Recruitment Benchmarking Report 2014/15
Aims and Objectives The Recruitment Benchmarking Report has been put together following the results of Raffinger s Recruitment Benchmarking Survey, which was created with the aim of obtaining an in-depth understanding of the recruitment market as it stands today. The survey was sent out to over 1000 recruitment agencies, working across all markets, throughout London and Essex. The main objectives of the survey were as follows: 1. To identify the present trends in the recruitment industry, in regards to the business, the clients, candidates and employees, the director s remuneration and the accounts and bookkeeping; 2. To identify the future prospects of the recruitment industry; 3. To identify the key obstacles faced in the recruitment industry. We hope that with the results recruitment agencies can benchmark themselves against their competitors, and make informed decisions on the future of their business.
Key Findings 91% of agencies experienced an increase in turnover in the last 12 months 91% of agencies expect their turnover to increase in the next 12 months 84% of agencies receive their greatest ROI in the UK; yet, only 50% of agencies operate solely in the UK 3 key obstacles faced in the industry are lack of quality employees, limited marketing and employee retention 23% of agencies encounter regular or occasional problems with cash flow 30% is the average commission structure applied to revenue 14% of agencies are not aware of their auto enrolment responsibilities 68% of agencies are not members of a trading body 59% of agencies outsource their accounts
Recruitment Benchmarking Report 2014/15 Your Business
Annual Turnover 37% 32% Under 500k 500k to under 1m 1m to under 5m 5% 18% 18% 5m to under 10m Over 10m Over half of the recruitment agencies who responded are positioned at either end of the scale have a turnover under 500k or over 10m. There is then an even split between those achieving 500k to under 1m and 1m to under 5m. The bracket of 5m to under 10m makes up the fewest number of agencies.
Operations and Turnover Where do you operate? In which region do you receive your greatest ROI? 5% 4% 8% 8% UK Only 4% 26% 50% Africa Asia Europe Middle East USA 8% 3% 84% UK Only Africa Asia Europe Middle East USA 3% Despite 84% of all respondents receiving the greatest ROI in the UK alone, only 50% of agencies in Essex and London operate solely in the UK. Many agencies have branched out and now Europe is the second most popular region in which to operate and receive the greatest ROI. This is followed by Asia and the USA. t one of the agencies that responded selected the Middle East or Africa as a region in which they receive the greatest ROI, although a limited number do operate there. It will be interesting to see in a year s time if these statistics change to favour overseas operations.
Turnover 100 90 80 91% 70 91% % 60 50 40 30 20 Increase in Turnover in the last 12 months Turnover to increase in next 12 months 10 0 9% 4.5% 4.5% Yes Stable Encouragingly, not one recruitment agency recorded a decrease in turnover in the last 12 months. 91% of agencies recorded an increase in turnover and the same amount expect to increase turnover in the next 12 months, emphasising the growth being experienced in the industry. With only 4.5% expecting to see a decrease in turnover in the next 12 months the industry in evidently in a strong position.
The next five years achievements 40 35 30 % 25 20 37% 33% 15 10 5 0 5% 5% Expect to be in a similar position New head office 9% New branches opened up Increased headcount Continuous financial growth 7% Extended overseas 2% 2% To be acquired employees, working on their own Again, encouragingly, only 9% of agencies expect to be in a similar position or acquired in the next five years. The other 91% expect to expand or grow. The majority of agencies aim to increase their employee headcount, which is to be expected in order to achieve the continuous financial growth and expansion plans predicted. Interestingly, only 7% of respondents expect to expand overseas.
Key obstacles faced in the running of a recruitment agency 45 40 35 42% 30 25 20 % 15 10 23% 15% 5 0 Limited Marketing Employee Retention Lack of quality employees 4% Time to train 8% Hiring the right people quickly 4% 4% Depressed market Sector specific problems The main obstacle faced by nearly half of all of the agencies that responded is the lack of quality employees. With 37% of agencies expecting to increase their headcount in the next five years, this is a significant hurdle that needs to be addressed and rectified. Employee retention is also an area that needs to be addressed (affecting 15%), especially with agencies that are planning on increasing their headcount. Employee incentives and a more intense recruitment process may become more popular with agencies looking to recruit the best employees on the market. Limited marketing is the second major obstacle affecting agencies. This may be becoming more apparent with the significant growth experienced in the market in the last 12 months as the agencies are growing, the marketing is being left behind.
Cash Flow How often do you encounter problems with cash flow? 18% 5% Never Occasionally Often It is good to see that 77% of agencies never encounter a problem with cash flow. However, 23% of agencies are experiencing often or occasional problems with it, which may impact upon and even halt their future growth plans. 77% One solution is factoring or invoice discounting, which 23% of agencies are making use of and 100% of which have promisingly recommended the use of these methods to improve cash flow. Do you make use of factoring or invoice discounting? If yes, would you recommend factoring or invoice discounting? 77% 23% Yes 100% Yes
Legislation Are you up-to-date with all of the legislation that applies to the recruitment industry? 55% 45% Yes Partly If yes, how do you obtain this information? It is good to see that not one recruitment agency that responded feels out-of-date with legislation affecting the sector. However, 55% of agencies feel they are only partly up-to-date. The key avenue for information on legislation is trading bodies, however only 63% of agencies declared themselves as a member of a trading body (evident in the next slide). Despite 45% of respondents regarding themselves as up-to-date with legislation, 73% of respondents are still interested in being kept up-todate, via a different source, with legislation that affects the sector. 45 40 35 30 40% % 25 20 15 10 26% 13% 5 0 Lawyers and legal mailshots 7% 7% 7% CIPD Trading Bodies Accountants Events and Forums Word-of-Mouth
Trading Bodies Are you a member of REC, APSCO or IOR? 80 % 60 40 20 0 68% 5% 27% APSCO IOR REC What benefits are you receiving from being a member of a trade body? % 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 11% 11% Win more business Increased efficiency Reduced costs 6% Employee development and training 33% Up-to-date with industry news 17% Networking opportunities 22% Legal and financial support REC is the most popular trading body among respondents with 27% being members. However, nearly three quarters of respondents are not a member of a trading body at all. The most valuable benefit from being a member of a trading body appears to be being kept up-to-date with industry news. 100% of REC members that responded chose this as one of their benefits. Whereas, the most popular benefit of APSCO members are the networking opportunities.
Recruitment Benchmarking Report 2014/15 Your Clients, Candidates and Employees
Clients How do you attract new clients? % 40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 10.5% 13% 29% Advertisements Direct mail/ email Telemarketing Referrals Events & Networking Personal marketing approaches 34% 10.5% 3% As with most businesses, the most popular and successful way of attracting new business is through referrals. Telemarketing and email are the second and third most popular methods, despite the negative press both receive. However, this proves that when the two are done successfully they are unrivalled by other marketing methods (bar referrals). Just over 10% of companies asked attract clients through events and networking, which explains why 67% would not find a networking event useful. However, 33% of people would still consider one. Do you think a networking event would be of benefit to your business? 8% 67% 25% Yes Maybe
Candidates Does your business recruit temps, perms or both? 62% 1% 33% Temps Perms Both 62% of all agencies that responded recruit both temps and perms. Only 1% of agencies recruit temps only. The remaining 33% focus solely on perms. Advertisements is the most popular method for attracting candidates; however, LinkedIn has proved itself to be the most effective (and is considerably cheaper). CV databases and market mapping are the least effective methods with agencies experiencing direct contact via referrals or personal search to be among the most effective methods. What are the key ways in which you attract candidates to your jobs and what do you find the most effective? 35 Attracting Candidates 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 20% 17% 19% 26% 14% 14% 18% 17% 0% 8.5% 8.5% 4% 4% 1% 0% 5% 1% 4% 4% 13% Most Effective Method
Employees How many people does your business currently employ? Do you expect to increase your workforce within the next 12 months? 24% 19% 57% 0-10 11-50 51-200 201+ 23% 77% Yes Are you aware of your auto enrolment responsibilities 14% Yes 86% Over half of all agencies that responded employ between 0 10 people. t one agency who contributed employs more than 201 people. However, nearly three quarters of agencies expect to increase their workforce within the next 12 months, which is in line with the 5 year plan that stated 37% of agencies wish to increase their headcount and 33% wish for continued growth in the next five years. Interestingly, the 23% of agencies that stated they would not employ any new people were all agencies that employed 0-10 people. With auto enrolment on the horizon, it is good to see 86% of agencies are aware of their responsibilities. However, 14% are still in the dark all of which are agencies that earn under 500k and employ 0-10 people.
Employees Commission Structures 30% is the average commission structure applied to revenue 33% Several schemes that pay anything from zero to 40%. Most have a threshold that must be met before any commission is payable. The more the consultant bills, the greater the rate of commission they receive. Individual, % of net revenue after baseline of salary + NI to 100K 15% after 100K - 150K 25% 150K + 50% 1/3 of NFI Partnership share with discretionary performance bonus Broadly two schemes for contract and perm with no threshold and going from 10-40% on bandings We operate a non-discretionary profit sharing model, sharing operating profits quarterly; 60% is shared equally to participants in the Profit Sharing scheme; there is no direct relationship between what a consultant personally bills and what they earn. Quarterly bonus structure 33% of individual earnings above target 20% on all written revenue, no threshold, 30% on everything over 100k in a quarter 30% of all revenue produced
Employees Which of the following benefits does your organisation offer to help incentivise your employees? 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 4% Enterprise Management Incentive 9% Pension 16% Health/ Medical Insurance Have these benefits helped you retain your key employees and recruit high calibre employees? 26% Bonuses 14% 21% Above Flexible average working annual leave (including (over 25 days) home working) 0% 6% Paid overtime Generous maternity and paternity leave Other Bonuses are the most popular benefit used for incentivising employees, followed closely by flexible working. 3% 45% 50% Yes 3% of agencies offer more innovative incentives, such as lifestyle benefits, holidays/ trips and gym memberships. 100% of these agencies declared that these benefits were helping to retain their employees. 5% Unable to tell However, only 50% of agencies overall feel their benefits have helped retain and incentivise employees, it may be that in the next few years agencies become more innovative in their approach, in order to make themselves appear more attractive to potential employees.
Recruitment Benchmarking Report 2014/15 Your Personal Remuneration
Personal Remuneration Do you take home salary or dividends from your company? Do you think you are being paid in the most tax efficient way? 14% 5% 77% 9% Salary Dividends Both 95% Yes The most popular payment method for directors and business owners is to be paid through a mixture of salary and dividends. However, even those that are just being paid salary or dividends alone also declared that they were being paid in the most tax efficient way. The 5% who believed they were not being paid in the most tax efficient way received a combination of salary and dividends.
Recruitment Benchmarking Report 2014/15 Your Accounts and Bookkeeping
Accounts and Bookkeeping Do you have an internal finance director or do you outsource the preparation of your annual accounts? Do you carry out your bookkeeping process in-house? 27% Internal Finance Director 41% 59% 73% Outsource accounts Yes If in-house, do you use any of the following? 7% 7% 7% 20% 13% 46% Xero Kashflow Clear Books QuickBooks Sage Line 50 Sage Instant Accounts MyBusinessWorks Excel If you don t would you consider using a bookkeeping software? 58% 10.5% 31.5% Yes n/a
Accounts and Bookkeeping Do you have pre year-end meetings with your accountant to discuss tax planning strategies? The majority of recruitment agencies, 59%, outsource their accounts and have chosen not to get an internal finance director. 27% 73% Yes The majority of agencies that do have an internal finance director are those achieving a turnover of 5m to under 10m (85% of these agencies have a finance director) and over 10m (100% of these agencies have a finance director). 73% of agencies continue to carry out their bookkeeping processes in house. Again it is the larger agencies that tend to do this 100% of those agencies achieving 5m or more have the resources to carry out their own bookkeeping. Of those that do their own bookkeeping, the most popular software is QuickBooks. Xero is beginning to establish itself in the market, having 13% market share. Although, it is interesting that 7% still make use of excel and only 10.5% would consider using bookkeeping software that do not already do so. In regards to pre year-end meetings, these are becoming more popular, yet over 25% of agencies who responded still do not have pre year-end meetings with their accountant.