The overwhelming majority (89%) of organizations are open to negotiating salary for either some or all positions once a job offer has been made, according to 324 US employers responding to a new hiring survey.
Since the COVID-19 pandemic, virtual hiring techniques have become more popular, while the use of in-person methods has decreased.
However, when it comes to bonuses and benefits, employers are more rigid in their terms of employment. About four in 10 (42%) organizations are open to negotiating bonuses for either some or all open positions, and approximately one-third (32%) of companies are willing to negotiate benefits (excluding bonuses) for either some or all job openings.
“The survey results show that employers are much more likely to negotiate pay with a prospective hire than benefits,” says Andrew Hellwege, Surveys Editor, XpertHR, “something jobseekers may want to keep top of mind when presented with a fresh offer of employment.”
Additionally, the survey asked about 10 various parts of the hiring process – such as interviews, skills assessments, and presentations – and found that since the COVID-19 pandemic, the use of each in-person method has decreased and the use of each virtual or phone method has increased.
In particular, the use of phone interviews more than doubled from 36% of organizations pre-pandemic to 84% of employers in December 2020, and the use of video interviews more than tripled, surging from 19% to 72%.
When it comes to the use of in-person interviews, the survey found that the percentage of organizations using this traditional method fell from a pre-pandemic level of 69% down to 50%.
“While there has been a major shift to virtual hiring methods during the pandemic,” notes Hellwege, “it remains to be seen if virtual methods will maintain their pride of place post-COVID, or if in-person methods will enjoy a renaissance.”