• i3-Blog | Staffing

Right now, U.S. labor market is amidst the perfect storm due to probable changes in the H1-B program. It may make recruiters deprived of right candidates due to growing skills gap. The problem becomes even bigger due to companies’ limited access to diverse local talent pool. The fact that 72.8% of employers are struggling to find relevant candidates is a testimony to this too-real talent crunch. In addition to this, what makes acquisition of right and relevant talent a moving target for recruiters is the fact that the best candidates are off the market within 10 days.
Clearly, if employers want to remain viable and develop their talent pool by keeping in mind effective succession planning, they need to part with old ways. Rather than looking at the recruitment process as a makeshift or ad-hoc arrangement, they need to look at it as a strategic move. And that look has to be based upon a ripe reflection and prudential mindset. The best way to begin is to peep in the future and making yourself flexible enough to accommodate it. After carefully analyzing the possible paradigm shifts in the recruitment terrain, we have come up with the most exciting recruitment trends which will shape the talent acquisition processes in never-seen ways.

1. Recruitment Marketing Will Be the Buzzword

Recruitment marketing is nothing but an amalgamation of marketing tactics and recruitment processes. Basically, it strives to nurture and attract talented individuals to your organization using marketing methods and tactics.

Recruiting vs. Recruitment Marketing

However, this recruitment trend can be considered as an outcome of the current situation in the labor market. Unlike in the past, candidates now are more empowered when they get in the groove of job hunt. Many studies have concluded that the current job market is 90% candidate driven. What this directly implies is just like companies pick candidates – especially those with in-demand skills- candidates pick companies too. That’s why employers are forced to treat their candidates like customers. Just as they nurture and attract clients, they have to nurture and attract great talent. And this recruitment trend is all about that.

2. Diversity Will Top the Criterion List of Recruiters

In more aware and demanding world, organizations aren’t just plain business units. They have been viewed as functioning entities with a moral and social spine. More or less, they are supposed to be the melting pot of cultures in the era of steep globalization. Besides, by representing multiple cultures, companies can add inclusiveness in their list of core values. It helps companies to bath in a positive light, as it is enhancing their desirability quotient in the eyes of a niche talent pool.

It’s then hardly a surprise that 78% of talent professionals and hiring managers say that diversity is the top recruitment trend impacting how they hire.

This recruitment trend will move with even quicker feet globally due to changing demographics and diversified communities. Also, there are evidences that diverse teams are more productive, more innovative, and more engaged.

Top Reasons companies focus on diversity

3. Data Driven Hiring Will Gain More Momentum

As the footprints of organizations are growing, so are the recruitment activities. They are becoming more and more ongoing and cumbersome. Without their proper quantification, it’s almost impossible to manage them. This has made talent acquisition a numbers profession. It’s safe to say that more recruiters and hiring managers will use data in their work. Now, data-based talent acquisition is not new. What is making it a novel recruitment trend is the volume of data available and the speed with which it can be analyzed. Well-equipped and improved data-based analytics will allow recruiters to predict the hiring of outcomes. Eventually, it will open up doors for AI in making smarter recruiting decisions. We are not away from a scenario where we will have a separate data strategy dedicated for talent acquisition.

4. Candidate Experience Will Soon Become A Currency

The score of candidates’ experience throughout the recruitment process will hold more importance than ever. It will be evaluated based upon the feelings, behaviors and attitudes they experience during the whole recruiting process including sourcing, screening, interviewing and onboarding. That’s important from companies’ perspective, as positive candidate experience in your recruiting process will make more candidates accept your job offer, reapply in future, and refer others to your company.
It should be noted that bad candidate experiences don’t just cost you a few good candidates. They can eat up your money too. Virgin Media is a case in point here. It estimated that a bad candidate experience costs them a shocking $5.4 million annually!

In a Nutshell

Recruiters are face to face with innumerable challenges. And solutions to those challenges will be at arm’s length until they make changes in their archaic approach. Even though the future will belong to the predictive hiring powered by AI and IoT, human elements will still hold their sway in future recruitment trends. This is especially true in treating candidates during the entire recruitment process. Ultimately, it will affect the employer’s brand, the thing which will matter most to candidates in deciding whether to take the offer or not!