After several months of gathering information, the results are finally in. Thanks to all of the hard working people and organizations who voluntarily participated and took the time in taking the two surveys, we can finally verify our observation in organizational hiring practices and effectiveness. Our research included responses from current students, employees, ages 18-65 and small and mid-sized organizations in diverse industries from all over the united states. At NXGEN HR, we have seen patterns which indicate that staffing agencies also known as employment agencies have significantly increased in the United States and have given the illusion of being the best solution for finding talent and meeting staffing needs. We have also learned that many of these service providers frequently refresh old job postings to make a job seeker believe they always have the latest and most up to date career opportunities available. Complaints have been made by employees who were hired and felt the organization was trying to fire them because they found the job posting the applied to refreshed. This only added to employee anxiety, stress, and creating a hostile working environment between new employees and management. Another big problem with these very big and known online job search companies is the frequent reported scams, frauds, replicated job postings that are no longer available and applicants losing identity communicating with false hiring managers and ultimately not obtaining employment. This is a very serious issue that can be avoided. In addition, many organizations have been led to believe that outsourcing the recruitment process is the best approach for meeting staffing needs. This is without a doubt far from the truth.
Exhibit A
In Exhibit A, we learn that when it comes to hiring practices in the U.S, Direct Hiring is the most effective compared to employment agencies, friend referrals, and network recommends. Direct hiring is the most effective because it involves candidate experience, onboard experience, culture, purpose, preparation, vision, belonging, a direct connection to the organization. Unlike employment agencies, indirectly involved, lacking identity, purpose, preparation, culture, being handled like a piece of meat or equipment. Many organizations felt that employment agencies are hurting the employer brand, affecting employee morale, decreased retention, and decreased experience. According to the American Staffing Association, staffing job growth has drop by 3.7%. Job seekers and businesses alike are impacted by the saturation of these type of businesses. As a result, many participating organizations are expressing the desire to develop in-house recruitment teams, departments, and practices to help build organizational brand, awareness, and credibility. Another common practice is hiring and promoting individuals because "so and so are best friends" or "they are your best friend". Friend referrals was the least effective in organizational hiring practices and often results in losing really good talent because of hiring poor or bad talent. However, organizations still have a great opportunity through network recommendations, meaning contacts who aren't necessarily your friend but someone you met at a meeting, seminar, convention, etc. Clearly, organizations have a great opportunity to improve and invest in direct hiring by enhancing in-house recruitment processes, strategies, and practices.
Exhibit B
In Exhibit B, we learn several things when it comes to Internships, apprentice programs, employment agencies, and direct company hiring. Judged by 4 categories, availability, quality, preference, and recommendation. Internships are preferred and recommended for gaining experience and employment. However, not many are available and the quality of them are low. For Apprentice programs, they have the highest quality, preference, and recommendation from the public, but the job market lacks them. In the agency practice, the market is saturated with them, many don't recommend nor prefer them, and are believe to be low quality experience. On the other hand, direct hiring for gaining experience and employment had very high and favorable marks from the public. I had the opportunity to go two weeks asking people if they knew, or ever heard of company x and sadly nobody, has heard of them, knew that they were hiring, what they are, and what they engage in. This organization has been in city y for many years and they have been using staffing agencies to meet staffing needs. This is a clear example of how specific hiring practices hurt your organization and brand. Organization who invest and develop in-house recruitment experiences, processes, and recruitment teams have a great chance of increasing retention, staffing, loyalty, and gaining a competitive advantage compared to those who don't. Be smart and don't outsource recruitment.