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6 Recruitment Trends for 2020 You Need to Know About

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    Recruitment Trends for 2020

    First of all, Happy New Year! With a new year comes new challenges and hopefully many successes. When it comes to recruitment, staying ahead of the game is essential if you wish to attract and retain top talent for your company. Employee turnover and mobility are continuing to increase. HR and recruitment professionals need to ‘keep up’ in order to remain effective in their roles. In 2019, we saw the impact of technology and casualization in the workplace, with mobile and flexible working becoming far more common (not to mention the gig-economy!). Let’s look ahead at the year to come and understand 6 key recruitment trends that will impact your hiring processes and the success of your talent acquisition efforts throughout 2020 and beyond.

    Trend #1 – The Biggest Recruitment Challenges

    According to a 2019 survey by Deloitte, the biggest current and upcoming recruitment challenges flagged by recruitment professionals and business owners were:

    • Finding qualified experienced hires. Think about what you’re really hiring for. Is it someone who meets the role on paper or are they a great learner who can be an asset for your company? With increased competition for traditionally qualified talent, it might pay to think outside the box.
    • Identifying full-time talent with the right skills. The workforce is becoming more casual and ‘gig-based’. This means that in addition to finding qualified candidates it’s also getting harder to find full-time workers. How can you offer flexible working to candidates?
    • Finding qualified entry-level hires. What other skills do entry-level hires bring to the table? What can you teach them? It might be a great opportunity to train and retain some keen young candidates that will benefit your company for years to come.
    • Onboarding employees in a timely fashion. With more and more requirements and complexities in the hiring process, utilizing technology effectively will be key to onboarding successful hires faster and enabling them to be productive, sooner.

    Trend #2 – Candidates Demand Benefits and Location Convenience

    According to Glassdoor, employees and job seekers surveyed said they consider workplace benefits and the location of a job to be almost as important as the salary offered. Employees are savvy and are attracted to roles that are transparent and will benefit their lifestyle and long-term prospects. 

    Typically, quality candidates that are qualified and are in demand go beyond job ads and consider a range of additional data. This may include employee reviews, benefits and perks offered and flexible working arrangements. Being upfront and transparent about what you do and don’t offer in addition to a salary is a surefire way to proactively appeal to potential candidates. They’re going to be looking anyway!  

    Trend #3 – Hiring for Soft Skills

    Both hard and soft skills have always been important in the workplace and hiring environment. However – due to increasing changes in technology, as well as other factors, such as hastening rates of change and personal & employment mobility – the importance of soft skills is becoming far more significant. The practical implication of this change is that there is a shortage of essential soft-skills in the employment marketplace. 

    There are many reasons why the employment market hasn’t caught up to these changes. A lot may be out of your control, but by understanding the situation we can actively spot opportunities. According to research from Deloitte Access Economics, there is a global OVER-supply of ‘Active Listeners’, whilst skills such as ‘Customer Service’, ‘Leadership’ and ‘Sales’ are far harder to come by (Uni anyone?). You have to teach and develop this on the job

    Trend #4 – People Analytics, HR Can Do Data Too!

    If your measuring, assessing, driving insights and making decisions around employees or your company’s workforce, that’s people analytics! Ideally, a practitioner will be applying a varying amount of statistics and technology to a range of workforce data. By doing so, they’ll be able to offer insights used to drive improved decisions by management (or any relevant stakeholder).

    People analytics hasn’t been a skill set that recruiters and other HR professionals have traditionally utilized in the past. However, it’s a huge area of opportunity moving forward. It’s imperative that your organization prioritizes developing this area of the HR function in order to drive better insights and results from their existing and future talent pool.

    Trend #5 – Importance of Employer Branding 

    It’s increasingly important to build and maintain your employer ‘brand’. A great brand in the eye of a potential employee has been shown to receive 50% more qualified applicants than one that isn’t perceived as well. This makes it easier to overcome the main challenge of finding qualified candidates. Best of all, it may not even cost you any more money…

    Candidates aren’t just focussing on cash incentives or ‘corporate prestige’, they are also attracted to a company that provides a cultural fit with their personal and professional values and ethics. Your employer brand permeates all touchpoints a person (not just a potential candidate) has with your business. This means your website, your social media, your reviews and even ex-employees.

    Trend #6 – The Benefits of AI and Recruitment Software

    Automation, whether through Artificial Intelligence or other recruiting software, will remain a key trend over the next decade. A few years ago, AI was feared as an unwavering giant steam roller. 76% of responders to a 2017 Deloitte workplace survey said they expected AI to transform their business significantly within the next three years. That hasn’t eventuated, at least not the extent it was expected to, largely due to a greater understanding forming towards how it is best used and where it is still limited.

    Recruitment software is being used to a greater extent around the globe, as the benefits of technology are packaged into a simple, effective time & money-saving solution. Simply put, this software means no more paperwork, fewer errors, a better candidate and onboarding experience. Want to know how? Take a look at our recent blog for 5 awesome examples!

    How are YOU Going to Address These Recruitment Trends?

    Here’s my suggestion for a ‘professional’ New Years’ resolution. Now’s the time to plan, conduct further research and take action to improve your recruitment process. Now you’re armed with these 6 key recruiting trends for 2020 and well set to compete for the best talent. I wish you all the best for the year to come!