RECRUITMENT ROZ GRANT
The ever-changing world of recruitment Recent technological advancements have forced the modern workplace to evolve. From shifts in recruiting expectations to AI-powered hiring, disruptive recruitment trends continue to emerge. Roz Grant guides us through the changes.
T
he impact of online recruitment and reliance on social media mean recruiters are now on the job 24/7, being available to applicants across international time zones. I’m sure I speak for all recruitment professionals, whether agency based or internal: recruitment is a tough gig and getting tougher. So what are the emerging trends and what can we do to keep up?
Embrace automation
It’s not hard to believe that more and more of the talent acquisition space is becoming dominated by automation. Available now are recruitment platforms, recruitment marketing tools, applicant tracking software, digital interviewing tools and more. All aim to streamline the recruitment process, making it more efficient and faster. Businesses that disregard these 16
HUMAN RESOURCES
AUTUMN 2021
advantages are likely to lose their candidates to tech-savvy competitors. Basically, you need to embrace the technology, use the knowledge, and make it work for your organisation. The same rule applies to using social media. If you’re not using social media for recruiting, you are likely to be out-recruited. There’s no escaping it. Useful for advertising roles and searching for promising candidates, this is a method not to be overlooked. You can engage with potential candidates and build a relationship for them with your brand. Later on, you can invite them to apply for suitable vacancies.
Up-spec your candidate experience
Candidate experience is another important recruitment trend. Most of my clients would agree that candidate experience can affect buyer purchasing decisions. Virgin Media measured the cost of poor candidate experience as being as much as US$5 million per year, so it’s worth spending a bit of time adjusting your candidate experience to align with your corporate goals, culture and values. This links nicely to employer branding. A compelling employer brand is essential for attracting the
best talent. If your company has an inspiring purpose, a respect for people and team-oriented work, that’s a great start. Employees want to be proud of the company they work for, so it’s no wonder employer branding will likely be a top recruitment trend for many years to come. Candidates are doing far more due diligence on companies than ever before, to ensure their needs are being met, and holding their company of choice responsible for delivering on that promise. That’s why it’s important for HR and people managers to ensure their unique selling point shouts loud and clear. Shout about your diversity and inclusion strategy and ensure the success stories are heard and lived by not only external clients and suppliers but internal staff and potential employees. Remember, people talk, and reputation can be a fantastic recruitment tool.
It shouldn’t be a taboo subject to discuss salary. Companies with strong and influential thought leadership teams will already have anticipated and embedded their strategies. However, those not so quick off the mark will
