April 03, 2020 Lorrie Lykins - Managing Editor, VP of Research, i4cp

i4cp: 35% Say Their Organizations Are Lowering Headcount Projections Due to the Coronavirus Pandemic

Over a third (35%) of the talent acquisition professionals surveyed this week by the Institute for Corporate Production (i4cp) said that their organizations have already decreased headcount projections for 2020. This complements research released yesterday showing that 66% of companies have already taken measures, or are considering measures, to rein in headcount costs if the COVID-19 pandemic continues longer than initially expected.

headcount projections

Among the findings of the survey:

Although 17% of survey participants said that their companies have not made any headcount adjustments, 44% said that they are keeping the option on the table—taking a wait-and-see approach.
Compensation considerations are also top of mind for recruiters—while 74% of survey respondents said that their companies have not made any changes to compensation guidelines for new offers due to the COVID-19 pandemic, 21% said that this strategy is currently under review. Some indicated that they are now offering premium pay for key hires.
Most companies (57%) are proceeding with job offers they extended prior to the COVID-19 outbreak, extending start dates or converting to remote/virtual start dates and onboarding.

Changes to employer brand messaging in response to the pandemic have been subtle according to 33% of survey respondents, but 54% said that their organizations are not revising their messaging. Only 8% said that they are making major changes to brand messaging in an attempt to attract talent during the pandemic.

Some survey respondents whose organizations have already been hit hard said that they have decided to rescind job offers made prior to the Coronavirus outbreak except in cases of new hires who have needed critical skills. Most are proceeding with hiring but moving to remote onboarding for critical roles and pushing out the start dates of others on a case-by-case basis.

Download the full survey results—due to the current global health and productivity crisis affecting everyone, i4cp is making all related ongoing research publicly available.

We also encourage you to visit i4cp.com/coronavirus for other employer resources including discussion forums, next practices, useful resources, and more.

Lorrie Lykins, Managing Editor, VP of Research

Lorrie is i4cp's Vice President of Research. A thought leader, speaker, and researcher on the topic of gender equity, Lorrie has decades of experience in human capital research. Lorrie’s work has been featured in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, and other renowned publications.