According to a recent report by Glassdoor, employees and would-be employees
have an edge in today’s job market, with 90 percent of recruiters surveyed saying it’s a candidate-driven market.
The report also reveals important points for businesses looking to hire and keep the most qualified workers. In today’s candidate-driven environment, companies need to prioritize employee retention. Employee benefits and employee engagement is a big part of that.
Stats on Recruiting and Hiring Practices for 2017
As the report points out, recruiting is more expensive for businesses when the market favors job candidates and the stats back this up.
- It costs $4,000 on average for U.S. businesses to fill an open position.
- On average, it takes 52 days for businesses to fill a job opening (up from 48 days in 2011).
- Forty-seven percent of candidates declined a job offer because they accepted another position.
- Among small businesses surveyed, 47 percent said there were few or no qualified candidates for the jobs they were trying to fill.
The survey also asked recruiters which obstacles presented the most problems when it came to filling job openings, with a shortage of candidates and lengthy hiring practices ranking highest at 31 percent and 27 percent, respectively.
Stats on Employee Retention for 2017
The report also shows that companies in 2017 are concerned about preventing good workers from leaving—and with good reason, as 51 percent of employees surveyed said they’re thinking about looking for a new job. This makes sense if you consider that more than three-quarters of job seekers say benefits are either “very important” or “extremely important” when considering a job offer, yet less than half of small businesses offer any type of health benefit to employees.
Small Business Employee Retention Ideas
In a competitive market, small businesses need to do everything they can to hire and keep talent. Benefits are a well-known, and extremely impactful recruiting and retention tool, but they only matter if they meet employees expectations and needs. That is why health reimbursement arrangements (HRAs) have emerged as a leading category of health benefits. Companies support employees with tax-free dollars that employees are free to spend on whatever medical expenses they incur.
Conclusion
The recent Glassdoor report shows that employees are willing to leave a job if they can find better compensation and benefits elsewhere. Companies can contain recruiting costs and prevent current employees from leaving by reexamining their benefits package and offering more flexible and cost-conscious options for health and other benefits.
Download our employee retention eBook to learn how to keep your most valued employees without breaking your budget.
What is your business doing to improve employee retention? Let us know in the comments.
