What do companies’ hiring plans look like for the new year? A recent survey highlights some of the biggest recruiting trends for 2009.
Overall, the picture doesn’t look good, according to the survey by CareerBuilder. Just 13% of companies plan to add full time staff in the next 12 months, compared to 32% who said so before 2008.
That doesn’t mean companies are abandoning their hiring efforts. In fact, many plan on adding to certain areas of their recruiting budgets. Companies surveyed said this year they’ll spend more on:
- online recruitment sites (19%)
- newspaper classifieds (15%)
- career fairs (12%)
- third-party recruiters (12%), and
- social networking sites (7%).
Also, companies that are hiring are looking for new ways to attract talent as less money is available for salaries. How are they doing it? In many cases, it’s by offering candidates a more flexible work environment — 31% of companies plan on increasing flexible arrangements this year. Of those companies:
- 70% plan on giving employees more freedom to set their own hours
- 48% will offer some telecommuting options, and
- 40% will let employees compress their workweeks into four days.
What has your organization done differently to attract new employees? Let us know in the comments section below.
