This year, the 2016 State of Sourcing Survey went beyond individual contributors. Over 12.5 percent of this year’s survey respondents were in a sourcing leadership (manager, director or above) position. We thought it was important to include candidate experience and employee satisfaction in this category. Candidate experience can be greatly impacted by an individual, but it can have an even larger impact from an entire team, department or organization. The majority of survey respondents found that it is our responsibility as sourcers to provide a superior candidate experience. In all, we rank ourselves as an eight out of ten in our ability to provide that experience. This is great news as no one is looking to replace us by robots any time soon (see below).
This survey also took a look at the metrics that are used to track a sourcer’s performance. Number of placements/hires (74 percent) led the pack, followed by number of qualified candidates submitted to the business (69 percent) and candidates interviewed by hiring managers (64 percent). Surprisingly, email conversation rates (24 percent) was the least tracked and measured metric by leadership. Noticing the amount of time spent customizing messages (45 minutes) by sourcers and recruiters and an average low response rate (35 percent), this is an opportunity for sourcing leadership to hold their sourcing teams better accountable. This responsibility can directly impact candidate experience and satisfaction and the ability for sourcers to better manage their time throughout the day. We saw success with this at the 2016 Fall SourceCon Conference in the presentations from Mike Chuidian, Kerri Mills, and Allison Kruse.
The survey closed with a general employment satisfaction check. Overall, the majority of sourcers are currently happy in their current position. This is excellent news as we saw a dramatic shift in a sourcer’s responsibility this year. As a sourcer matures in their role, and they inherit the traditional responsibilities that a recruiter once held, it is important for leaders to recognize that growth in continual education and a competitive salary, which were both on the lower end in 2016.
The Results
Leadership Compensation: For 2016, what is your estimated total annual pay? “Total annual pay” equals your cash compensation (e.g. salary, bonuses, project fees, etc.) in U.S. dollars. It does NOT include the value of your benefits, paid time off, equity/stock options etc. If you will work for less than 12 months in 2016, please select the amount that would be equivalent to what you would have earned had you worked the entire year.
Do you feel it’s a Sourcer’s responsibility to provide superior candidate experience?
On a scale of 1-10, please rank your current ability to provide superior candidate experience.
Who is responsible for payment on your LinkedIn account?
Please indicate if you are currently using these solutions or are planning to invest in them in the next 12 months
Please select which of the following metrics you use to track sourcing performance
How are your Talent and Acquisition activities funded?
For your HR/TA funded activities, how is your budget created?
If the technology was available, would you replace your sourcers with a robot?
On a scale of 1-10, how satisfied are you in your current employment situation? 1-dissatisfied 10-satisfied
Thank you to all sourcers, recruiters and leadership that participated in this year’s survey. We are looking forward to improving and building on this data next year. Until then, happy sourcing!