Recruiting: Active Sourcing and Diversity Lacking

An ifo Institute study analyzing Q1 2022 recruitment practices in German companies finds limited use of Active Sourcing and sparse Diversity strategies. Traditional recruitment via job postings remains dominant, with external postings rated high/medium by 84% of HR leaders, the public employment agency (Arbeitsagentur) at 44%, and staffing agencies at 29%. Active Sourcing is not widely adopted: 35% of companies do not use it at all, 27% assign it low importance, and 38% give it high or moderate importance, with larger firms more likely to implement it. Active Sourcing can shorten paths to interviews through team referrals and social networks. Diversity is often overlooked: 75% of HR departments lack a Diversity commitment, only 9% have one, and 8% plan to implement. Larger employers (≥500 employees) are more inclined to adopt Diversity strategies, typically focusing on nationality and gender. Monster’s Maren Hallin emphasizes the business case for diversity and urges explicit public communication of these efforts.