Employer Recruitment Strategy Survey 2026

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Tell us about your recruitment strategies…

GRB is gathering insight from employers to better understand how organisations recruit, the challenges they face, the skills they value and how recruitment is changing.

The findings will help us build a clearer picture of what employers need from the next generation of talent and will be shared with schools, colleges and careers leaders to help inform careers education and employability support.

Thank you for taking the time to share your views.

Recruitment Activity

Approximately how many of each type of candidate does your organisation recruit each year? *

	None	1-5	6-20	20-50	50-100	100+
Graduates	NoneGraduates None	1-5Graduates 1-5	6-20Graduates 6-20	20-50Graduates 20-50	50-100Graduates 50-100	100+Graduates 100+
Apprentices	NoneApprentices None	1-5Apprentices 1-5	6-20Apprentices 6-20	20-50Apprentices 20-50	50-100Apprentices 50-100	100+Apprentices 100+
Placement students	NonePlacement students None	1-5Placement students 1-5	6-20Placement students 6-20	20-50Placement students 20-50	50-100Placement students 50-100	100+Placement students 100+
School leavers	NoneSchool leavers None	1-5School leavers 1-5	6-20School leavers 6-20	20-50School leavers 20-50	50-100School leavers 50-100	100+School leavers 100+
Experienced hires	NoneExperienced hires None	1-5Experienced hires 1-5	6-20Experienced hires 6-20	20-50Experienced hires 20-50	50-100Experienced hires 50-100	100+Experienced hires 100+
Senior hires	NoneSenior hires None	1-5Senior hires 1-5	6-20Senior hires 6-20	20-50Senior hires 20-50	50-100Senior hires 50-100	100+Senior hires 100+
Interns	NoneInterns None	1-5Interns 1-5	6-20Interns 6-20	20-50Interns 20-50	50-100Interns 50-100	100+Interns 100+

Which roles are hardest to fill? (Select up to 3) *

Graduate
Entry-level
Technical
Engineering
Sales
Operations
Management
Executive
Other

If other, please specify *

Which recruitment channels does your organisation use, and how effective are they? *

	Don't use	Low	Fair	Good	Very Good	Excellent
Company careers website	Don't useCompany careers website Don't use	LowCompany careers website Low	FairCompany careers website Fair	GoodCompany careers website Good	Very GoodCompany careers website Very Good	ExcellentCompany careers website Excellent
Employee referrals	Don't useEmployee referrals Don't use	LowEmployee referrals Low	FairEmployee referrals Fair	GoodEmployee referrals Good	Very GoodEmployee referrals Very Good	ExcellentEmployee referrals Excellent
LinkedIn	Don't useLinkedIn Don't use	LowLinkedIn Low	FairLinkedIn Fair	GoodLinkedIn Good	Very GoodLinkedIn Very Good	ExcellentLinkedIn Excellent
Job boards	Don't useJob boards Don't use	LowJob boards Low	FairJob boards Fair	GoodJob boards Good	Very GoodJob boards Very Good	ExcellentJob boards Excellent
Recruitment agency – contingency	Don't useRecruitment agency – contingency Don't use	LowRecruitment agency – contingency Low	FairRecruitment agency – contingency Fair	GoodRecruitment agency – contingency Good	Very GoodRecruitment agency – contingency Very Good	ExcellentRecruitment agency – contingency Excellent
Recruitment process outsourcing (RPO)	Don't useRecruitment process outsourcing (RPO) Don't use	LowRecruitment process outsourcing (RPO) Low	FairRecruitment process outsourcing (RPO) Fair	GoodRecruitment process outsourcing (RPO) Good	Very GoodRecruitment process outsourcing (RPO) Very Good	ExcellentRecruitment process outsourcing (RPO) Excellent
Recruitment advertising	Don't useRecruitment advertising Don't use	LowRecruitment advertising Low	FairRecruitment advertising Fair	GoodRecruitment advertising Good	Very GoodRecruitment advertising Very Good	ExcellentRecruitment advertising Excellent
Campus recruitment	Don't useCampus recruitment Don't use	LowCampus recruitment Low	FairCampus recruitment Fair	GoodCampus recruitment Good	Very GoodCampus recruitment Very Good	ExcellentCampus recruitment Excellent
Careers fairs	Don't useCareers fairs Don't use	LowCareers fairs Low	FairCareers fairs Fair	GoodCareers fairs Good	Very GoodCareers fairs Very Good	ExcellentCareers fairs Excellent
Social media	Don't useSocial media Don't use	LowSocial media Low	FairSocial media Fair	GoodSocial media Good	Very GoodSocial media Very Good	ExcellentSocial media Excellent
Internal talent pool	Don't useInternal talent pool Don't use	LowInternal talent pool Low	FairInternal talent pool Fair	GoodInternal talent pool Good	Very GoodInternal talent pool Very Good	ExcellentInternal talent pool Excellent
Other	Don't useOther Don't use	LowOther Low	FairOther Fair	GoodOther Good	Very GoodOther Very Good	ExcellentOther Excellent

Other recruitment channel – please specify

Recruitment Partners

What is the main reason your organisation uses recruitment agencies? (Select 1) *

Lack of internal resources
Hard-to-fill vacancies
Need specialist expertise
Need faster hiring
Better candidate quality
Reduce recruitment workload
Employer branding support
Seasonal hiring demand
Cost efficiency
Other

If other, please specify *

At what stages of the recruitment process do external recruitment partners add the most value? (Select up to 3) *

Workforce planning/recruitment strategy
Employer branding
Attraction and advertising
Candidate sourcing
Screening and shortlisting
Assessment and selection
Interview support
Offer management
Meeting shortfall after main campaign
Throughout the entire recruitment process

When do you typically engage GRB in the recruitment proccess? (Select up to 3) *

Workforce planning/recruitment strategy
Employer branding
Attraction and advertising
Candidate sourcing
Screening and shortlisting
Assessment and selection
Interview support
Offer management
Meeting shortfall after main campaign
Throughout the entire recruitment process

How do you typically assess and score candidates? (Select all that apply) *

Competency-based scoring
Strengths-based assessment
Skills testing
Psychometric testing
Assessment centre scoring
Hiring manager judgement only
Structured interview scorecards
AI-assisted assessment
Other

If other, please specify *

What are the three most important factors when selecting a recruitment partner? (Select up to 3) *

Candidate quality
Speed
Cost
Sector expertise
Graduate recruitment expertise
Employer branding support
Assessment capability
Diversity expertise
Data and reporting
Previous relationship
Geographic reach

What are the main reasons you choose to work with GRB? (Select up to 3) *

Quality of candidates
Sector expertise
Graduate recruitment expertise
Speed of delivery
Understanding of our business
Cost effectiveness
Market knowledge
Assessment expertise
Long-term relationship
Customer service
Other

If other, please specify *

Working with GRB

In which of the following situations are you most likely to engage GRB? (Select up to 3) *

Urgent hiring requirements
Difficult-to-fill vacancies
Graduate recruitment campaigns
High-volume recruitment
Lack of internal recruitment resources
Advertising and attraction support
Assessment and selection support
Executive search
Meeting shortfall requirements
We use GRB as our primary recruitment partner
Other

If other, please specify *

Do you use any other recruitment agencies or recruitment partners? *

Yes – please specify
No
Prefer not to say

If yes, please specify *

Candidate Skills and Personality

How important are the following skills, attributes and experience when recruiting candidates? Rate each: *

	Not important	Somewhat	Important	Very important
Communication	Not importantCommunication Not important	SomewhatCommunication Somewhat	ImportantCommunication Important	Very importantCommunication Very important
Reliability	Not importantReliability Not important	SomewhatReliability Somewhat	ImportantReliability Important	Very importantReliability Very important
Teamwork	Not importantTeamwork Not important	SomewhatTeamwork Somewhat	ImportantTeamwork Important	Very importantTeamwork Very important
Problem solving	Not importantProblem solving Not important	SomewhatProblem solving Somewhat	ImportantProblem solving Important	Very importantProblem solving Very important
Positive attitude	Not importantPositive attitude Not important	SomewhatPositive attitude Somewhat	ImportantPositive attitude Important	Very importantPositive attitude Very important
Digital skills	Not importantDigital skills Not important	SomewhatDigital skills Somewhat	ImportantDigital skills Important	Very importantDigital skills Very important
Numeracy	Not importantNumeracy Not important	SomewhatNumeracy Somewhat	ImportantNumeracy Important	Very importantNumeracy Very important
Literacy	Not importantLiteracy Not important	SomewhatLiteracy Somewhat	ImportantLiteracy Important	Very importantLiteracy Very important
Adaptability	Not importantAdaptability Not important	SomewhatAdaptability Somewhat	ImportantAdaptability Important	Very importantAdaptability Very important
Initiative	Not importantInitiative Not important	SomewhatInitiative Somewhat	ImportantInitiative Important	Very importantInitiative Very important
Work experience	Not importantWork experience Not important	SomewhatWork experience Somewhat	ImportantWork experience Important	Very importantWork experience Very important
Qualifications	Not importantQualifications Not important	SomewhatQualifications Somewhat	ImportantQualifications Important	Very importantQualifications Very important

Which of these are hardest to find in candidates? (Select up to 3) *

Communication
Reliability
Teamwork
Problem solving
Positive attitude
Digital skills
Numeracy
Literacy
Adaptability
Initiative
Work experience
Qualifications

Future Recruitment Trends

Which of the following do you expect to have the biggest impact on your recruitment strategy over the next three years? (Select up to 3) *

Increased use of AI and automation
Skills shortages
Greater competition for talent
Budget pressures
More flexible/hybrid working
Growth in apprenticeships
Greater focus on diversity and inclusion
More skills-based hiring
Reduced reliance on degrees
Increased use of recruitment partners
Changes in employment legislation
Other

If other, please specify *

Which areas do you think employers will need the most support with over the next three years? (Select up to 3) *

Candidate attraction
Employer branding
Graduate recruitment
Apprenticeship recruitment
Candidate screening
Assessment and selection
Hard-to-fill vacancies
Talent pipelining
Recruitment technology
Workforce planning
Recruitment strategy and planning
Other

If other, please specify *

Thank you!

We appreciate you taking the time to complete this survey.

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