UK Recruitment Facts – Five from Fifteen
The 2015 iteration of Bullhorn’s UK Recruitment Trends Report is one of the most valuable tools available for recruiters looking to stay ahead of their competition. Now in its third year, our annual report helps recruiters benchmark themselves against the industry and identify trends or gaps in the market that can help them thrive. Below are our top 5 ‘UK recruitment facts’ from the report:
- 36% of agencies planned to open new offices in 2015.
In fact, confidence is currently so high that 31% expected a revenue increase of over 25% this year. Perhaps this isn’t so surprising: in 2014, a whopping 85% of our respondents met or exceeded their revenue goals.
- Industry-wide fill rate dropped from 52% to 46% last year.
This statistic is surprising for such a buoyant market, especially given that UK hit rate remained relatively stable, going from 39% in 2013 to 40% in 2014.
- Skill shortages are the industry’s key issue, affecting 80% of respondents.
Agencies that recruit for business services are currently most affected by a severe shortage of skilled candidates (90%), while agencies that recruit for the marketing and advertising industry are at the other end of the spectrum (only 68%).
- CRM and social media are the clear front-runners when it comes to candidate generation.
The top two sourcing strategies were the same as in 2013, with CRM maintaining its number one spot. Referrals from placements are also now at number three, showing that one of the keys to being a successful recruitment consultant is leveraging the strength of one’s network – both professional and personal.
- 16% of agencies get over half their jobs through vendor management systems, and this percentage is on the rise.
At Bullhorn, we have seen a global rise in VMS usage. This trend is not, perhaps, as striking as it is in Asia-Pacific at this point, but VMS is here to stay and recruiters need to react now or be left out in the cold.
If you found our UK recruitment facts useful download Growth and Impact: The 2015 UK Recruitment Trends Report for more detailed benchmarking data and recruitment industry trends.