With an ever-widening skills gap across numerous industries, the market for qualified top-tier candidates is becoming increasingly competitive. Candidate response rates are low, and candidate ghosting is common. Hiring managers and recruiters are stressed. It is a candidate’s market, and recruiters are constantly seeking new ways to win the best talent.
This decade brings some amazing futuristic technology, and much of it has made its way to the recruiting industry. But which trends are really important? Which trends will make your company stand apart from the others and gain a response when you reach out to a top-tier candidate? Understanding how to adapt and which trends are most valuable will aid today’s recruiter in winning the race for talent.
It’s no secret that recruiting has been slower to change than some other industries. Many of us haven’t adapted to technology as quickly as we should. We cling to our Rolodexes and continue to hang our hat on our “personal network” of referrals and former colleagues. We’ve resisted the onset of automation, fearing our skills may become less valuable.
But technology is moving quickly, and it’s only going to have more of an influence on the way we conduct our business. Those who learn and adapt will survive and become more valuable. Those who grip their Rolodex more tightly will find themselves like the typewriter: obsolete. Being open to these tech trends and embracing change will allow a recruiter’s career to flourish far into the future.
1. In-House Recruiting
Internal recruiting teams are here to stay and likely will continue growing in the coming years. Because of technology and social networks, primarily LinkedIn and other sourcing technology, finding and recruiting qualified talent is now possible for everyone. LinkedIn has brought networking to the masses.
I spent the bulk of my career in HR with tech firms in Silicon Valley, and we were among the first to bring recruiting in-house more than 30 years ago. We realized that we could leverage technology to find great candidates ourselves, no longer needing an outsourced recruiter and their personal network to fill our hiring gaps.
The in-house recruiting trend that began in tech is now moving across all industries. However, the outsourced recruiting relationship is not gone; it’s merely changing. Many internal recruiting departments still need to outsource some recruiting resources, particularly when hiring ramps up during extreme growth or to fill a candidate pipeline or for a specific research project. Outsourced recruiting firms need to be adaptable and flexible to fit the changing needs of corporate internal recruiting teams.
2. Artificial Intelligence
Recruiters will not be replaced with robots (not anytime soon, anyway). AI is extraordinary technology, but in recruiting, it hasn’t proven to exceed a human’s ability to find the best candidate match for an open role. However, AI has allowed recruiters to automate repetitive tasks, freeing up valuable time to cultivate relationships with candidates, and create a better, more human candidate experience.
The bottom line: The AI trend is a good thing. Start with using a scheduling assistant, adding a chatbot or automating candidate follow-ups. Learn all you can about new technology like eighfold.ai and Arya, and become an expert in all the options available. (Full disclosure: Eightfold.ai is both a provider and client to our firm.)
3. Candidate Engagement And Employer Branding
Did you hear the part about it being a candidate’s market? It is — and only the best recruiters will win the talent war in this economy. The competition for qualified candidates makes the candidate experience the most important piece of your recruiting efforts. The good news? It’s relatively easy. Using technology, you can automate your follow-ups and never lose track of a candidate. It is almost effortless to keep an open line of communication, talk to the candidate like a person (not a transaction), and offer feedback at all stages of the process.
Positive candidate engagement is not just important to find and hire top talent. It’s also paramount when considering employer brand. A potential candidate can learn all they need to know about a company in under 60 seconds using Glassdoor and other social networks where people regularly air their feedback about their employer or recruitment experience.
According to one survey, 72% of job seekers reported sharing their negative candidate experiences online. It only takes one bad review from a candidate to damage your employer brand, creating even more hurdles to overcome when recruiting in a candidate’s market. Check Glassdoor regularly. Google reviews of your company, and make employer branding a priority.
4. Transparency
Candidate engagement goes hand in hand with transparency. It can be tempting to be less than forthcoming with your candidates, especially when qualified applicants are scarce. Don’t do this! Be open and honest about the interview process, role and salary range from the beginning.
Being transparent will save you time and trouble in the long run. More than half of employers do not share salary information unless they are making an offer, according to LinkedIn’s “Global Talent Trends 2019” report, though candidates prefer to know the salary range at the onset of the recruiting process. From feedback to timelines to salary and vacation expectations, give candidates the most transparent experience possible, and you’ll be more likely to win the best talent and avoid a bad hire.
Recruiting is changing more now than it has at any time in the last half-century. From technology to the value companies place on recruiting, the industry is full of disruption. Stay on top of your game by remaining adaptable and well educated. Cut through the noise and focus on the trends that are the most significant to raise your own recruiting bar.
