The weather may not be the only thing heating up this summer. According to an employment survey by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), hiring could hit its highest levels since 2007 in May and continue its hot streak through the summer!
SHRM’s monthly LINE (Leading Indicators of National Employment) Survey compiles responses from human resources personnel at 500 manufacturing and 500 service sector companies. Those two sectors account for 90 percent of the nation’s private sector jobs. The survey focuses on four main areas: hiring expectations, new-hire compensation, recruiting difficulty, and job vacancies.
According to the May report, 54.5 percent of manufacturing companies surveyed plan to hire in May, which is the highest hiring level in that sector since October 2007. The service sector is also expected to hit highs not seen since June 2007, with 61.8 percent of companies surveyed saying they plan to add jobs in May.
A small percentage (8.8% of manufacturing companies and 10.4 percent of service sector companies) surveyed also reported difficulties finding top talent. While the numbers are small, it’s still a sharp contrast to a year ago when only 3.3 percent of manufacturing and 4.9 percent service sector employers reported having trouble recruiting and over 20 percent in both sectors reported having less trouble finding talent. This struggle may not be good news for employers, but it could mean that these companies will soon be seeking out the help of professional recruiters to aid their searches for top talent.
Considering that summer is already a prime time for certain employers to hire seasonal workers, this summer could prove to be a fruitful one for contract recruiters!
Nope. This isn’t an accepted prcacite of ethical search consultants!If it takes $5k (or any number) from the search consultant to push a candidate over the edge, then I’d have concerns that there are things the candidate is concerned about or not excited about with the potential employer that will become more apparent after they’ve joined the company.Paying any percentage of the fee out to a candidate devalues the services provided by the search consultant as well. If they charged 25% of the first year salary, in theory, that should be to cover real work that is done. If their services are only worth 20% instead of 25%, then that’s what they should have pitched as their fee.Finally, the employer should wind up being the good guy in any placement. Part of selling the candidate on the new position is convincing them that the company wants them to join and is willing to address any concerns and/or meet their needs to make that happen. If $5k will seal the deal, the search consultant should talk to their client and get them to offer it as a signing bonus, or as in the example you provided, a retention bonus. There’s nothing like calling a candidate who is already excited about a position and telling them that the client is offering something above and beyond because they really want them to join. The recruiter can then be a part of starting the employment relationship off on a positive note that could continue throughout their employment, versus starting off the employment relationship with the recruiter being the good guy .In the example you shared, the recruiter is not the candidate or client’s friend. They’re clearly motivated by their fee and not by making a placement that meets the needs of their client or candidate. If I were the client in this instance and I found out about the $5k deal, I’d be pissed, and I’d certainly never do business with that recruiter or firm ever again.
Hi, Phil,
Thank you for your comment, but I’m not sure what practice you are referring to. The article above simply stated some stats about hiring a few summers ago.