The clandestine and secretive world of headhunting is alive and thriving in business but many firms are reluctant to take on the task by themselves.

Last month’s Beilby Rewards survey indicated that a large percentage of companies have tried to poach employees from competitors but just over half of them have actually been successful in their attempts. This suggests that loyalty and job satisfaction are still important considerations when employees are approached to jump ship.

Survey statistics show that headhunting is prevalent in Australia today, with over 67% of Rewards members admitting that they had tried to entice an employee away from another organisation at least once. The flip side of this is the fact that 55% of respondents believe they had lost an employee to headhunters.

Even more interesting is the perception of headhunting as a legitimate recruitment practice and the way in which firms go about the task. More than half of respondents said they had used a professional headhunter because they felt that an intermediary offered more discretion while 13% said they wanted the identity of their business to remain confidential.

A significant 12% of respondents believed that a professional service was able to reach a wider variety of candidates. Not surprisingly, 20% of all respondents answered that they would use a professional head hunting service for all the reasons mentioned.

Asked whether companies were finding it difficult to source and retain key employees, the numbers came back fairly even, with just over 50% reporting problems in finding the right staff.

Recent trends from the US have started to filter through to the Australian recruitment market suggesting that companies will soon find themselves fighting a war for talent. Read this month's other article "A Talent War is Brewing" to discover how you can best prepare for the coming battle.