The 7 Critical Recruiting Trends in 2019

The 7 Critical Recruiting Trends in the IT Channel That Will Impact Your Talent Pipeline in 2019

We’re living in an era of unprecedented change.

From the rise of the fourth industrial revolution according to Klaus Schwab, to the growth of things like the agile methodology, remote working, and more, it’s no wonder the recruitment / staffing / sector recruitment space is evolving.

Though change can be a complicated thing for any company, it also presents an opportunity. The more you know about the changing trends in recruitment, the easier it will be for you to evolve to attract stronger, more loyal candidates.

According to a survey by CareerBuilder, businesses around the world will be ready to revamp their hiring strategies in 2019 with 44% of organisations hiring full-time employees, and 51% looking for part-time talent.

So now that 2019 is here, it’s the best time for your company to start thinking about the trends facing recruitment, and how you can take advantage of them in the years to come.

 

The Transformation of Recruitment

Many different things are driving the changing nature of recruitment this year.

A shortage of skills throughout most industries, combined with the need for new talent in changing sectors means that candidates have more power than ever before. On top of that, according to a Bullhorn study for 2018, while 41% of respondents said that the talent shortage was their biggest challenge, a further 69% said they were concerned about economic growth rates, and 70% commented on the potential issues that Brexit may bring.

In the past, when businesses wanted to attract new talent to their team, all they needed to do was post a job description and wait for a stream of excited candidates to pour in. The employers held the power in talent acquisition.

Now, younger generations, new professionals and transformations in thinking have meant that candidates demand more than ever from an employer before they even consider applying for a role. Recruitment is becoming more like marketing, where business leaders must find ways to sell their open jobs to the skilled candidates their business needs.

This means:

• Reputation and referrals are growing more important in the job search: Employers are increasingly building social media and storytelling into their talent acquisition process.
• The one-size-fits-all recruitment drive is over: Technology is giving companies the chance to examine their [sector] talent pool at a more profound This means it’s easier to customise the hiring process and make more strategic decisions.
• Culture and meaning matter just as much as the right salary: People with more in-demand skills still request the proper remuneration for their talents. However, they’re also looking for the right experience in the office, which includes diversity, inclusion and constant opportunities for growth.
• Organisations rely on more than just the CV: As valuable as the CV continues to be in choosing the right candidates for a role, today’s employers also need the expert screening techniques of a specialist recruitment company, along with structured interview processes to make better decisions.

 

Let’s explore 7 of the most critical trends in recruitment in greater detail.

1. The Talent Shortage

The skills gap is widening in industries across the globe. Studies suggest that by 2030, the global shortage may rise to around 85.2 million people, costing businesses trillions in lost opportunities.

As competition for talent grows fiercer, the way that companies recruit has been forced to change. To succeed in an ever-more narrow market, employers and recruiters need to evolve their approach and discover what it takes to appeal to the best candidates on the market.

The biggest change that the talent shortage has brought to recruitment comes in the arrival of an environment where you don’t pick your employees; your people choose you. According to research and HR experience, the market is now 90% candidate driven.

Finding and hiring the ideal candidates – particularly if you’re looking for those with in-demand skills – has become more time consuming than ever.

Some of the ways that companies can respond to the talent shortage include:

• Turning to specialist help: The number of recruitment companies focused on a specialist niche has grown significantly in recent years. As companies struggle to find the right talent, they’re relying on teams with an in-depth knowledge of their space to attract the best people. Demand for specialist recruitment teams is sure to accelerate in 2019.
• Providing better salaries: The candidates with the most in-demand skills will expect the correct remuneration for their talents. Fortunately, specialist recruitment teams will be able to provide insights into the “average” payment and benefit structure for certain positions.
• Increasing opportunities: In a world where candidates hold the power, most people will be looking for more than just a salary. Your ideal talent also wants to see opportunities for growth and development in the future. Offering development plans as part of the onboarding experience and demonstrating the potential for internal promotion will attract the right talent.

2. Attracting and Engaging Passive Candidates

As unemployment rates around the world continue to fall at break-neck speed, businesses can no longer rely exclusively on “active” candidates to fill their available positions.

As we move into the future, companies will need a plan for connecting with, and potentially even attracting passive candidates. Approximately 73% of people are now “passive candidates” in the job market, which means that they aren’t actively looking for a new role.

However, just because your ideal employees aren’t looking for a different job, doesn’t mean that they’re not open to a conversation about a new opportunity if it appeals to their [sector] career plan.

The rise of passive candidates means that recruiters and business leaders are beginning to explore methods like recruitment marketing and inbound recruiting to build their talent pipeline.

Recruitment marketing is the act of attracting and building relationships with talented individuals in your area by marketing your business to them; both yourself and through using a recruitment partner like ourselves. For instance, recruitment marketing might include:

• Using recruitment marketing automation software to send emails and other content to people who might be interested in a role with your company.
• Working with specialist recruitment teams to connect with a passive network of candidates who are willing to develop connections with new businesses and consider future job opportunities.
• Continually showing the positive side of your organisation through social media shares, employee advocacy, referrals, and website-based stories.

Inbound Recruiting is like recruitment marketing, as it focuses on proactively and continuously attracting candidates with the goal to make them your next employee. The idea is to engage people in your sector as often as possible through the channels they use the most like social media and job forums. This allows skilled people to see you as a viable employment opportunity.

Through inbound recruitment and recruitment marketing, companies can more easily attract, nurture, and convert talented candidates into members of their team.

3. The Demand for Diversity and Inclusion

The demand for diversity is more than just a social issue. The rise of the millennial generation in the workforce and their highly ‘ethical’ approach to life does mean that companies need to re-think the way they promote inclusion. However, diversity also has a positive impact on growing organisations in search of agility, innovation, and new talents.

Businesses that can attract diverse talent with the support of their [sector] recruitment agency will enjoy a more competitive position in their marketplace, thanks to more out of the box thinking.

Promoting diversity and inclusion in the workforce means:

• Working with specialist recruitment teams to appeal to a broader range of candidates. Recruitment companies can deliver a more diverse selection of CVs to your hiring manager, so you can avoid making any decisions based on subconscious bias. Recruitment companies can even assist with things like “blind interviewing,” where they remove the age, gender or race of an applicate from their CV.
• Creating a culture that’s truly inclusive: Reviewing your hiring and diversity policies gives you an opportunity to explore the way certain factors may prevent specific people from applying for your roles. The wrong terms in job descriptions can lead to exclusion, while under-planned interviewing and onboarding processes can also lead to issues with inclusion. Businesses can audit their operations to remove anything from the talent acquisition process that would prevent diversity.
• Changing the workplace: It’s not just the people that make up the workforce that’s evolving today. Companies are also seeing a change in the way we work too. Flexible and remote working means that [sector] employees can continue to deliver a great performance to their teams from a distance. What’s more, businesses are beginning to focus more on “attitude” than skill when choosing the right staff members. Embracing the trend of diversity and inclusion may mean re-thinking the entire business structure.

4. The Impact of Social Media and the “Review Economy”

The rise of social media has changed the world as we know it. Today, people can communicate and share important details around their life from their laptops, smartphones and tablets on their profiles. This year, and in the years ahead, studies suggest that social media won’t just be a place to connect with friends, it will also be a crucial touchpoint in the recruitment journey.

According to the 2018 Entelo Recruiting Trends report, 88% of respondents invested in their social media presence in 2018.

Social recruiting has emerged as a popular trend for businesses that need to build deeper relationships with their potential employees. Social hiring isn’t just about posting vacancies on your social media accounts. Instead, the organisations that thrive best in the social recruiting world are those that use their channels to build relationships and proactively search for candidates. Social recruiting also supports the “review economy.”

Today’s candidates want to learn as much as they can about an employer before they apply for a position. Your potential employees will be able to check for signs of a strong employer brand on your social media pages, as well as other social forums like Glassdoor.

Strong social recruiting strategies involve:

• Building a presence where your candidates spend their time: Find out where the people with the right skills are looking for job opportunities. Some will be active on LinkedIn; others will be on Twitter and Facebook. Some social candidates also join specialist forums with niche-specific recruitment companies.
• Managing reviews and testimonials: Keep an eye on what people are saying about your business online. If you notice negative reviews, respond to them. For instance, if someone says that your [sector] onboarding experience was “rushed,” explain how you’re now improving it with training, development plans, and mentoring opportunities.
• Encouraging positive candidate experiences: Make sure you’re always focused on delivering positive experiences – even with the people you don’t intend to hire. Virgin Media discovered that a bad candidate experience had cost them up to $5.4 million each year. In a world where everyone’s connected, make sure that the people who interact with your business have only good experiences to share. That means delivering a fast, respectful and focused hiring process.

5. The Importance of a Good Employer Brand

The term “employer brand” has been popular in the recruitment space for a while now. It describes an organisation’s reputation as an employer and the value that it can deliver to employees.

Today’s candidates, particularly those from the millennial generation, are looking for jobs that deliver more than just the right remuneration package. They want to know that the time and effort they dedicate to your business will be rewarded with consistent training opportunities, room for growth, and fantastic all-around experience.

According to research from LinkedIn, 75% of job seekers will look at a company’s reputation online before they apply for a role or accept an interview that the recruitment Businesses with a bad reputation will struggle to attract and retain employees in the years to come.

So, how can you develop a stronger [sector] employer brand?

• Build your online profile: Social media is a great place to start showing off your corporate culture. Ask your employees to share positive messages about working for your business online. It’s also possible to develop your online presence by sharing employee stories on your website. These case studies can demonstrate how staff members have developed new skills working with you.
• Provide plenty of opportunities for learning and growth: According to the Ceridian 2017 Pulse of Talent report, high-performers consider learning opportunities to be crucial to their jobs. Prioritising a learning culture shows your staff members that you’re invested in their future, and it also cultivates the skills you need in your team to compete in a changing marketplace.
• Develop talent relationship management strategies: Make sure that you have a plan in place for managing your relationships with candidates and employees. Conduct stay interviews to find out what people like and dislike about working with your team. Ask the people you interview to rate the interview process on a scale of 1 to 10. Send out anonymous surveys to learn how your team members would change their experiences at work. The more you commit to building a happy and engaged workforce, the easier it will be to attract and retain talent.

6. The Need for Strong Talent Pipelines

As talent shortages become more prominent across every industry, businesses everywhere must be more proactive in the search for the right employees. Rather than waiting until it’s time to fill a gap in their teams before they launch the recruitment process, business leaders are beginning to work with recruitment specialists on the creation of talent pipelines.

A talent pipeline is a database or place where recruitment teams and HR managers can maintain and nurture job candidates. These pools of available skill are made up of referred candidates, passive applicants, and people who have asked to be considered for a team in the future.

Talent pipelines are robust because they mean that every time you have a job opening, you have a resource of potential people you can tap into to find the skills you need. This process can save a lot of recruitment time and money. However, for talent pipelines to be successful:

• Businesses must nurture every connection: It’s not enough to add someone to your talent pool and forget about them. Potential employees need to be kept up to date with information about the business and future opportunities. Recruitment experts can often help with the nurturing process.
• They need to keep growing: Organisations and their specialist recruitment teams need to continually source and add new talent to their pipelines to address emerging trends in the industry. The [sector] space is continuously evolving, with new demands appearing all the time. This means that it’s important to keep connecting with recent graduates and new employees entering the workforce.
• Great onboarding is essential: For a talent pipeline to work, potential candidates need to believe that it’s worth waiting for a position on your team. A strong employer brand, excellent company culture and effective onboarding strategy mean you’re more likely to attract the right people and retain them too.

7. Specialists Are Now Essential

Finally, as the recruitment experience becomes more like marketing, employers and talent acquisition teams are beginning to explore the concept of the candidate journey. According to studies, most people will need to partake in at least ten touchpoints with a company before they apply for a job there.

A touchpoint is any interaction between an organisation and a candidate. For instance, touchpoints may include phone screenings, emails, interviews, social media interactions, or a visit to a company website. Touchpoints can also appear through third parties. Your candidates might decide that they want to apply for a role with you because of a review they see on Glassdoor or a message from one of your current employees.

Unfortunately, even though the hiring journey is becoming more complicated, top are staying on the market for less time. One study suggests that the best people are only available for around ten days. The race for talent has made specialist recruitment teams essential for the future of hiring.

With a recruitment team you can:

• Nurture relationships with possible candidates so that you can instantly arrange an interview and offer roles faster when a position appears in your company.
• Connect with passive candidates before they begin looking for an alternative job in the [sector] industry. This way, they’ll already have chosen you as their employer before they leave their old position.
• Improve your employer brand through carefully written job descriptions, a strong social media presence, and a commitment to strong candidate and employee experiences.

Take Advantage of the Recruitment Trends in 2019

The talent acquisition space is constantly changing in every sector.

As the workforce transforms and becomes more global, we’re sure to see new trends emerging in the years ahead. By staying one step ahead of these evolution’s, you can ensure that you’re always ready to attract and retain the best talent for your team.

Do you want to take your recruitment strategy to the next level in 2019? Contact us today to find out how we can keep you ahead of the curve.