Survey: Half of HR pros preparing to hire again

Chicago A survey by TalentDrive, released Tuesday, found that 50% of human-resources professionals are actively preparing for the return of hiring and “the other side” of the recession.

The 2009 survey, “What Steps Are You Taking to Leverage this Recession,” also found that 60% of those queried that IT talent is anticipated to be the most in-demand, followed by sales and operations, both at 30%.

Although 50% claim to be proactively preparing for the hiring return, TalentDrive went on to ask how confident they are in their department’s readiness to handle the influx of open positions and hiring needs. Half said they are prepared for future hiring needs, while the other 50% said “maybe”.

When asked where the largest portion of budgets would be allocated, 100% of those surveyed said they would invest in implementing new marketing tactics to help recruit new talent, while 50% said they would be investing directly in re-hiring full-time employees.

“I was pleased to find the majority of HR professionals surveyed proactively preparing for the return of hiring,” said Sean Bisceglia, CEO of TalentDrive. “Although no one can predict without a doubt when the hiring spike will occur, I feel strongly that HR departments need to make use of this recession by pipelining candidates and planning budget allocation according to business initiatives beforehand.”

Over 8,000 were surveyed between April 23 and June 23.