Amidst the ongoing economic challenges and evolving dynamics between employers and employees, Singaporean hiring managers are navigating a landscape fraught with complexities in their pursuit of top talent, as revealed by a report from Employment Hero.
According to the findings of ‘The State of Recruitment: Growing Costs and Concerns,’ rising expenses associated with the recruitment process weigh heavily on hiring managers in the country. They have identified several key factors driving these increased costs, including higher salaries driven by the rising cost of living (52%), labour shortages (37%), and the escalating expenses of job board postings and recruiter fees (32%).
Singaporean hiring leaders face the challenge of a prolonged recruitment cycle, with an average time of 41 days to fill a position, making it the lengthiest duration among all the countries surveyed (which include Australia, New Zealand, and the UK). Their challenges, however, extend beyond this phase.
After successful recruitment, a significant 19% of candidates fail to pass probation or remain in their roles beyond the initial six months, further complicating the hiring process. Remarkably, 23% of hiring leaders have indicated that this factor contributes to the escalating costs associated with recruitment efforts.
“The data from the report underscores the complexities of today’s hiring landscape in Singapore. Rising costs, longer hiring cycles and the struggle to retain talent during the crucial probationary period are hurdles hiring managers face daily,” said Ben Thompson, CEO and co-founder of Employment Hero.
“To address these shifts, businesses need to adopt a holistic approach to hiring and retention – one that includes using technology to streamline and improve the hiring and employee onboarding process.”
The impact on small businesses
In Singapore, small businesses encounter a unique challenge. An overwhelming 86% of hiring leaders agree that small businesses find it challenging to compete for talent against multinational corporations, while 81% agree that the expenses associated with job boards are a significant barrier for them.
Delving further into the issue, 97% of hiring leaders within small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) attribute their hiring challenges to their inability to match the competitive salaries offered by larger organisations, and 96% point to their limited capacity to provide comparable perks as the primary cause.
“The rising costs of recruitment creates a significant disadvantage for local SMEs, leading them to invest countless manual hours in the hiring process, which further impacts their productivity and profitability. SMEs contribute to 70% of Singapore’s labour force – so it is crucial to ensure they have access to seamless recruitment processes and equal opportunities to attract and retain the best candidates,” Kevin Fitzgerald, Managing Director, Asia, at Employment Hero.
The ‘State of Recruitment: Growing Costs and Concerns’ highlights the current state of the recruitment landscape amid ongoing economic and macroeconomic challenges in Singapore and Malaysia. The report surveyed 515 business leaders in Singapore and Malaysia from across different organisation sizes and industries.
