Gartner HR Survey Finds 50% of Candidates Backed Out of a Job Offer After Accepting Within the Last 12 Months

24 August 2023 — A new Gartner, Inc survey revealed that 50% of respondents accepted a job offer but backed out prior to starting over the last 12 months. The survey of nearly 3,500 candidates in May 2023, included 208 respondents from Australia and 173 from New Zealand.

According to the survey, more than one-third (35%) of candidates reported they received four or more offers during their last job search. Among nearly 2,000 candidates who recently accepted an offer, 47% said they were still open to other job offers after accepting a position, while 42% believed they could find a better job if they continued looking.

“Despite the recent rise in unemployment, the talent market in Australia remains tight – our research shows 59% of HR leaders expect more talent competition in the next three months,” said Aaron McEwan, VP in the Gartner HR practice. “Open positions remain hard to fill in Australia and many candidates are uncommitted to their new employer and keeping one foot in the open job market.”

What Candidates Want
The Gartner survey found that among nearly 2,000 candidates, 59% said they chose the offer they accepted in part due to greater flexibility in when or where they work. The other top drivers cited by candidates for accepting a new job offer were better work-life balance (45%) and higher compensation (40%). 

“Gartner’s latest Global Talent Monitor survey data reveals the leading driver of attraction for Australian’s today is work/life balance, followed closely by location,” said Jonathan Tabah, Director, Advisory in the Gartner HR Practice. “Those taking a new job are not walking but running to employers whose flexible work policies enable them to exert ownership over a working environment that best suits their needs.”

Of the nearly 3,500 candidates polled, more than half (56%) reported that the experience they have in their job is just as important to their job satisfaction as their compensation and benefits. 

“Nearly 90% of candidates said they have exited a hiring process due to at least one mismatch in employee value proposition (EVP) preferences,” said Jamie Kohn, senior director in the Gartner HR practice. “This includes compensation and benefits, but also things like flexibility in working hours, career pathing, skills development, team diversity and management style.” 

Pay Transparency and RTO Mandates Matter
Sixty-eight percent of candidates said they expect to see salary information in job postings; 64% of candidates reported they are more likely to apply to a job that lists compensation in the description. In fact, nearly half of candidates (44%) decided not to apply to a job in the 12-month period because the job description did not include salary information.

At a time when many companies are pushing return to office, candidate preferences are clear. Gartner’s survey found 75% of candidates who can work remotely (i.e., are currently hybrid or remote) prefer to work remotely more than 50% of the time. A May 2023 Gartner survey of 397 employees revealed that nearly half of employees (47%) actively looking for a new job were doing so because they want more flexibility.

“When it comes to pay transparency and return to office mandates, organisations can either enhance or impede their talent attraction efforts based on the decisions they make,” said Kohn. 

Gartner clients can read more in the report: “Voice of the Candidate Survey Analysis (1Q23): Competition, Talent Attractors and Pay Transparency.”

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About the Gartner HR Practice
The Gartner HR practice brings together the best relevant content approaches across Gartner to offer individual decision makers strategic business advice on the mission-critical priorities that cut across the HR function. Additional information is available at http://www.gartner.com/en/human-resources/human-resources-leaders. Follow news and updates from the Gartner HR practice on X and LinkedIn using #GartnerHR. Members of the media can find additional information and insights in the Gartner HR Newsroom.

About Gartner
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