal evaluations. In this year’s research, wehave sought to uncover why some organisations do notevaluate their recruitment processes.Finally, we have extended our assessment of actiontaken by organisations to recruit a diverse workforce,by the introduction of a question on the role of age as aselection criterion.Key findingsRecruitment difficultiesNearly three-fifths of participants have experienceddifficulties in filling one or more of their vacancies over thelast year. However, an analysis of trends among our matchedsample indicates that the proportion of organisationsexperiencing recruitment difficulties is declining.We have aimed for a greater understanding of employerstrategy in recruitment by introducing new questionsdesigned to establish whether recruiters focus narrowlyon the immediate vacancy, or take a more strategiclonger-term view, when deciding on job requirements.Successive IPD surveys have shown an increased use ofthe Internet in the recruitment process. This year, wehave explored more closely how electronic media areused in recruitment and selection.Reasons for recruitment difficultiesrecruiterscontinue to be faced by an applicant pool thatdoes not have the experience they feel is required. Lackof required experience is the most common reason fordifficulties in filling vacancies, followed by lack oftechnical skills, and applicants wanting ‘more pay thanwe can offer’. Our matched sample points to a decreasein the proportion of employers for whom pay levels arecausing recruitment difficulties; but an increase in thosewho had had no applicants for a particular post.1

IPD surveyreportIdentifying job requirementsMany recruiters seem to be giving consideration topotential future roles for recruits to their organisation.While nearly one-third focus on the immediate vacancywhen determining their requirements of a new recruit,the majority take into consideration factors such as howthe post concerned might change in the future, or (lesscommonly) more demanding jobs to which theindividual recruit might progress.identified personal qualities as a prime determiningfactor in their choice of candidate, than had originallyset out to do so.For professional posts, the key skills/qualities identifiedin advance of recruitment are relevant experience andtechnical skills. However, once more, there is a patternof recruiters giving increased priority to the personalqualities of recruits.This year’s survey confirms previous findings that mostemployers use job descriptions and personspecifications when identifying the requirements of ajob. In addition, over half use a framework ofcompetencies to inform their recruitment.Devolving responsibilitiesIn almost all organisations, line managers areinvolved in the recruitment process. Indeed, theyare more likely to have some involvement thancentral personnel staff or local personnel staff. In mostcases, line managers are either involved in recruitmentas equal partners with personnel professionals or takea leading role. However, focus group discussionindicates that in such cases HR professionals maymaintain control over the recruitment process byselecting the line managers to be involved anddetermining the extent of their input.Recruitment and selection prioritiesWhen we examine practice in respect of specificvacancies we find that relevant experience – closelyfollowed by personal qualities (such as leadership orcustomer focus) – is seen as the most importantrequirement prior to recruitment to managerial posts.Our matched sample shows a large increase in thenumber of organisations giving priority to the personalqualities of candidates. We also found- as with lastyear’s survey- that relatively more organisationsMore generally, our focus group participants confirmthat organisations are giving more attention tocandidates’ behavioural competencies.Recruitment methodsThe Internet seems to have entered the mainstream ofrecruitment practice. Nearly half – 45 per cent – ofemployers now use the Internet when recruiting tocertain posts. Among our matched sample, thisrepresents an increase in Internet usage of more than 10percentage points compared with just 12 months ago.However, the more traditional methods of advertising inthe trade press or in local newspapers remain the mostcommon practices, and are also most likely to be citedas the most effective way of recruiting. Despite therising use of the Internet, only a tiny minority ofrecruiters see this as the most effective of therecruitment methods they have at their disposal.Selection methodsThe most common selection method used remains theinterview. Other common selection tools are applicationforms, CVs and covering letters.Around half of all participants use ability or aptitudetesting for at least some of their vacancies, while just overa third use personality questionnaires. Assessment centreshave been adopted by around a quarter of all respondents.2

ecruitmentThe job interview remains the tool most likely to beidentified by recruiters as being particularly effective.However, matched sample analysis indicates that it isless popular than in last year’s survey.Using electronic mediaThis year, we explored for the first time how electronicmedia are used in recruitment. Three methods emerge asbeing in most common use: accepting applications bye-mail; putting vacancies on an internal intranet; andposting recruitment advertisements on theorganisation’s own Internet site.Evaluating the recruitment and selection processMore than three-quarters of survey respondents said thatthey sometimes or always evaluate the effectiveness oftheir recruitment and selection processes. One in fournever do so. However, the most common form ofevaluation is informal feedback from line management.More formal methods are less widely used, with analysisof labour turnover figures being most common. Matchedsample data suggest that formal methods are decreasinglybeing used in evaluation, in favour of informal feedback.Where organisations never, or only sometimes, evaluatetheir recruitment/selection methods, nearly threequartersof organisations concerned said that this isbecause of a lack of resources in the personneldepartment. However, approaching a third felt that thereis no need to conduct such an evaluation. Focus groupdiscussions highlighted a number of practical constraintson HR professionals’ ability to evaluate recruitment.Building a diverse workforceThree-quarters of survey respondents say that theytake steps in their recruitment and selection process topromote a diverse workforce. However, our focus groupdiscussions indicate that the concept of managingdiversity may not be a familiar one in many organisations.Common approaches used in building a diverseworkforce are: adopting recruitment criteria that allow allgroups to demonstrate their ability to do the job; andmonitoring different stages of the recruitment process byfactors such as gender, race, disability and other attributes.Our matched sample analysis indicates an increasecompared with 1999 in the proportion of organisationscarrying out such monitoring. Most organisations do nottake age into account in recruitment decisions.International selectionNearly three in ten of the organisations in our survey havesent employees to work abroad over the past 12 months.The most common criteria for selecting employees to workoverseas are relevant job experience and technical skills. Inaddition, the majority require the individual concerned toshow resilience, and be able to function in a foreign culture.MethodologyThis year, in addition to conducting a telephone survey,two focus groups were held of members of the IPD’sRecruitment Forum to explore in more detail the factorsshaping recruitment practice in the UK. Below, wedescribe both the survey and focus group methodology.A total of 262 telephone interviews were completedwith the most senior person responsible for recruitmentin the organisation concerned. Interviewees were drawnfrom a sample of establishments structured to bebroadly similar to those that participated in the 1999survey, and representative by workforce size ofestablishments across the UK economy, while allowingbroad sectoral comparisons.As in last year’s survey, only establishments of 50 ormore employees were included. This is because smallerorganisations are less likely to have the more formalisedapproach to recruitment that would enable them toanswer the questions in this survey.3

IPD surveyreportIn this year’s survey we have used the same interviewschedule as last year’s, apart from the introduction of afew new questions, and the exclusion of those relatingto graduate recruitment, which we feel is adequatelycovered in other research. In addition, we have matchedpart of the sample with last year’s respondents. Of the262 respondents, 100 are matched respondents from lastyear, and the remaining 162 are new respondents. Thisuse of a matched sample for the first time in thesesurveys is a valuable addition, enabling us to provide amore reliable analysis of trends over time.All 262 organisations participating in the surveyhad at least one vacancy in the past year (beginningMarch 1999).The aim of the focus groups was to provide qualitativedata to supplement and inform the findings from thesurvey. The following four topics were identified fordiscussion by the participants:" the strategic role of recruitment – including the waysthat recruitment is linked to business strategy, howrecruitment decisions are made and by whom" the relationship between applicants’ past experienceand recruitment decisions – including issues aroundrecruiting on the basis of past experience or futurepotential" diversity and recruitment – including the relationshipbetween diversity and recruitment strategies, andwhat training on diversity issues is provided forrecruiters" which aspects of the recruitment and selection practicesare most likely to be evaluated and the reasons for this– including who has responsibility for evaluation andwhat action is taken as a result of evaluation.Under each topic, a number of subsidiary issues werediscussed.Members of the IPD’s Recruitment Forum were invitedto participate. On the first date, 12 people participated,and on the second date there were 11 participants.In the first group (focus group A) the majority wereHR managers from the public sector, plus one HRmanager from the voluntary sector and two consultants.The second group (focus group B) was comprisedprimarily of HR managers from the private sector plustwo consultants. One person had until recently workedin the public sector.Research findingsRecruitment difficultiesNearly three-fifths of survey participants (58%)have experienced difficulties in filling one or moreof their vacancies in the past year. Our matchedsample of respondents from both the 1999 and 2000surveys indicates that recruitment difficulties maybe easing somewhat: while 74% reported difficultyin finding the people they required to resourcetheir organisations in 1999, this amounts to 66%in 2000.Furthermore, in the 2000 survey (as in the 1999 survey),recruitment difficulties apply to only a minority ofvacancies. The largest proportion of recruiters–31.6% of those experiencing difficulties – said thatless than 10% of their vacancies have been difficult tofill in the past year. Around one in five (21.9%) havefaced problems in filling 30% or moreof their vacant posts.Public sector respondents were more likely than thosefrom either manufacturing or private sector services to4

ecruitmentsay that they have experienced at least some recruitmentdifficulties (68%, compared with 53.3% in privatesector manufacturing and 52.5% in private sectorservices).Although relatively more public sector organisationshave been affected by recruitment difficulties,comparatively fewer of their vacancies proved hard tofill. In the public sector, 43% said that less than 10%of vacancies were difficult to fill, compared with30% in the manufacturing sector and 19% in privatesector services.Of the organisations with recruitment difficulties,the largest proportion – 45% – have experiencedparticular difficulties with professional vacancies,while 22% have encountered problems withinformation technology/computing posts. Engineeringposts have posed a problem for 16% of employers –which included 40% of manufacturing companiesthat have experienced recruitment difficulties. Fourteenper cent of all organisations with recruitment problemshave found clerical or secretarial posts difficult to fill,and 12% have had problems resourcing managerialvacancies. Vacancies for skilled manual workers havecaused difficulties for 7% of organisations, while only3% reported recruitment difficulties in respect ofmanual vacancies.The reasons for recruitmentdifficultiesAs shown in Table 1, the most frequently cited reasonfor organisations experiencing recruitment difficultiesis lack of required experience on the part of applicants.This was mentioned by almost three-quarters (70%)of interviewees. Almost as prevalent is a lack oftechnical skills – mentioned by two-thirds (64%) ofinterviewees. The rest of the responses are summarisedin Table 1.Table 1: Reasons for recruitment difficultiesReason for recruitment difficulties % of respondentsLack of required experience 70.4%Lack of technical skills 64.5%Wanted more money than wecould offer 49.3%No applicants 36.8%Lack of personal abilities 30.9%Lack of formal qualifications 17.8%Attitude to work 16.4%Recruiters failure to elicit any applications for a vacancyappears to be increasingly common. Among ourmatched sample, this affected 25% of respondents in1999, rising to 47% this year. However, two othercauses of recruitment difficulties appear to bediminishing in importance. The proportion oforganisations stating that applicants wanted more payhas fallen from 64% in 1999 to 42% in 2000. And therehas been a decline in those reporting that applicants lacktechnical skills, from 74% in 1999 to 62% in 2000.Identifying job requirementsThe identification and definition of the key skills,experience and attributes that are required of applicantsform a fundamental part of recruitment and selection.To achieve this precision, organisations are using a rangeof methods, both formal and informal.Nearly all organisations in the survey (92%) use aformal job description, and almost as many (88%) use aformal person specification. Furthermore, just over half(53%) of organisations use a framework ofcompetencies to inform their recruitment.Informal methods of determining recruitment criteriaare also widely used. In particular, almost all thepersonnel managers surveyed (92%) said that they5

IPD surveyreportdiscuss the recruitment criteria with the line managerresponsible for the vacant post. In addition, in four outof five organisations (79%) the personnel specialist alsodraws on his or her own knowledge of the job to helpidentify the required skills. Three-fifths (58%) alsodiscuss the post with either the person currently doingthe job or their colleagues. Few organisations havevaried their practices, formal or informal, since theprevious year’s survey.Figure 1 shows some differences in approach in differentsectors. For example, the public sector is more likely touse formal job descriptions and person specificationsthan the private sector. In contrast, private service sectororganisations are more likely than those inmanufacturing or the public sector to draw on informaldiscussions with the person currently doing the job.Figure 1: Identifying job requirements (%)Discussion withline managerJobdescriptionPersonspecificationOwn knowledgeof jobDiscussion with currentjobholder/colleaguesSet of competenciesManufacturing0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400Private servicesPublic sectorAverageThis year, we introduced some new questions designedto establish whether recruiters focus narrowly on theimmediate vacancy or more broadly when deciding onjob requirements.As shown in Table 2, nearly one-third (29%) said thatthey focus solely on the immediate vacancy whendetermining their recruitment criteria. The remaindertake account of one or more broader factors. The mostcommon of these retains a focus on the immediatevacancy, but also takes account of ‘how it might changein the future’ – over half (52%) of organisations adoptthis approach to determining their job requirements.The rest of the responses are summarised in Table 2.Table 2: Focus in determining job requirements (%)Focus in determining job% of respondentsrequirements (%)Focus solely on the immediate vacancy 29.4%Consider how vacancy mightchange in future 51.9%Consider vacancy plus one or moreother related jobs 28.6%Consider vacancy and more demandingjobs for the future 38.9%We also asked whether recruiters were prepared toconsider candidates without the exact mix of skills orexperience but with the potential to develop them. Thevast majority (81%) are prepared to do so, although thereis some variation between sectors. The highest proportionis found in the private service sector (86%), followed bymanufacturing (83%) and the public sector (75% ).Occupationally, organisations are far more likely to beflexible in the skills mix that they are prepared to acceptin respect of applicants for clerical and secretarial rolesthan any other type of vacancy. Two-fifths (42%) ofrecruiters mentioned such roles. By contrast, the nextmost frequently cited type of vacancy – forprofessionals – accounts for only a quarter (24%) ofrespondents. This indicates that organisations’willingness to recruit on the basis of potential, ratherthan an exact skills match, cuts across status and skillsboundaries. Manual, managerial, informationtechnology and engineering posts were all mentioned by6

ecruitmentsimilar proportions of recruiters (16% to 17%).Surprisingly, only one in eight (13%) recruiters of newgraduates recruit on the basis of potential.There were some differences in these responsesaccording to sector. For example, 53% of public sectororganisations are prepared to appoint clerical andsecretarial recruits without the exact mix of skills,compared with 45% in the private service sector andonly 26% in manufacturing. While 23% of recruiters inthe public sector are prepared to fill IT/computingvacancies on this basis, only 5% of manufacturingemployers will do so. In contrast, 31% ofmanufacturing employers are prepared to showflexibility in respect of skilled manual workers,compared with 12% in the private service sector and4% in the public sector.Devolving responsibilitiesIn the past decade, there has been a persistent trendtowards the devolution of responsibility for recruitmentto either local personnel staff at business ordepartmental level, or to line managers. Our surveyfindings confirm that almost all employers (92%)involve line managers in recruitment (see Table 3).Table 3: Those involved in determiningrecruitment criteria (%)Those involved in determining % of respondentsrecruitment criteria (%)Line Managers 91.6%Central personnel staff 59.2%Local personnel staff 53.1%External consultants and advisers 17.6%Focus groupsOur focus group participants confirmed that manyorganisations are willing to recruit on the basis ofapplicants’ potential to develop. In Group B,participants highlighted both middle and seniormanagerial roles, and new graduates. Group A focusedon graduates and posts linked to new technology.However, defining and assessing ‘potential’ can be adifficult, uncertain process, as participants pointed out.Several of these recruiters look for evidence oftransferable behavioural competencies – such asleadership, commitment, change-orientation and energy– and use psychometric tests and assessment centres toassess potential. However, several participants in groupB also noted that it would not be appropriate to recruitpeople with a highly developed motivation for changefor certain roles. These would include roles that requirestandard procedures to be followed for reasons of publicsafety. In general, there was agreement across bothgroups that organisations are encouraging recruiters togive more attention to candidates with potential.The role of central personnel is more evident in thepublic sector (72%) than in the private service sector(62%) or manufacturing (41%).Of the organisations involving line managers inrecruitment, half (50%) do so on the basis that they areequal partners. In a further one-third of cases (37%),line managers assume a leading role. In most of theremainder (10%), line managers ‘play some part’ in theprocess. Finally, in a very small number of organisations(2.5%), line managers are consulted only after thevacancy’s requirements have been identified.Line managers are most likely to play a leading role inrecruitment in both larger organisations (with 200 ormore employees), and in the public sector generally.There seems to be an increasing involvement of localpersonnel staff and units in recruitment. Using ourmatched sample, the proportion of organisationsconcerned has risen from a just over a third (36%) in7

IPD surveyreport1999, to almost a half (47%) in 2000, and may be anindication that the decentralisation of central HRdepartments’ responsibilities continues.Focus groupsHowever, the involvement of different stakeholdersin the recruitment process is seldom a straightforwardone, as our focus group participants showed. GroupA confirmed the increasing dominance of linemanagers in the recruitment process. The experienceof many participants in Group B shows that theinvolvement of line managers in the recruitment andselection process varies according to a number offactors. In some of their organisations, HR staff assessthe expertise of each line manager, and this determinesthe degree of the line manager’s involvement. In thisway, HR retains control of the process, while ensuringline manager input is maintained without compromisingthe professionalism of the process. Other participantssaid that line managers’ involvement depended on thetype of job.Members of Group A expressed concern that linemanager dominance might have a negative impact onrecruitment quality. They stressed the importance ofstrategies such as line manager training and theavoidance of one-to-one interviews.Group B drew attention to the increasing involvement ofnon-HR people on selection panels. This is sometimes aresult of internal politics, or is caused by cutbacks in thecentral HR function leading to the devolution ofrecruitment responsibilities to non-specialists.Focus group participants were split over who has mostinfluence over recruitment decisions. Group A saw linemanagers as most influential, while Group B consideredthat HR has the most influence, though this mightdepend on the post and the specific circumstances.Recruitment in practiceSo far, we have considered the development of arecruitment brief and the stakeholders involved inthis process. In this section, we examine whathappens in practice using two particular types ofvacancy – for managers and professional staff – asillustrations.To make this research a real exercise, surveyinterviewees were asked to recall a specific vacancyfor a manager and/or professional that had occurredin the past year. First of all, they were asked to rankfive skills and qualities according to which seemedmost important as recruitment criteria when thatvacancy arose:" formal qualifications" relevant experience" personal qualities (such as leadershipand customer focus)" technical skills" knowledge of relevant products and services.We then asked recruiters what happened in practicewhen the vacancy was filled – to rank the above fiveaspects in terms of the part they played in the eventualappointment decision.Managerial postsFeedback was obtained from the majority of surveyrespondents (70%) in respect of managerial vacancies.The ranking of priorities, based on respondents’ first orsecond priority choices, as shown in Figure 2, did notalter between the time the vacancy arose, and thefactors used in the final choice of applicant.8

ecruitmentFigure 2: Priorities in managerial appointments (%)Relevant experiencePersonal qualitiesKnowledge of relevantproducts/servicesTechnical skillsFormal qualifications0 50 100 150 200Important when vacancy aroseDeciding factorThe emphasis on personal qualities – ‘soft skills’ orbehavioural competencies – appears to be growing. Inour matched sample, the greatest change of emphasisrelates to this factor – as a key priority both at the timeof the vacancy (44% in 1999, rising to 68% in 2000),and as a deciding factor at the appointment stage (49%in 1999, rising to 70% in 2000).through work’ as being the most useful. In contrast,only 10% favour skills obtained via an apprenticeship;and another 10% prefer skills gained through off-thejobcourses. Nearly a quarter have no preference.Professional staff postsMore than half (59%) of survey respondents haverecruited professional staff over the past 12 months. Aswith the managerial vacancies discussed above, weasked these organisations to set out their priorities preandpost-appointment in relation to a particularprofessional vacancy that they had filled.As shown in Figure 3, the most important quality based onrespondents’ first or second priority choices at the time ofthe vacancy was found to be relevant experience, mentionedby 77% of respondents, followed by technical skills (71%).Figure 3: Priorities in professional appointments (%)To gain further insight into these different types of skillsand experience, we asked recruiters what particular typeof prior experience they prefer when recruiting managers.The largest group (49%) favour ‘experience in the sametype of industry’; 30% consider ‘experience in the sametype of job, regardless of industry’ is most useful, and12% prefer experience with a direct competitor.RelevantexperienceTechnicalskillsFormanlqualificationsPersonalqualitiesKnowledge of relevantproducts/services0 30 60 90 120 150Similarly, we asked recruiters about their preferencesregarding managers’ formal qualifications. Over half(55%) did not express a preference concerning the waythat managers had obtained them. Of the remainder, thehighest proportion (37%) favour qualifications gainedwhile working; only 8% prefer qualifications gainedfrom full-time study.We also asked respondents what they consider to bemanagers’ most useful way of gaining technical skills.The majority (57%) consider skills ‘developed over timeImportant when vacancy aroseDeciding factorThe rank order of these factors is slightly different interms of the outcome of recruitment (see Figure 3).Relevant experience still ranks top (68%) as the mostimportant factor, followed by technical skills (62%).However, personal qualities are now ranked third(57%), above formal qualifications (48%). This indicatesthat formal qualifications became less of a priority indetermining the appointment than in the initial brief.9

IPD surveyreportIt seems that recruiters are now giving more priorityto personal qualities for professionalstaff, echoingthe trend we noted above in relation to managerialvacancies. In the matched sample, the proportion ofrecruiters citing personal qualities has risen from16% in 1999 to 53% in 2000. Knowledge of relevantproducts and services, and the possession oftechnical skills have both risen in importance aswell, but to a lesser extent than behaviouralcompetencies.In terms of outcomes, personal qualities are alsoplaying a greater role at the appointment stage, withthe proportion of recruiters in the matched sampleciting this factor as having first or second priority,rising from 29% in 1999 to 52% in 2000.Returning to the 2000 survey, recruiters attitude torelevant experience favours experience in the same typeof industry (47%), followed by experience in the sametype of job, regardless of industry. Only 6% preferexperience with a direct competitor.In terms of the way that professional staff gainformal qualifications, a third of respondents (33%)favour qualifications gained while working, whilemore than half that proportion prefer qualificationsthrough full-time study (19%). However, nearlyhalf the respondents (48%) do not specify eitheroption.Finally, technical skills developed over time throughwork are seen as more desirable by just over half(52%) of recruiters filling professional vacancies,than other ways of developing these skills.Considerably fewer favour the development oftechnical skills though off-the-job courses (13%) orvia apprenticeships. A quarter (26%) gave none ofthese preferences.Focus groupsThe focus group participants tended to confirm theimportance attached to past experience, although,interestingly, this is increasingly likely to encompassexperience gained outside formal work settings.Both groups have found that past work experience isgenerally a good predictor of future performance.Several participants agreed that they did not requireapplicants to have previous experience in the sameindustry, job or role. A track record in the same kind ofwork could be used to provide evidence of commitmentand a proven work record, rather than being usednarrowly to measure the person’s prior experiencedirectly against the demands of the current vacancy.Group B highlighted the increasing importance beingaccorded to behavioural competencies (which theytermed ‘soft skills’). They said that they look fortransferable skills and experience that are relevant to thevacancy. Now that organisations are experiencingconstant change, recruiters are more likely to look forcompetencies such as ‘ability to work in a changingenvironment’ and ‘ability to work with ambiguity’.Recruitment methodsTaken together, the recruitment methods for managers,professionals and skilled manual workers focus on theuse of advertising in specialist journals or the tradepress, and this remains the most common recruitmentmedium, and is used by the large majority of surveyparticipants (85%). However, the local press is usedalmost as frequently, with 81% of respondents placingrecruitment advertisements in this medium. Nationalnewspapers are widely used, but not to the same extent(being targeted by 66% of recruiters).Similar proportions also make use of employmentagencies (63%), and the Employment Service (61%).10

ecruitmentOver half of organisations use two informal methods:word of mouth (53%) and speculative applications(52%). Over two-fifths of organisations (45%) now useof the Internet and e-mail for recruitment. Around athird of organisations make use of links with schools orcolleges (37%), or call upon headhunters (31%). Just atenth (10%) broadcast their vacancies on local radio.The growing use of the Internet and e-mail forrecruitment purposes stands out as a key change sincethe 1999 research. Table 4 summarises the responsesfrom the matched sample, and shows that theproportion of organisations using electronic forms ofrecruitment has risen from 36% in 1999 to 47% in 2000.Table 4: Recruitment methods; 1999 – 2000Comparison using matched and non-matched samples (%)Recruitment methods Matched Non-matched2000 1999 2000Ads in specialist/trade press 86% 86.9% 85%Local newspaper ads 81% 85.8% 81%National newspaper ads 68% 74.7% 66%Job centre/employment services 68% 62.6% 61%Employment agencies 66% 60.6% 63%Speculative applications 56% 64.6% 52%Word of mouth 53% 52.5% 53%Internet 47% 36.4% 45%Links with schools/colleges 44% 49.5% 37%Head hunters 29% 33.3% 31%Local radio ads 12% 11.1% 10%2000 figures = blue 1999 = greenorganisations in 1999 to 56% in 2000).There are, of course, notable differences in therecruitment methods that are used for specific types ofvacancy. Below, we explore in detail the methods usedfor each of these three occupational groups – managers,professionals and skilled manual workers. Crucially,too, we also provide feedback on which of the methodsused is considered by recruiters to be particularlyeffective in recruitment terms.ManagersThree recruitment methods are most frequently appliedto managerial vacancies: advertisements in nationalnewspapers (57%); advertisements in specialistjournals/the trade press (55%); and local newspaperadvertisements (55%). Employment agencies are usedby 42% of organisations. Two out of five (40%) saidthat they make use of speculative applications. TheInternet is used by over a third of recruiters (36%) formanagerial posts.Organisations are more likely to use headhunters formanagerial vacancies than those of other groups – 29% doso, compared with 14% for vacancies relating toprofessional staff and only 1% for skilled manual workers.Much less commonly used are links with schools andcolleges (8%) and local radio advertisements (3%).The key change since the 1999 survey is the rise of theInternet, with usage in connection with managerialvacancies rising by more than half from 22% ofrespondents last year to 36% this year.Decreases have occurred in the use of school/collegelinks for recruitment purposes (from 49% to 44%) and,particularly in the willingness of recruiters to considerspeculative applications (down from 65% ofIn terms of the most effective recruitment methods,recruiters rate highly the use of recruitmentadvertisements in specialist journals and the trade press(almost half of all recruiters using this method, 49%,11

IPD surveyreportchose it as the single most effective medium).Employment agencies were next, cited by 34% of thoseusing the method, followed by national newspaperadvertisements chosen by 33% of users. Headhunterswere selected by 27% of users.employment agencies, being cited by 38% of thoseusing them. National newspaper advertisements rankthird, being seen as particularly effective by 26% ofusers; local newspapers come fourth, cited by 21%of users.Despite the rising use of the Internet, only 2% of usersconsider it the most effective source of findingmanagerial recruits.ProfessionalsBy far the most frequently used method of recruitingprofessional staff is still the use of advertisements inspecialist or trade press. This was mentioned by 71% ofall respondents. Advertisements in local newspapers arethe second most commonly-used method – by 64% ofrespondents, while national newspapers andemployment agencies are both used by 50% ofparticipants. Word-of-mouth recruitment is used by40% of organisations in respect of professional staff.Fifth in terms of effectiveness lies the use ofheadhunters. Of organisations using this technique,16% rated it as their most effective recruitment tool.Only 2% of users regard word-of-mouth recruitmentas particularly effective, and only 1% rate either localradio ads or the Internet as especially effective.Skilled manual workersAs last year’s survey confirmed, employers generallyuse different tools for recruiting skilled manual workerscompared, for example, with managerial or professionalstaff. This reflects the fact that recruiters are more oftendrawing on a local or regional labour market, ratherthan a national one.The Internet is slightly more likely to be used in respectof professional staff recruitment than it is formanagerial vacancies (42% against 36%). Similarly, ahigher proportion of recruiters (22%) use links withschools or colleges to find professional staff than do sofor managers. Only 14% use headhunters and evenfewer (5%) place local radio advertisements.The growth in Internet usage to recruit professionalstaff has been less dramatic than in respect ofmanagerial vacancies, although it has still risen by athird in a year (from 34% in 1999 to 45% in 2000).The most widely used recruitment method is that ofadvertisements in the local paper, cited by 72% ofrespondents, followed by use of the local job centre (58%).Two other commonly used methods are both informalin nature – word-of-mouth recruitment and speculativeapplications, both mentioned by 38% of respondents. Athird of organisations (33%) use employment agenciesto find skilled manual workers, and nearly a quarter(24%) have established links with schools or colleges asa means of encouraging and identifying potentialapplicants.For recruiters of professional staff, as for managers,specialist and trade press are considered to be the mosteffective method of obtaining high quality applications.Just over half (54%) of those using this method rate itas particularly effective. Next most highly rated areA similar proportion of recruiters (22%) makes use ofthe Internet for skilled manual workers – a considerablylower proportion than do so for either managerial orprofessional staff. In the same way, organisations are farless likely to use advertisements in the specialist or12

ecruitmenttrade press (17%) than when recruiting managers (55%)or professional staff (71%).Use of the Internet for skilled manual workers hasalmost doubled in a year, from 12% of organisations in1999 to 23% this year, based on matched samples.Local press advertisements emerge as the most effectiverecruitment tool, being cited by 66% of users. Thesecond most effective recruitment method is the useof national newspaper advertisements, which ismentioned by 33% of users. However, only 13%of all organisations use this medium, so it is amarginal activity in respect of skilled manualworker recruitment.Of those using employment agencies, 21% rated themas particularly effective; job centres were identified asbeing their most effective tool by 17% of respondentswho used them.Word-of-mouth recruitment was cited as the mosteffective tool by 10% of users. Considerably lowerproportions of users rated the following methods astheir most effective: advertisements in specialistjournals/trade press (4%); speculative applications(2%); and the Internet (2%).Focus groupsFocus group participants also highlighted the increasinguse of the Internet and e-mail for recruitment purposesas being a key trend over recent years.In Focus Group B, most participants’ usage was limitedto the inclusion of e-mail addresses in normal paperbasedrecruitment advertising so that applicants coulde-mail their CVs to recruiters. Only one participatingorganisation had experience of using a commercialrecruitment web site.The same group also highlighted the trend towardsoutsourcing of personnel activities, being reflected inthe recruitment area by the increased use of bothheadhunters and employment agencies in the initialstages of the process. Employment agencies ‘havecandidates on their books’, so have an advantage overin-house recruiters when there are difficulties findingapplicants, according to one participant.Selection methodsThe selection of managers, professionals and skilledmanual workers, taken together, is based on theinterview, and the use of some paper-based siftingtechniques. The interview remains the most commonlyused tool, and is employed by all but one of ourrespondents (99.6%). Also frequently used areapplication forms (81%), CVs (74%) and candidates’covering letters (63%).Around half of all participants (54%) use ability oraptitude testing for at least some of their vacancies,while just over a third use personality questionnaires(36%). Assessment centres – in which a battery ofselection methods is used – are used by around aquarter of all respondents (26%).It is less common for employers to use a telephonebasedscreening process (only a fifth, 18%, do so).But least used of all are biodata and graphology(handwriting analysis); these are used by 7% and2% of organisations, respectively.Table 5 sets out the proportion of survey respondentsusing each kind of selection method for any managerial,professional or skilled manual posts. We set out inmore detail below the selection methods commonlyapplied to each of these occupational groups. However,our analysis indicates that there is far less differencein the selection techniques used by organisations in13

IPD surveyreportrespect of particular groups of workers than there isin the recruitment methods that first generate a fieldof candidates.Table 5: Selection methods used (%)Selection methods %Interviewing 99.6%Application forms 80.9%CVs 74%Covering letter 63.4%Ability/aptitude test 54.2%Personality questionnaires 36.3%Assessment centres 26%Telephone screening 17.6%Biodata 6.9%Graphology 1.9%ManagersInterviews are used in the selection process formanagerial posts in almost all (98%) the organisationsin the survey. Application forms and CVs are both usedby 70% of all respondents. Covering letters supplied byapplicants are used in the selection process in 61% oforganisations.Psychometric testing is used by only a minority –the most prevalent form being ability/aptitudetesting (39%), followed by personality questionnaires(35%). Assessment centres are used by a smallerproportion of organisations (22%). Other selectionmethods are little used: one in 10 recruiters (11%)makes use of telephone screening of managerialapplicants, while only one in 20 uses biodata (5%),and only one in 100 uses graphology or handwritinganalysis (1%).As with the recruitment aspect of resourcing, surveyparticipants were asked to identify the single mosteffective method among the selection techniques thatthey use. In respect of managerial vacancies, theinterview was chosen by the largest proportion ofrespondents – 57% of users.A significant proportion of users (40%) selected theassessment centre as their most effective method. Verysmall proportions of users identified CVs (11%),ability/aptitude tests (8%) or application forms (6%) asthe most effective selection tool.Changes since the 1999 survey highlight a drop inconfidence in respect of selection interviewing. In 1999,75% of respondents chose it as their single mosteffective method; this has fallen to 55% in 2000.ProfessionalsThe relative frequency with which particular selectionmethods are used for professional jobs is broadly similarto the pattern seen above for managerial vacancies.Interviews are used by 99% of organisations, andapplications forms and CVs by 70% and 71%,respectively. Covering letters are used by 61% ofrespondents. Although 37% of organisations useability/aptitude tests, a smaller proportion than formanagerial vacancies use personality questionnaires(26%) or assessment centres (15%). Only a feworganisations use biodata (5%) or graphology (1%) forselecting applicants.In terms of effectiveness, as with managerialappointments, the highest proportion of organisationsidentified the job interview as the most telling selectiontool. This was chosen by 61% of all those usinginterviews. Assessment centres follow, with the secondlargest proportion of users identifying them as havingthe greatest contribution to effective selection (beingcited by 31% of users).14

ecruitmentOther selection methods attracted no more than10% of recruiters as being their most effectivetechnique: CVs (10%); application forms (9%);biodata (8% among very few users); ability/aptitudetests (6%); and personality questionnaires (4%).Telephone screening; covering letters and graphologywere not chosen by a single recruiter in terms oftheir effectiveness.The decline in confidence in selection interviewing thatwe noted above in respect of managerial vacancies isreflected among recruiters of professional staff. Whileinterviewing was chosen as the single most effectivemethod by 76% of the matched sample in 1999, this hasfallen to 62% in 2000.Skilled manual workersThe job interview is the most widely used selectionmethod for applicants to skilled manual jobs, although alower proportion of employers make use of it than foreither management or professional posts. Eighty-oneper cent of respondents said they use interviews as aselection tool.As with selection to both managerial and professionalposts, employers are most likely to single out the jobinterview as the most effective selection method. Thiswas identified by 69% of users.Employers are more likely to commend the use ofability/aptitude tests for skilled workers than for thetwo other groups. Sixteen per cent of users said thatthis was the most effective selection tool. Of those whoused application forms, 12% rated them as beingparticularly effective. CVs were rated as most effectiveby only 8% of users.Although one in five users (20%) of assessmentcentres rated it as the most effective tool, the usageof this technique was very low.Changes over time in respect of skilled manualworker selection do not indicate a loss of confidencein interviewing similar to the one we have notedfor managerial and professional recruitment.Other results are also little changed since our 1999research.In addition, 68% of organisations use application formsto recruit skilled manual workers – a similar proportionto those using them for managerial and professional jobs.But the proportions using CVs and covering letters areconsiderably smaller – just 45% and 41%, respectively.Forms of psychometric testing are also less frequentlyused by organisations recruiting for skilled manualvacancies than in respect of either managerial orprofessional posts. A quarter (24%) use ability/aptitudetests, but only 7% use personality questionnaires.Other selection tools are used infrequently: 6% usetelephone screening, and only 2% use assessment centresor biodata. Only one organisation uses graphology.Focus groupsTaking selection practice as a whole, Focus Group Bparticipants said that there is an increasing use of bothpsychometric questionnaires and assessment centres asselection methods. Two participants also highlightedother developments:" the introduction of structured interviewing to ensurethat different recruiters across the organisation areworking to a consistent standard" the introduction of different menus of predeterminedquestions, in order to minimise the ‘practice effect’whereby applicants are exposed more than once tothe same selection technique.15

IPD surveyreportUse of electronic mediaTo reflect the growing use of electronic media suchas the Internet and e-mail for recruitment purposes,we have conducted additional research in this areathis year.First of all, we sought to broaden our understandingbeyond the use of the Internet, to other electronicmedia, and beyond recruitment to encompass selectionas well. Overall, we find that two-fifths oforganisations use one or more forms of electronicmedia in their recruitment and selection. The highestproportion of users are the public sector ( 49%),followed by the private service sector (41%), andmanufacturing (27%). Organisations with 50-99employees are least likely to use these methods – only20%, compared with 55% in organisations with 500employees or more.We then sought to deepen our understanding byidentifying which particular forms of electronicmedia are in current use. Three methods emerge asbeing widely used. Applications were accepted bye-mail by 66% of users; 64% said that they putvacancies on their intranet (an internal Internetsystem); and 62% post vacancies on the organisation’sown Internet site. A smaller but significant proportion(43%) put their vacancies on a dedicated Internetrecruitment site. But only 3% of organisations saidthat they ever administer any selection tests via theInternet (these are all companies in the privateservices sector). In other words, the use ofelectronic media currently focuses onrecruitment-related applications, while very feworganisations use electronic media for parts oftheir selection process.Evaluating the recruitment andselection processEvaluation of recruitment and selection methods isincreasingly acknowledged to play a central role ingood practice; however, many organisations find thisdifficult to carry out, despite its desirability. For thislatest survey, we expanded our research to probe thereasons why evaluation is not always carried out.First, to set the scene, currently three-quarters oforganisations (77%) conduct some form of evaluation,and a quarter (23%) do not. However, the practice ofevaluation is split fairly evenly between those thatconduct it on a regular basis (41% of all organisationsalways conduct evaluations), and those that do sooccasionally (36% of all organisations). Proportionately,manufacturing firms are twice as likely to fail toevaluate than public sector organisations (32% and16%, respectively), with private sector services lying inbetween (22% do not evaluate). We then probed for thereasons why evaluations are never, or only occasionally,carried out. The largest proportion of those concerned(72%) cited lack of resources in the personneldepartment. Nearly a third (29%) said that they saw noreason to do so. Just under one in five (18%) said thatthere was a lack of scope to implement the findings. Asmaller minority (16%) said that the reason was due tointernal sensitivities or difficulties.Then we sought to find out what evaluation methodsare being employed by those practising it, at least on anoccasional basis. By far the largest proportion of thoseconcerned (86%) use informal feedback from thosemanaging the recruits.More formal methods are not as widely used. The mostprevalent involves an analysis of labour turnoverstatistics; this is carried out by 60% of respondents. Asimilar proportion (59%) carry out an analysis of16

ecruitmentemployee performance data by means of individuals’appraisal/assessment ratings. Overall, only 25% ofrespondents examine sales figures or other results-basedindicators as part of an evaluation process. But thisfigure disguises much higher proportions in themanufacturing sector (35%) or service sector (34%)using this approach, than in the public sector (9%) –where indicators such as these may not be readilyavailable. A formal validation of the recruitment andselection process by an occupational psychologist orconsultant is used by only 3% of organisations.Focus groupsThe Focus Group participants confirmed that littleformal evaluation is being carried out in manyorganisations, or is carried out only at particular stagesin the recruitment process.In Group B, several participants mentioned that theeffectiveness of recruitment advertising is monitored(in terms of the response rates), as it is a costly item.Group A members cited the use of questionnaires togauge the views of candidates.Table 6 provides a matched sample comparison of the1999 and 2000 survey findings. This indicates a shifttowards informal methods of conducting evaluations.For example, the use of informal feedback frommanagers of new recruits has risen slightly from 81% to84% of organisations conducting evaluation. Incontrast, the analysis of labour turnover statistics hasdecreased from 68% to 56% of organisations.The following examples of evaluation were carried outby only one or two organisations:• collection of equal opportunities monitoring data onapplication forms, although no use is made of the data;• evaluation of the survival rates of recruits chosen byan assessment centre, conducted on a one-off basis; andTable 6: Evaluating the recruitment andselection process; 1999–2000Comparison using matched and non-matched samples (%)Recruitment and Matched Non-matchedselection process 2000 1999 2000Informal feedback fromLine managers 83.7% 80.8% 86%Analysis of labour turnover 55.8% 67.7% 60%Analysis appraisal/assessment ratings 52.3% 55.6% 59%Sales/other results-basedindicators 16.3% 34.3% 25%No evaluation 14% 2% 23%Formal validation byoccupational psychologist/consultant 2.5% 2% 3%2000 figures = blue 1999 = green• use of labour turnover data, performance assessmentrecords and recruitment costs.One participant in a recently privatised organisation saidthat the decentralisation of personnel responsibilitiesmade it difficult to carry out evaluations.Where evaluation does take place, the consensus wasthat HR was responsible. But one participant said thatrecruitment shortages and high volumes of recruitmentmeant that personnel staff were constantly ‘firefighting’and simply had no time for evaluation.Building a diverse workforceThe concept of managing diversity recognises that aworkforce is composed of people from differentbackgrounds and that making an asset of thesedifferences can bring business benefits. For example, a17

IPD surveyreportdiverse workforce brings a range of skills to anorganisation, and can improve customer satisfaction andmarket penetration (IPD, 1999).over the same period in the proportion of organisationsthat are providing recruitment documentation inalternative formats (from 26% to 43% ).Our respondents were asked whether they took steps intheir recruitment and selection process to promote adiverse workforce. Although the majority (77%) said theydo so, nearly one in four (23%) said that they do not.Table 7 summarises the methods used by recruiters topromote diversity. The most common method, cited by87% of respondents, involves the use of recruitmentcriteria that allow all groups to demonstrate their abilityto do the job (for example, emphasising individual skillsand competencies, rather than formal qualifications).This approach is a means of widening the pool ofpotential job applicants.Table 7: Building a diverse workforce (%)Diverse workforce %Open recruitment criteria 87.1%Monitoring recruitment process 74.8%Advertising to widen pool 49.5%Setting targets 48.5%Recruitment documents in other formats 39.6%Around half the organisations (49%) are setting targetsto achieve a workforce that reflects their localcommunity or customer base. Public sectororganisations are more likely than those in eitherprivate sector manufacturing or services to set suchtargets (65%, 35% and 40%, respectively).This year, a new question relating to age was included.Respondents were asked whether they take age intoaccount in their selection decisions. The majority (83%)said that they do not, compared with 16% that do so. Ahigher proportion of respondents in the manufacturingsector (25%) than in the private service sector (11%) orthe public sector (15%) said that age is a factor that istaken into account when recruitment decisions are made.Focus groupsWe asked focus group participants whether theirorganisations had a diversity or equality strategy, andhow their approach to diversity/equality linked intorecruitment processes.In Group A most participants felt that they were notsufficiently far ‘down the line’ in developing equality ofopportunity to say that they have a diversity policy.Group B participants did not have a ‘diversity’ policy assuch in their organisations, and only one participanthad encountered the term in their organisation.However, participants did have practices to ensure thattheir recruitment process complies with discriminationlaw. One participant with a public sector backgroundsaid that the whole organisation had revised its equalopportunities policy, and recruitment was seen ashaving a key role in its implementation. Monitoringdata are collected at several points: applications, testoutcomes, final appointments and survival rates in post.Responses from the matched sample show thatmonitoring of applicants at different stages of therecruitment process is increasingly being adopted, withthe proportion of organisations doing so rising from 61%in 1999 to 79% in 2000. There has also been an increaseParticipants were also asked whether age wasconsidered a factor in recruitment. One participant gavean example from retailing where there was a hiddenagenda whereby line managers tried to restrictappointments to young people, and this practice was18

ecruitmentresisted by HR. In another retailer, different age groupsare deliberately targeted by recruiters seeking to matchrecruits to the profile of the typical customersconcerned. Whether age is an overt or hidden factor, itwas seen to be linked to a perceived business rationale.International selectionOver a quarter (29%) of the organisations in our surveyhave sent someone to work abroad in the past year. Mostcommonly, (43% of cases), this assignment was shortterm;in a further 37%, assignments comprised bothshort-and long-term postings; while, in the remaining20%, the assignments were purely long-term in nature.In selecting people to work abroad, 38% of respondentsused a formal job description, and 37% used aframework of competencies. However, only 20% used aformal person specification. The largest proportion(45%) said that they did not use any of these approaches.The two most commonly applied criteria for selectingemployees to be sent abroad are relevant job experienceand technical skills, both used by 80% of organisationssending employees abroadNearly three-quarters said that they select the personon the basis of a nomination by management; while, in59% of cases, the organisation was concerned that theindividual should show resilience and be able tofunction well in foreign cultures.Less frequently used are the following criteria: ‘goodawareness of cultural issues’ (mentioned by 38% ofrespondents); ‘can speak the local foreign language’(25%); experience of working abroad (22%); andseniority within the organisation (20%).19

IPD surveyreport20

1INSTITUTE OF PERSONNELAND DEVELOPMENTFor further copies of this report please contactthe IPD on 020 8263 3434Institute of Personnel and Development, IPD House, Camp Road, London SW19 4UXTel: 020 8263 3434 Fax: 020 8263 3333Registered charity no. 1038333. A company limited by guarantee.Registered in England no. 2931892. Registered office as above.1788/05/00/SK