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Recruiting, Managing and Retaining Academic Talent Survey Results 2013. Executive Summary - 1. This aim of this online survey was to explore the key challenges facing universities across the world in recruiting, managing and retaining academic talent
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Recruiting, Managing and Retaining Academic Talent Survey Results 2013
Executive Summary - 1 • This aim of this online survey was to explore the key challenges facing universities across the world in recruiting, managing and retaining academic talent • The survey was completed in full by198 respondents representing 160 universities in North America, Europe, Asia, Australia & Oceania, and Africa • 47% of respondents were HR executives (HR Director or equivalent) and 30% were HR managers • 53% of the universities represented were very large or large (>12,000 students) • 16 of the universities represented were in the top 50 of the QS World University Rankings, 23 were in the top 100, and 64 were in the top 500 • The HR challenges that respondents rate as the most significant are: • Improving performance management (78% consider this one of their top 10 challenges) • Managing organisational and culture change (72%) • Strategic workforce planning (71%) • There were some notable patterns of consistency and variation across regions, university ranking and university size, for example: • Improving performance management is viewed as a key challenge across all regions, all university rankings and all university sizes • Managing organisational and cultural change is viewed as a significant challenge in all regions except Asia, where only 17% of respondents rate it as a top 10 challenge • Strategic workforce planning, employee engagement and managing talent are seen as more challenging issues in Asia than in other regions, retaining quality staff is a key challenge in Australia, managing diversity and inclusion is a key challenge in Africa and leadership development is a key challenge in Europe • Higher ranked and larger universities view retaining quality staff and competition for talent as more significant challenges than do lower ranked and smaller universities, while reverse is true of improving HR processes
Executive Summary - 2 • The most significant recruiting and retention risks were identified as: • Lower incomes and higher workloads compared to professions • Diminishing attractiveness of academia as a career • Lack of articulated pathways between professional practice and academia • Notable variations in perception of risk factors by region and by university ranking include: • Asia: low income & high workloads; income loss while pursuing higher degrees; perceived requirements for all academics to conduct research; and barriers to migrants finding professional employment were seen as more significant risks than in other regions • Australia & Oceania and Europe: short term nature of research grants and security of tenure during early research were seen as more significant risks than elsewhere • North America: engagement of key stakeholders in managing supply of talent seen as a key risk • Africa: diminishing attractiveness of academia as a career seen as particularly significant risk • Higher ranked universities view research-related issues (short term grants, tenure, etc) as more significant risks than lower ranked universities, which tend to be more concerned about income related factors and ill –defined career pathways between professions and academia • The disciplines of most concern in relation to future supply of academic talent are engineering, medicine, health sciences, natural & physical sciences, pharmacy and IT. Notable regional and ranking variations include: • Africa: higher level of concern than other regions for most disciplines, including areas like veterinary medicine, dentistry, architecture and economics that are of low concern elsewhere • Europe: lower level of concern than other regions across almost all disciplines • Asia: very high level of concern about law (4.8 out of 5) compared to other regions (all 3.0 or less) • Higher levels of concern across all discipline in among ranked universities outside the top 100
Executive Summary - 3 • Research climate; university culture and values; and reputation are seen as the key drivers of success in recruiting and retaining academic talent, while work environment; personal and professional development; and conditions of employment were are as less crucial (albeit still quite important) • The most important specific recruitment and retention factors were rated as: • Strong leadership with clear institutional direction • Reputation of the university in the academic community • Prestige / reputation of the relevant department or discipline • Financial resources for research • Universities with high levels of success in recruiting rate factors relating to research climate and university reputation as much more important than do those with lower levels of recruiting success.The largest rating gaps are in research time, research climate, recognition of research achievements and reputation in the business community. • Universities with high levels of success in retention ratefactors relating to culture, values and conditions of employment as more important than do those with less retention success. The largest rating gaps are in job security, remuneration and strong leadership. • Respondents generally view their university executive as highly supportive of HR, but feel that the HR department has only moderate levels of autonomy and collaboration with academic faculties • Universities in Asia and Europe, and those ranked in the top 100, rated the level of HR autonomy higher than other universities • HR departments in European universities have higher levels of collaboration and enjoy particularly high levels of support from the university executive • University websites, word of mouth and university intranets are the most important general recruiting channels. However, university websites and specialist academic recruitment websites are the primary source of international candidates.
Survey Objectives The aim of the this survey is to capture and analyse the opinions of senior human resource professionals working in higher education institutions in relation to: • their key HR management challenges • the importance of a range of factors in successfully recruiting and retaining academic staff • their organisations’ level of success in recruiting and retaining academic staff The survey is exploratory in nature, with intention to provide a starting point for discussion and to identify issues that might warrant further investigation.
Survey Focus and Design 1. Paul Verhaegen, (2005) "Academic talent: Quo vadis?", Journal of Management Development, Vol. 24 Iss: 9, pp.807 - 818 • Verhaegen (2005) conducted a double survey in 2003 and 2004 among the deans/directors of 69 European business schools and 350 faculty members in 12 countries completed the survey on the topic of faculty recruitment and retention. • Verhaegen identified 42 faculty recruitment and retention factors clustered in seven categories or domains. These factors and domains were re-examined in this study. • Key conclusions from the Verhaegen study include: • Deans and faculty members are broadly aligned on what they consider to be important factors determining success in recruitment and retention • However, there are significant gaps between deans’ and faculty members’ perceptions in a few areas. For example, deans rate research factors as less important and institutional factors as more important that faculty members do • Remuneration is considered to be less important than academic freedom, research opportunities, professional & personal development, and stimulating peer community • This survey draws the Verhaegen study, but expands the scope to cover all faculties and all regions. It also looks at some issues highlighted in a Boston Consulting Group study titled “Creating People Advantage 2012 – Mastering HR Challenges in a Two-Speed World”
Survey Responses • An invitation to complete the online survey was sent via email to 7317 HR contacts at 2476 organisations in 41 countries • 2195 respondents representing 727 organisations bounced back or opted out • 241 responses were received, of which 43 were incomplete • 198 responses, representing 160 universities, were used as the sample
Sample Demographics 47% 30% 23%
Future Shortages in Academic Disciplines by Ranking (Rating over 3)
Future Shortages in Academic Disciplines by Ranking Are there any other areas in particular (not mentioned previously) where you feel there may be significant academic shortages in the next five years? Indigenous studies Law Enforcement & Fire Studies Maritime Mathematics - very concerned about low pools of qualified math teachers... Mechanical Engineering Mining and resources related professions Natural health (health sciences) Nursing Occupational Therapy Physical and occupational therapy Physical Therapy Physics Professional schools Provost Psychologists Sciences Statistics Teachers The focus now is on technology--every school wants to be Stanford and gather lots of patents and make oodles of money. The multidisciplinary scientist The shortage is for qualified African academics Those who either don’t fit in the current silos or don't even recognize the current silos... scientists without boundaries as it were. • Academic Leadership roles • Accounting • Adjunct faculty in all categories. These individuals bring in real life business work experiences that full time faculty cannot match and the pay and benefits for adjuncts has not kept up with the expectations of these business professionals which has created a lack of interested applicants • All the life sciences other than health, vet and pharmacy!! • Artisans (e.g. electricians, plumbers, carpenters etc) • Arts • Bio-engineering • Chartered Accountants • Chemistry • Construction trades (instructors with degrees) • Education in particular • Emergency Management Specialists • Emerging Allied Health Professions • Engineering • Environmental Health (human & natural) • ESL Instructors • Finance • Forensic investigation field across disciplines • Healthcare business areas • History • Human Resources
Most Important Recruitment and Retention Factors (Bottom Ten)
