Zweig Group recently released the 2017 Recruitment & Retention Survey of Architecture, Engineering, Planning and Environmental Consulting Firms. The survey found that the average firm is spending a significant amount on new hires, even at average turnover rates, yet may not be budgeting appropriately.
Only 30 percent of firms who responded to the survey have an HR/Recruiting budget. Sixty-five percent of industry firms have in-house hiring/recruitment staff, with 25 percent reporting their hiring needs are beyond the scope of this staff.
Zweig Group’s director of executive search, Randy Wilburn, says firms can determine how much to budget for recruiting based on their needs, staff turnover rates, and growth projections.
“For instance, if a company currently has 200 people and an average turnover rate of 8-10 percent (industry average), it can expect to lose 16-20 people each year. If that firm wants to grow by 15 percent annually, it will need to hire 30 people, plus make up for the 16-20 that will likely be lost through attrition. This equates to a total of 46-50 people the firm needs to hire over a 12-month period,” he says.
Hiring in this industry takes on average between 30 and 60 days, and firms spend on average $4,454 on each new hire.
Using the numbers above, that 200-person firm is probably spending around $200,000 per year on new hires alone (not including salaries or bonuses)!
Firms are not spending significantly on the search phase of hiring, with word of mouth/referrals reported as the greatest source of new hires for the industry and internet advertising following closely behind (24 percent).
For more information on this survey visit: zweiggroup.com/surveys.
Related Stories
Industry Research | May 25, 2017
Project labor agreement mandates inflate cost of construction 13%
Ohio schools built under government-mandated project labor agreements (PLAs) cost 13.12 percent more than schools that were bid and constructed through fair and open competition.
Market Data | May 24, 2017
Design billings increasing entering height of construction season
All regions report positive business conditions.
Market Data | May 24, 2017
The top franchise companies in the construction pipeline
3 franchise companies comprise 65% of all rooms in the Total Pipeline.
Industry Research | May 24, 2017
These buildings paid the highest property taxes in 2016
Office buildings dominate the list, but a residential community climbed as high as number two on the list.
Market Data | May 16, 2017
Construction firms add 5,000 jobs in April
Unemployment down to 4.4%; Specialty trade jobs dip slightly.
Industry Research | May 4, 2017
How your AEC firm can go from the shortlist to winning new business
Here are four key lessons to help you close more business.
Engineers | May 3, 2017
At first buoyed by Trump election, U.S. engineers now less optimistic about markets, new survey shows
The first quarter 2017 (Q1/17) of ACEC’s Engineering Business Index (EBI) dipped slightly (0.5 points) to 66.0.
Market Data | May 2, 2017
Nonresidential Spending loses steam after strong start to year
Spending in the segment totaled $708.6 billion on a seasonally adjusted, annualized basis.
Market Data | May 1, 2017
Nonresidential Fixed Investment surges despite sluggish economic in first quarter
Real gross domestic product (GDP) expanded 0.7 percent on a seasonally adjusted annualized rate during the first three months of the year.
Architects | Apr 27, 2017
Number of U.S. architects holds steady, while professional mobility increases
New data from NCARB reveals that while the number of architects remains consistent, practitioners are looking to get licensed in multiple states.