Leading recruitment business franchisor Select Appointments has welcomed the findings of the latest UK Staffing Trends Survey, which found that social networking is now a key staff-sourcing tool that recruiters simply cannot ignore.

The report, which surveyed 1,994 staffing decision makers, found that the biggest challenge facing UK firms in 2015 is shallow talent pools making it difficult to attract top talent.

It also states that ‘broader technology advancements have begun to disrupt the recruitment industry, setting the stage for a dynamic and exciting future for the staffing industry.’

In particular, social professional networks have become an essential element of most good recruitment campaigns and are now the top source for quality placements, doubling in size over the past 4 years. Smaller firms are currently much more adept at utilising social networking than larger companies.

It also found that Internal candidate databases and internet CV databases are on the decline, potentially because these databases are static, whereas social professional networks are not.

“Social networking is now a vital recruitment tool which simply cannot be ignored if you want to attract and retain the best talent pool available,” explains Graeme McKinnon, managing director of Select Appointments.

“Used correctly and given its reach and power, it’s hardly surprising that social media has rocketed to the number one spot for sourcing quality placements in the UK. Our internal evidence would support the Global and UK staffing leader’s statements that passive candidate recruiting and social professional networks are long-lasting trends which are here to stay in the industry. This development is therefore great news for Select as our specialist recruitment consultants are already ahead of the game, providing clients and candidates with access to opportunities that are unrivalled by many of our competitors.”