Saturday 18 January 2020

Hiring trends you can expect in 2020 and beyond

Aoife Geary - Independent Jobs

Hiring is an industry that’s constantly evolving. More integrated technology, a widening skills gap and a multigenerational workforce mean there’s a lot for HR professionals to overcome. As we near full employment in Ireland, companies will continue to face fierce competition to hire the best talent.

This war for talent has meant candidates have their pick of opportunities. They’re not just looking for an attractive salary or impressive job title, they’re looking for a company that can help them develop, both personally and professionally. This shift in talent priorities is reflected in the recruitment industry with hiring managers taking a more cultural and values driven approach.

Here’s what else to expect in 2020 and beyond.

Employer branding remains a key focus

A strong employer brand is non-negotiable. Research by Jobbio shows that 70% of hiring managers in the UK and Ireland are struggling to connect with skilled candidates and in the digital sector this jumps up to 93%. Candidates have their choice of opportunities, so to stand out from competitors companies need to be really highlighting why they’re an employer of choice. Using current employees is a really good way to engage potential new ones. They are the best advocates for a company’s employer brand and can offer authentic insights into why the company is a great place to work. Are there flexible working hours? Does the CEO encourage creative autonomy? Does the company offer exceptional training and development?

Leverage as many platforms as you can to promote your employer brand but make sure the image you’re portraying externally aligns with the internal reality. Candidates are becoming more savvy during their job search. Before even applying to a company it’s likely they’ll have searched review sites like Glassdoor for any bad press and carried out a deep dive of your social media channels.

This year, 90% of HR professionals surveyed by Jobbio said that effective promotion of company culture results in boosted revenue. Next year, we can expect a continuation of this thinking with more and more hiring managers placing special focus on their culture and values.


AI becomes even more integrated

The use of automation in the hiring process will continue to rise with recruiters leveraging AI to screen, manage and convert candidates. AI is particularly useful for bulk actions like passing on an applicant or scheduling them for interviews. These tools add greater efficiency to the process and are often used in conjunction with an automated tracking system (ATS) or human resource information system (HRIS). For example, applications to a developer role may be passed or shortlisted instantly based on the skills or languages the applicant has listed.

AI technology also improves the candidate and employee experience by nurturing talent through the hiring and onboarding processes. This is particularly important as a poor candidate experience can have a knock on effect on a company’s consumer brand.


Talent pooling becomes more prominent

Given the shortage of skilled candidates, HR professionals need to forecast their hiring needs in the medium and long term as well as the immediate. This means building and nurturing relationships with talent long before a vacancy arises. It also means ensuring a positive experience for those who have applied for a particular role but not been successful. In this way, HR teams are developing a talent pool of potential candidates who are already familiar with the company and interested in its growth. There are a few different strategies to help build your talent pool:

Referrals - Asking your current employees to refer potential employees is a cost-effective and valuable way to build a quality talent pool. These candidates are generally more aware of the company culture and interested in learning more.

Sourcing - A sourcing strategy uses outbound tools to search candidates based on certain keywords such as ‘Java Developer’ and reach out to them via LinkedIn or other sites.

Inbound hiring - This strategy leverages the principles of inbound marketing to attract talent to your company through engaging content such as blogs, infographics, eBooks or newsletters. Passive candidates will subscribe for updates to your content and can be nurtured in a soft sell way.

Jobs marketing becomes more results led

Recruiters and HR professionals are improving their tech literacy in order to keep abreast of industry changes. One of those changes has been a greater focus on jobs marketing. Hiring managers expect more in-depth analytics on how their job ads have performed so they can calculate an accurate return on investment.

They are no longer willing to just pay flat fees for job board advertising without understanding the performance of their budget. In this way we can expect to see more transparency around the forecasting of applications and targeting of IT candidates, as hiring managers seek out more performance based solutions. Similarly, the payment of large recruiter agency fees could also decrease. As tech companies place more importance on retention of their current employees, we’ll start to see more in-house recruitment teams being built who can contribute to the company culture and help nurture prospective and existing employees.

Need help hiring in 2020? Get in touch

Powered by: Independent Jobs

Also in Business