Human Resources Information Resources

Guide to HR Trends You Should Know

By Daniel Kehrer
The inside skinny on web hiring, job satisfaction factors & benefits

Dear Dan — We’re not a big company, but we’re definitely finding it harder these days to hire and keep employees. What’s going on out there? — Hiring Flop

Dear Hiring Flop: Finding, hiring and keeping good employees is always a challenge for small businesses. And with competition for talented and reliable employees expected to intensify, keeping up with the latest trends and practices in the “human resources” (HR) arena has become increasingly important for small and medium businesses.

With that in mind, here are four HR trends that can help you plan an approach to, hiring, recruitment and employee retention:

Trend #1: Internet Reliance. For most businesses, the web is the best tool for finding employees. Businesses that seek out “passive” job candidates (those not actively looking, but who’d consider a change), use three main web-related tactics: a) viewing association and trade group membership directories; b) scanning social networking sites such as MySpace and LinkedIn; and c) mining industry-specific blogs, discussion forums and news groups.

The web continues to open new opportunities for business hiring, says Susan Meisinger, CEO of the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM). And business owners, along with HR managers at firms large enough to have them, are creatively sifting what the internet has to offer. MySpace, for example, was once considered merely a teenage social hub. But according to Meisinger, it’s become “a rich source of background information for job recruiters.”

Employers surveyed by SHRM say their most reliable sources for quality job candidates are: a) employee referrals; b) national web-based job sites such as CareerBuilder.com, Monster.com and HotJobs.com; and c) internet job postings.

Internet tools are helping fill job openings more quickly, lower the cost per hire and find better qualified candidates, resulting in lower first-year turnover.

Larger companies, and a few smaller ones, are also creating their own .jobs domains to promote their employment opportunities online. The .jobs extension, launched in August 2005, is a restricted domain, which means applicants are subject to a verification process to confirm they qualify. Companies are using separate .jobs websites to feature job opportunities and relieve congestion on their home page.

Domain registration companies such as NetworkSolutions.com, GoDaddy.com and DomainBank.com have details on applying for a .jobs domain extension for your business.

Trend #2: Buddies at Work. In the past, some businesses have avoided having friends work together, fearing a higher goof-off factor. But new surveys show that productivity actually goes up when friends work together. “Colleagues who are friends are more likely to support one another when presented with challenges or new responsibilities,” says Max Messmer, chairman of Accountemps and author of Motivating Employees for Dummies (John Wiley & Sons). “It’s especially important for new employees to have the opportunity to build rapport with staff members. Those who are able to form friendships early on the job are more likely to stay for the long term.”

Trend #3: Job Satisfaction Factors. The key to employee job satisfaction differs by age and size of the business. Employees at big companies say that health care benefits are most important to job satisfaction, according to a new SHRM survey. Those at medium-sized firms put compensation first. But employees at small businesses say that feeling safe in the work environment is paramount. Employees under age 55 say compensation is their key to employment bliss, while order workers say the work environment is more important.

Trend #4: Shifting Benefits Array. Beyond health insurance, which ranks as the #1 benefit employees want and businesses offer, there’s a shifting array of other benefits being offered, according to the SHRM 2007 Benefits Survey.

The most commonly offered benefits are: direct deposit, paid holidays, training opportunities, payroll deductions, prescription drug coverage and dental insurance. A few benefits on the rise include cell phones or PDAs for personal use, vision insurance and transit subsidies.

Benefits being cut back by many companies include car allowances, health club memberships, traditional defined benefit pension plans and full flexible benefits plans.

Businesses that offer a wide array of benefits report spending an average of 38 percent of payroll on total benefit costs – 20 percent for mandatory benefits and 18 percent for voluntary offerings.