Talent acquisition has always been an important part of the hiring strategies and recruitment practices for any organization. But in the last few years, it’s become more critical than ever.
After the economic downturn, there was a surge in unemployed professionals; there simply weren’t enough jobs for them to fill.
Now, with the economy and job market stabilizing, companies are competing against each other for the same talent and often finding themselves a bit flat-footed.
That’s created a sea change across the talent acquisition and recruiting sectors and made it extra important for industry professionals to stay in the loop and on top of the most current trends in order to use them to their best advantage.
Here’s five key trends that are changing the landscape of talent acquisition:
Diversity Hiring
We’ve seen workplace diversity receive a lot of attention in recent times, and this will continue to be at the forefront in the years to come. Companies enjoy many benefits with a diverse workforce, such as access to different skills and fresh ideas, greater cross-cultural awareness among employees, and more.
According to industry surveys, diversity hiring is something that over 67 percent of active and passive job seekers take into account while considering job offers. Recruiters are paying attention, with 57 percent of them trying to attract diverse employees and reduce the impact of unconscious bias with practices such as blind hiring.
Specialized Technology
Analytics and data have become as essential to recruitment as they are in other areas of business. Today, HR technology is driven by this change and includes highly customizable options for data collection, analysis and reporting. Artificial Intelligence (AI) and voice recognition are coming into play as well.
Applicant tracking system (ATS) solutions are already automating practically every aspect of recruiting, but these will now combine with AI and machine learning to become even smarter.
This will make a huge difference to recruiting efficiency and quality, especially when combined with advanced mobile/remote access tools.
Candidate Experience
Successful recruiters and TA professionals understand that a better candidate experience is the key to talent acquisition, but the focus is now shifting to the passive talent pool. In addition to attracting new job seekers, recruiters are trying to ensure a good experience among those who didn’t receive a job offer.
When a position opens up in the future, these candidates are more likely to be interested if they had a good impression the first time they applied. Younger workers are more aware of employer brand value as well as their own worth, and maintaining a passive talent pool will be a crucial aspect of successful recruitment.
Online Presence
For recruiting managers and HR personnel, online marketing tools are becoming part and parcel of job advertisement today. These tools are also essential for creating a strong employer brand, so it’s time to focus on building an interactive and highly responsive online presence to attract top talent.
Recruiters who engage with prospective employees online do better than those using only traditional platforms, but the role of social media is changing too. Social recruiting needs to be leveraged and optimized, by communicating the company’s mission, purpose and values in addition to posting job ads and responding to queries.
Talent Rediscovery
Being able to access a ready pool of talent as soon as a position opens up, or even before, is a recruiter’s dream. With the evolution of ATS solutions and HR tools in the last few years, this is becoming a reality. Automated features in these systems can cut down the time, effort and resources required for hiring.
Not only do these tools help with screening new applications, but they can also quickly and accurately filter through the passive talent pool of past applicants to shortlist likely matches for a current opening. Combined with other recruitment marketing strategies, reaching out to existing talent makes hiring faster, easier and more effective.
Understanding these trends can help recruiters and hiring companies make the most of opportunities as well as overcome any challenges created by them. This can mean the difference between success and failure in the changing world of talent acquisition today.