The ManfredState of Hiring Report
We are committed to bringing transparency to the technical talent industry. With this report, in which we make public the figures on talent attraction and management in Spain, we shed light on a sector that is still too opaque.
Shedding some light in the darkness
Looking for accurate data on hiring processes in the Spanish tech industry is like going into a dark well with no way out. There basically isn't any. It doesn't exist.
The absence of metrics means that we cannot compare our data with anyone else's, but there is something we can do: share this data with the Community. That way we will start to build some historical overview of what is happening in the world of tech recruitment.
In our aim to change the recruitment sector and to make it more human, more transparent and balanced, we have compiled the most relevant data around hiring processes: from Time-to-Hire, to the success rates, to the cost of hiring or the NPS of companies and candidates.
In this report you will find a wealth and depth of data. All extracted from our own sources: our candidate database and our own measured recruitment processes.
We hope you find it useful, and that it helps you to compare and better understand the market. And above all, we hope it sheds some light on your next recruitment decisions.
TL;DR
Time-to-Hire means of our hiring processes. A time that is reduced for junior profiles, software architects or Backend Developers with Javascript.
Average number of tests that make up a hiring process. The most frequently found test are HR screening, technical and management tests as well as interviews.
Recruitment Fee paid to talent agencies on average for recruitment services. The lowest fee is for Junior Backend Developers and the highest for Engineering Managers.
Success rate of our hiring processes. Factors such as the experience required or that the position is remote increase the probability of success.
Average 3-year employee churn of candidates hired via Manfred. Mobile Developers, Product Managers and Data Engineers (among others) show lower churn rates.
Number of candidates we attract per hiring process ( we identified 12 in the database and 21 proactively applied for the job). On average, we introduce 4 of them to the company.
Time and costs of hiring talent
Time-to-Hire data, the stages of a hiring process and the fees paid to recruiting agencies
The Time-to-Hire data
Time-to-Hire refers to the time it takes to hire someone, i.e. the lifecycle of a recruitment process. It is, fundamentally, one of the biggest costs a company incurs when hiring. Because time is money, it is opportunity cost.
We have developed an analysis of these metrics: the average Time-to-Hire is 46 days, but it increases or decreases depending on job roles or levels of seniority.
Time-to-Hire in the tech industry
Time-to-Hire by professional role
Time-to-Hire by core technology
Time-to-Hire in successful hiring processes
Time-to-Hire by location
The time-to-hire according to experience
The stages of a hiring process
Number of tests in a hiring process
Is there such a thing as the ideal recruitment process and how many stages does a recruitment process have on average? Using our recruitment process comparator, we have measured the number of stages in each company and the most common types of tests in a recruitment process.
Frequency of different test types
The average number of hiring process stages is between 3 and 4. The larger the company, the more complicated the hiring process tends to become in terms of number and type of tests.
The most common recruitment stages are a pre-screening with Human Resources and interviews or technical tests. Reference checking is rare.
Recruitment fees paid
What roles pay the most? How much does it cost to recruit based on professional experience? How much do companies pay when recruiting? At Manfred, we fall in the mid-range pricing within the recruiting services sector. The main difference is that many recruitment agencies scale the price as the professional experience increases and, in our case, it is always static: 15% of what the person will be paid in their first year.
| Junior | Mid-level | Senior | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Backend Developer | €3.7K | €6.1K | €7.4K |
| Frontend Developer | €4.5K | €5.8K | €7.5K |
| Full-Stack Developer | - | €5.9K | €6.8K |
| Mobile Developer | €4.6K | €6.7K | €8.3K |
| Infrastructure | €3.8K | €6K | €7.6K |
| Data | - | €6.6K | €8.7K |
| Product Manager | €5K | €5.8K | €7.9K |
| Tech Lead | - | - | €10.1K |
| Engineering Manager | - | - | €10.5K |
Success in hiring processes
Success rate, NPS and employee churn as key metrics to assess the success or failure of a hiring process
Success rate
We have analysed the hiring processes we successfully closed and those that we did not, as well as the success rates by job role, professional experience, location or technology. Which roles are the most to recruit for?
Success rate by professional role
Success rate by location
Success rate by seniority
Success rate by core technology
What are the reasons for a hiring process to not have a successfull ending?
Satisfaction
In 2021 we will automatically start to introduce the NPS -Net Promoter Score- in our hiring processes. Both for candidates and clients.
The NPS is a metric that aims to measures the quality of the recruitment processes. Would candidates recommend you as a company? Would you recommend us to other companies? How do we treat candidates?
Traditional theory states that:
- An NPS of 8 or 9 out of 10 represents promoters of your products or services.
- A score of 7 or 8 represents those who are passive users.
- Below 6 would be your detractors.
On the right, we have depicted our respective NPS, with their composition of promoters, passive users and detractors (green, orange and red respectively). These are the figures pulled from just under 400 hiring processes carried out during 2022.
Manfred's NPS
Turnover in the tech sector
This is one of the most contentious points in the whole report. How much talent churn is there?
There is no role that has less than 7% employee churn except for mobile development. Undoubtedly, the significant changes in infrastructure in recent years are reflected in the churn rates of roles such as SysAdmin or SRE.
As the saying goes: "It's the market, folks".
Employee churn by role
Applications and conversions
How many candidates apply per hiring process? How many make it through the first interview? Are there seasonality trends in the world of recruitment?
Applications and conversions
The majority of our database (over 92%) are actively seeking or are open to new job opportunities. In terms of numbers, this amounts to around 30,000 people. Only 8% are closed to new opportunities right now.
In terms of talent conversion data from a typical Manfred recruitment process, more than 3 out of 4 people we put forward end up being invited for an interview with the company. But more importantly, 1 in 3 candidates end up being hired.
Availability of our candidates
conversion data in a hiring process carried out with Manfred
When do you receive more applications?
Are there seasonality trends in the recruiting industry, and are there specific times of year when candidates are looking for a career change? The reality shows that there is.
September is the month that marks a change in trend after time off during the summer. However, October is the month with the highest number of new job applications, followed by November and December.
The months with the lowest activity are January and February. But from the end of the first quarter (March), applications start to increase gradually.
As for the days of the week, applicants apply more on Mondays and Tuesdays. And applications drop significantly on the weekend.
Monthly applications
Weekly applications
Methodology
We have carried out this report with all the data we collected during the year 2022. The data list corresponds to two key variables: clients, those companies we have worked with, and candidates, those people who have applied for recruitment processes. In 2022, Manfred's database had more than 20,000 people. Now, in 2023, it is already more than 35,000.
This report is the first in the sector at national level, and to be honest, we would have liked to be able to add other companies' data to our own. But, above all, we want it to help you better understand the market and its idiosyncrasies.
If you are having difficulties finding talent and we can help you, you can write to us here.
Do you like what we do?
Whether you want to take control of your career, or you are looking for professionals with the experience your business requires, we would be happy to help.