Survey Results
In September of this year we carried out a survey of our database to find out a little more of what is important to you when you look for a new role.
The results were really interesting for us and have turned into some hot debates amongst the team at Hasson Associates and we thought it might be of interest to you. Our database is a mix of research, operations and commercial professionals at all levels.
If you are a job seeker it might be of interest to you to understand what your peers consider when on a job search. More importantly if you are an employer this might help you reconsider how and who you hire and potentially how you communicate throughout the process.
One of the things as a recruiter that can be frustrating is when our clients (both job seeker and hirers) use multiple agencies. Whilst we appreciate that for some people volume is important, for us we prefer a more targeted approach and were really pleased to see that 48% of those who responded to the survey will use 2 agencies only. This would be our advice, any more than 2 and you will find that it will take more time to get the same result.
We were really pleased that 50% of you have a career plan and are very comfortable with the direction your career is taking. I wonder if that figure is also in part down to the fact that you are working with a recruiter. Recruiters tend to have a wider view on the market and a better understanding of all opportunities, so it’s great to build that relationship from early in your career.
The pandemic has created a new workplace, very few people have returned to pre- March 2020 life, new trends are emerging all the time. In most cases this has been positive and may be the start of a work revolution. There are several people who talk about this including https://twitter.com/annieauerbach and it will certainly impact decisions made by job seekers.
Our survey shows an 60% preference for hybrid working, only 10% want a complete return to an office and 30% prefer a fully remote role. This is definitely reflected in what we hear from employers most recently, though pressure does seem to be increasing for a full return or 3 days+ in an office – you need to take this into consideration if you want to be competitive.
As recruiters we want to make the perfect match, that goes beyond the job in hand but goes to the types of companies we work with and the relationships we build on the behalf of the job seeker.
We asked our database what is important when you are looking for a new role and the top 3 were
- Salary & Benefits
- The focus of the business on diversity, inclusion & equality
- Training and opportunity
So that’s what you need to focus on when you communicate your employer brand. It couldn’t be clearer. This year we are finally seeing salaries increase across the board, but it’s been a long time and we still aren’t competitive when we think of the salaries on offer in other professional services industries.
The MRS latest ED&I report is coming out soon and the results will show that the MRS is moving towards being an inclusive industry and working towards being a great place to work. The events of the last few years have had a massive impact on the way we work, how we work and what we expect from our relationship with our employers. The market research industry is showing that is answering that call from existing and future market research professionals.
Resources:
MRS ED&I pledge:
https://www.mrs.org.uk/about/mrs-diversity-inclusion-equality-council
Purpose focus groups:
https://www.mrs.org.uk/resources/partnerships-and-networks
Training courses:
https://www.mrs.org.uk/learningCPD/course-a-z