According to a Jobvite research, HR professionals report it’s becoming increasingly difficult to fill open positions, and 65% of recruiters claim that talent shortage represents the biggest challenge in hiring. Namely, as the labor market tightens, talent acquisition professionals have been asked to fill more positions offering alternative job arrangements. They have also utilized emerging recruitment technologies which enabled them to find the right candidates for their organizations.
In this jam-packed, candidate-driven market, HR’s job is only about to become more challenging, especially if their attention is not directed towards the current (and rising) recruitment trends.
1. Artificial Intelligence (AI)
Around 15% of HR leaders from 40 countries report AI and automation have already made great impact on their workplace plans. Moreover, 40% say they expect artificial intelligence to affect the plans they have for the next 2 to 5 years.
William Tincup, an expert on recruiting technology and president of RecruitingDaily says that the way we interact with AI is quite simple. He notes that at this early stage, AI serves the purpose of automating particular manual tasks. He predicts that, in the long run, bots will improve communication with candidates, ensuring they receive constant feedback.
Also read: Managing HR Compliance in the Age of Technology
Furthermore, in time, we’re looking at a recruitment process that will find candidates instead of the other way around. AI will conduct a thorough analysis of a job description, compare it with candidate resumes and reach out only the ideal ones, encouraging them to apply.
2. Candidates in control
In 2017, candidate shortage represents an unwanted trend that seems to be in its infancy. Talented and highly sought-after candidates are aware of the control they have in the recruitment process and use it to make personal demands (for instance, higher salary and other workplace benefits). As a result, companies switched focus from what employees need to offering them what they want.
Modern-age candidate expects seamless experience, much like the one they are offered when shopping online, so to get the ideal applicant’s attention, recruitment professionals are turning to web marketing solutions. Effort is put on recruitment marketing and personalizing careers sites, as this proved to impact the quality of candidates a company can reach. HR departments focus on collecting data that will be used to create persona-based content they will use to place in front of higher quality candidates.
3. Mobile recruitment
Mobile recruitment represents one of this years’ game-changing hiring trends. In fact, statistics show that more than 70% of candidates visit a company’s website via their mobile device to check out career opportunities, and almost 50% used their phones to apply for an open position.
Still, a bit over 13% of companies reported investing in mobile recruitment, so hopping on this wagon sometime this year will surely drive quality workforce your way. Mobile recruiting is gradually gaining momentum and by the end of 2017 we’ll see even more job applications designed to be just “one click away”.
4. Social media
Slowly but surely we’ve come to the point where social platforms are dominating every aspect of our lives, and recruitment is no exception to this rule. More than 65% of people say they have used Facebook to search for a job opening, while recruiters still prefer LinkedIn.
Also read: Is Your Company Using Social Media for Talent Acquisition?
All in all, social media allows you to target people based on their interests and location. There’s also a greater chance of getting potential candidates to engage with your job posting – people can ask questions regarding the job or are able to share it easily with someone they know is suitable for the position.
5. Workplace diversity
The term workplace diversity is defined as accepting, understanding and valuing differences that exist between people of different genders, ages, races, ethnicities, disabilities and sexual orientations. In recent years, companies have recognized both social and financial benefits of hiring diverse workforce, and almost 60% of recruiters said they design their hiring strategies to attract diverse candidates. Furthermore, not only is this trend becoming increasingly popular across all industries, it’s also being listed as mandatory. In 2017 we are witnessing a shift in mentality where HR teams are designing strategies to reduce unconscious bias.
In conclusion
We might say that a new breed of recruiters has emerged; the one driven by data, technology, diversity and candidate’s needs. Though we might still be at the verge of a recruitment breakthrough, it’s safe to say we’re moving to the right direction.
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