Over 90% of Organizations Surveyed by Salary.com are Hiring New Employees

64% of employees continue to work from home

WALTHAM, MA ­– (May 5, 2021) Salary.com has released the results of the 2020 HR Metrics Survey in which 92 percent of organizations report they are actively hiring new employees, despite the uncertainty of this pandemic economy. Of these organizations, 64 percent of employees are working from home. This high percentage could indicate that employers: are not yet fully comfortable bringing people back into an office environment; that they are functioning just as efficiently in a remote work environment; or that they are realizing cost savings on overhead expenses.

The survey by Salary.com, the compensation solution provider bringing more of the trusted data and intuitive software organizations need to get pay right, also revealed that many baby boomers have yet to retire, leaving the average age of non-supervisors coming in at the relatively high age of 40. That said, 10 percent of the workforce retired in the last year, with another 9 percent eligible for retirement next year, representing significant knowledge departing the workforce.

“As baby boomers continue their march towards retirement, organizations will have to develop strategies to address that talent-drain,” said Chris Fusco, Salary.com’s Senior Vice President of Compensation.

“Also of note, a third of the organizations surveyed currently hire employees with bachelor’s degrees, though 86 percent reported a willingness to hire candidates based on experience in lieu of education. This could be an acknowledgment that higher education costs are causing a shift in how people view the value of a college education,” according to Fusco.

Retention Strategies

Given the high cost of turnover, with the average time-to-hire coming in at 40.6 days and average recruiting costs topping $50K, organizations are seeking to improve the quality of their hires to keep the turnover rate down. Organizations reported an average turnover rate of 10 percent, while the turnover rate for high-performing/high-potential employees was a much lower 4.5 percent. Voluntary separations averaged 24 percent, while involuntary separations reached 8 percent. Forty-four percent of separations occurred within the first year of employment.

Training has played an important role in improving employee retention, with 69 percent of organizations offering training to their employees. Promotions are also a key retention vehicle as evidenced by the average length of service increasing with job level.

Employee engagement is critical to employee retention and three-quarters of organizations report conducting employee engagement surveys. Eighty-seven percent also offer a formal health and wellness program.

Performance Strategies

More than half (56 percent) of respondents track performance and satisfaction levels. Seventy-three percent of organizations report that managers and employees meet one-on-one, although 41 percent stated the practice varies from manager-to-manager because there is often no formal policy or process in place that requires such meetings occur.

Survey Methodology

Data was gathered during July and August 2020 with 765 organizations participating. Data was collected, analyzed and compiled by the Compdata Surveys team at Salary.com specializing in the administration and publication of compensation surveys. As a matter of policy, the data is maintained in absolute confidentialityt to drive workplace equity at their organizations.

ABOUT SALARY.COM

Salary.com is the leading SaaS provider of compensation market data, software, and analytics, bringing more of the trusted data and intuitive software organizations need to get pay right. Founded in 1999, the company serves over 25,000 survey participant organizations, over 8,000 business-to-business software subscribers, and over 30 million employees globally. For more than 20 years, Salary.com has empowered confident decisions by aligning compensation practices with recruiting, performance, and development initiatives through easy-to-access data and meaningful insights.

The market-leading CompAnalyst^Ⓡ SaaS platform accelerates compensation workflows, delivers real-time data, and powers accurate, equitable, and competitive compensation. Through its Salary Wizard and pioneering website, Salary.com delivers continually updated, reliable market pay data and career content to over 30 million visitors each year. For more information, please visit the company website at www.salary.com.

Media Contact:

Julie Murphy
Julie.Murphy@salary.com
617-967-5426