10 Fascinating Stats from HR Tech Europe 2014

In a conference full of interesting trends and impactful talks, there were many statistics quoted which indicate changes in the way we use HR technology to engage and develop our workforces. Here are our top ten statistics from HR Tech Europe 2014.

1. 67% of EMEA Small Businesses Plan to Increase Spending on HR Technology This Year

Following the crowd is never enough to justify upgrading your HR technology, but it is always valuable to know how similar businesses are evolving their HR technology processes and budgets so you can factor this into any decisions you make about your HR systems.

67% of EMEA small businesses plan to increase spending on #HRTech this year #HRTechEurope @StaceyHarrisHR

— HRMS World (@HRMSworld) October 23, 2014

2. 77% Say Company Culture Is Just as Important as Salary

Just one of many stats that highlighted the importance of company culture from a fascinating talk by employer review site, Glassdoor. Do you spend as much time assessing company culture for new hires as you do salary?

Fact: 77% say company culture is just as important to them as salary #glassdoor #HRTechEurope

— Alison Hadden (@alisonhadden) October 23, 2014

3. 52% of the Fortune 500 Firms since 2000 Are Gone

From *one of our highlights of HR Tech Europe 2014 came this stat from Ray Wang demonstrating the rapid rate of change in the digital era. How are your HR technology systems encouraging digital creativity amongst employees?

52% of the Fortune500 have disappeared since 2000 > Why? @rwang0 says that digital disruption is the cause #HRTechEurope

— Johnny Campbell (@socialtalent) October 24, 2014

4. Google Engineers Are Allowed to Work on Their Own Projects for One Day a Week

What could your employees achieve if they were given complete freedom for 20% of their working week? Is your answer “nothing”? Maybe you are hiring the wrong people. These ideas were one of the key takeaways from Google’s talk at HR Tech Europe 2014.

Google give one day a week to employees to work on anything they want e.g. Gmail came out of this initiative #HRTechEurope

— HRZone (@HRZone) October 24, 2014

5. HR Technology Mobile Adoption Will Grow by over 100% in the next Year

Even if you had doubts about the growing trend of mobility in HR technology, this stat from the 2014 CedarCrestone HR Systems Survey should be enough to convince you of its value in achieving HR technology user adoption.

Mobile adoption in #HRtech will grow by over 100% in the next year #HRTechEurope

— HRMS World (@HRMSworld) October 23, 2014

6. 20- 25% of Employees Are Actively Disengaged

From one of *our highlights of day one at HR Tech Europe 2014, Yves Morieyux’s keynote talk, came this worrying statistic. Not only are many employees not engaging with their employers, around one in four are actively disengaged - in other words, these employees are actively reducing their value to the business.

Around 20-25% of European workers are ACTIVELY disengaged at work. Wow. What happened? #hrtecheurope

— Derek McKellar (@derekmckellar) October 23, 2014

7. 70% of the Audience at HR Tech Europe Work from Home at Least Part of the Time

As well as being an interesting insight into the working habit of those attending HR Tech Europe 2014, this stat is also indicative of the growing trend towards a decentralized workforce which will become increasingly more reliant on mobile technologies in the coming years.

Wow! 70% of the audience at #HRTechEurope work at home at least part of the time. The world of work has changed!

— Johnny Campbell (@socialtalent) October 24, 2014

8. 50% Believe Future HR Success Depends on Reorganisation to Create Better Business Alignment

A growing fear among HR practitioners is that their discipline is undervalued within organizations. This statistic shows that many believe the solution to this is to align HR goals closer to those of the organization as a whole rather than maintaining traditional business value silos.

50% believe future HR success depends on reorganisation to creatie better business alignment #HRTechEurope #Elearnity

— Christel (@c_boogaerts) October 24, 2014

9. Workforce Spend 60-80% of Their Time Wasting Their Time

In another statistic that came out of day one’s keynote from Yves Morieux, the shocking truth behind productivity in the workforce was revealed. Yves discussed how bringing simplicity back into HR and management can help reverse the trend of decreasing productivity.

"Businesses spend 60-80% of their time wasting their time.” Sounds low. #HRTechEurope

— RecruitingBlogs (@RecruitingBlogs) October 23, 2014

10. 75% Applicants Dropout When given Task Based Challenge to Assess Eligibility for a Role

While many of these statistics focus on the wider principles that can be applied to HR technology and management, there were also those that provide on-point advice to HR technology practitioners such as the recruitment statistic above.

75% applicants dropout when given task based challenge to assess eligibility for a role #HRTechEurope @1pageproposal pic.twitter.com/rAsbCogDlu

— Neil McIlroy (@neil_mcilroy) October 23, 2014