4 out of 5 Employees May Switch Jobs in 2019: What Does That Mean for Your Organization?

Brightwing recently invited its talent network to participate in a survey to gain an inside perspective of the candidate market.

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Brightwing Talent Insights Survey Results 2019

Brightwing recently invited its talent network to participate in a survey to gain an inside perspective of the candidate market. For employers, this is important data to help them understand what candidates are looking for in a new opportunity and how companies should adjust their processes accordingly. Read on!

We like to get inside people’s heads. Find out what makes them tick, what makes them jump for joy or groan with boredom.

Nowhere is this truer than when it comes to jobseekers.

Making the perfect match between a professional and their future employer isn’t a game of throwing resumes at the wall to see what sticks. It’s about getting to the core of what really matters, building a relationship based on trust and intuition.

That’s why we reached out to our talent network to find out more about their experiences, hopes, and strategies in the job search. Turns out, this is profound information to help employers shape their recruitment strategies in ways that truly engage top talent.

Let’s dive in.

Only 1 in 5 employees are committed to staying at their current job

So, there’s good news and there’s bad news.

The good news is that if you’re actively hiring, there may be more available talent than what appears at first glance.

Chasing down those “passive” jobseekers – the 40% of people who are interested if an opportunity presents itself – will be particularly valuable in this case. If your employer branding game is on point and you know how to market your company and open positions in engaging ways, the chance you’ll be able to attract the right people is strong.

However, the bad news is that you may need to be concerned about retention. Most companies probably have a few employees who are either actively searching for a new job or at least willing to entertain a new opportunity should it present itself. Can you afford to lose them? Are you prepared to hire replacements? Can your team cover the gap if someone leaves? These questions probably make you nervous, but a strong retention strategy should reduce the chance that you’ll actually need to face these questions head-on.

Job boards, recruiters, and social networks are popular job search resources

Where are you looking for candidates to expand your talent pool?

Posting a job description to your website is simply not enough. Neither is posting to CareerBuilder, Monster, Indeed, or any of the other prominent job boards out there. While you could make the accurate assumption that many candidates are searching these job boards, more than 3 out of 5 are actually looking in other places.

Many candidates are connecting with recruiters in their industry. This is often the case with those “passive” job seekers who are employed full-time and don’t have the spare hours to search on their own. They also recognize that a recruiter’s network is much deeper than their own and they have the tools to gather information that the candidate couldn’t obtain on their own. Have you considered working with a staffing company to gain access to their candidates?

Another significant resource that candidates are using in the job search is social media – especially LinkedIn. Complete with its own job board, LinkedIn gives jobseekers the power to research companies, connect with peers and leaders, and showcase the details of their resume, skills, and accomplishments. Are you reaching candidates where they are?

56% of Jobseekers Prefer Email Communication

A decade ago, employees everywhere feared for their job in the wake of the economic recession. At that point, they probably had little preference how a potential employer contacted them.

Today, we’re all too aware that it’s a candidate’s market. Top talent is regularly inundated with messages from both corporate and agency recruiters. Plus, they’re simply busy. So, it’s little surprise that they’re picky about which messages they give their attention.

More than half of surveyed talent are more likely to initially engage with a potential employer through email.

With subscriptions and spam typically sent to secondary folders (thanks Gmail), people have more control of the content of their inbox than any other avenue. Algorithms control their social feeds, telemarketers won’t cease their phone calls, but your inbox is your own. That said, 2 out of 5 candidates do still prefer a phone call. In this case, then, your method of communication depends a little bit on trial-and-error for each individual candidate. Your choice.

Two Thirds of Jobseekers Are Checking on Your Reputation

There are plenty of opportunities out there for most candidates these days. As such, they’re not applying to every job they see or accepting the first job offer that comes their way. They’re doing their research first.

What makes a company attractive to apply to or accept a job with?

Almost two thirds of survey respondents view the company’s brand or reputation as the most important factor. Quite frankly, that’s a massive number. If a company isn’t on top of brand/reputation management, they may be falling short without even realizing it. Every factor that builds a brand – website, social presence, advertising, partnerships, thought leadership, quality of products/services, customer service, and more – must be aligned with how a company is portraying itself as an employer. If a piece of the puzzle is missing or damaged, candidates may dismiss the thought of ever applying for a job.

The second most popular factor in applying to or accepting a job with a specific company is their Glassdoor (or similar) reviews. The insights of both current and former employees (and any responses from the employer themselves) tell a candidate what it’s like to work there. This information is gold. Do you know what people are saying about you? How are you responding?

Jobseekers Crave Skills Growth and Opportunity

In today’s competitive candidate market, many companies are willing to pay top dollar to win talent. However, money isn’t always the answer. In fact, compensation ranks a joint third place (with company culture) as the most important factor in accepting a job offer.

Candidates crave growth more than money.

Skills development and a projected career path are critical to engaging your employees – and attracting new ones. Without these opportunities, employees grow stagnant, bored, and disengaged. They don’t want that – and neither should you. Smart jobseekers ensure that these opportunities will be available to them before they sign the employment contract. Can you deliver?

Almost as important is an employee’s work-life balance, and this ranks second in the survey. How are you providing your teams flexibility? Consider remote work opportunities, flex hours, unlimited PTO, or other alternatives. Make sure you regularly evaluate each team member’s workload to diminish burnout and ensure they don’t feel overwhelmed.

Follow Up Within One Week or Risk Losing Top Candidates

Even though top talent can seem scarce, that doesn’t mean you won’t be inundated with resumes and applications the minute you post a job description online – a majority of which will be underqualified. It’s no wonder that sorting through and screening those applications can take days if not weeks to find the right people.

Unfortunately, you simply don’t have weeks. More than one third of survey respondents said they were willing to wait no longer than one week for a response after they’d applied. And two out of five responded with 3-5 days! A more generous 30% replied with 2 weeks, and, in the minority, 12% said 3+ weeks. It’s clear, then, that prompt follow up is critical to retaining top candidates before they move on to other opportunities.

Flex Time and Healthcare Benefits Are Equally Important

An almost identical number of people ranked flex-time/work-from-home and healthcare as the number one most important employer benefit. Though these benefits are very different in nature, they both speak to an employee’s sense of wellbeing – both mental and physical. These are followed by paid vacation and retirement benefits in 3^rd and 4^th place. Can you meet their expectations?

Counteroffers Rarely Work

If you’re worried about losing top employees – or if you’re worried about losing top candidates to their current employers – you need to know that only 6% of survey respondents are very likely to accept a counteroffer after they’ve given their resignation. A quarter of them may consider a counteroffer only if it’s significant. But about two thirds of jobseekers are unlikely (though that’s not to say not tempted) by a counteroffer.

This confirms that most people are simply not motivated by money. While everyone has bills to pay, when it comes to spending eight or more hours doing the same job in the same place with the same people, there are several more important factors prompting them to either stay or leave.

Brightwing Talent Insights 2019

With four out of five employees open to new job opportunities this year, it’s likely that if you’re not already hiring, you will be soon. We hope this survey data helps provide some insight for honing your recruitment strategy, as well as any employee engagement and retention initiatives.

Finally, with two out of five candidates choosing to use a recruiter in their job search, we can’t help but ask whether you’ve considered partnering with a staffing and recruiting firm. At Brightwing, our talent acquisition approach is one-part relationships, one-part insight, and one-part results. We know it’s a recipe that can work for you.