Recruitment Trends to Watchout for in 2018
This article was originally published by Bowen Eldridge and has been shared with the authors permission. You can view the original article here.
From how we make purchases, to how we watch TV, and even how we apply for jobs; the world as we know it is constantly evolving, and this is something that is being reflected in the emerging recruitment trends for 2018 and beyond.
Due to the internet making information readily available at our fingertips, people now expect different things from the job ads they apply for, as well as how they undertake the general recruitment process. Additionally, with the level of unemployment in the UK currently at an all-time low, there’s now more competition than ever when it comes to attracting the right employees to your business.
However, data protection and security will also be considerable concerns when hiring new employees in 2018, and this is due to the new General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) that will be introduced in May. However, it isn’t enough to simply be aware of the new guidelines; you’ll also be prepared for the impact they could have on recruitment and Human Resources.
Warwick Peel Chief Executive Officer at New Economy Directors (NED), adds: “As a recruiter of two decades, I am now recruiting C-level and Non-Executives for boards.
“Recruitment trends in the board director market are rapidly changing. In 2017, across the US, 50% of director appointments onto S&P500 company boards have never been in the boardroom. With major emerging risks including cybersecurity and climate risk, as well as artificial intelligence and technology, boards are recruiting tech savvy and digital mindsets as well as expert advisors to their boards.
“While recruitment trends might be shifting in regards to DevOps, scrum masters and agile, A.I, and VR/AR, and emerging technologies across employment markets, the same applies in regards to the significant changes in the boardroom recruitment trends. If the biggest companies in the world is any indicator, 2018 will see the emergence of the changing of the guard in the boardrooms across Australia too.”
From knowing the importance of selling your company and being aware of the new security guidelines, to utilising Artificial Intelligence (AI), here are the top recruitment trends to look out for in 2018…
Advertise your company, not just the job
When applying for a role, after the salary and location, the first thing a candidate will read is your job advert and specification. This means that it should provide a clear image of your company’s culture from the get-go, and contain as much detail about the job role and its responsibilities to ensure you attract the right type of applicants.
However, although candidates need to be fully aware of what the role entails, the hiring process is no longer just about them selling themselves to you in the hope of being invited to an interview; you also need to sell the role and your wider company to them. With there being so much competition between businesses to secure the right talent for their workforce, you need to be competitive to stand out from the crowd and ensure they choose you.
The solution? Shout about what makes your business great in the job ad. For example, if you can offer flexibility in working hours, the ability to work from home, or your workplace focuses heavily on your workers’ personal and professional development, make this very clear, as these are all highly valuable in today’s workforce. In fact, 85% of young workers admit that they’d rather work from home than a traditional office environment (source), while 70% feel that a job would be more attractive to them if it offered flexible working as a perk. (source)
Not only that, but with it now being the norm for workers to hold between 10–15 jobs in their lifetime, with 12 being the average (source), opportunities for development will be a driving factor in attracting new staff and retaining them.
Additionally, a great way to determine what will attract job seekers to your company is by asking for internal feedback from your employees, and this practice is also becoming more prevalent to enhance staff engagement. Although this can be used for job adverts, internal feedback can also be an effective tool for staff retention, provided you have taken steps to implement their suggestions. Remember, a happy workforce speaks volumes to new employees!
Utilise social media and Artificial Intelligence
Although employers and recruiters may no longer be able to review candidates’ personal social media profiles when GDPR comes into effect in May, we predict that social media will still be heavily utilised in the hiring process.
According to statistics from 2015, 40% of LinkedIn members use the mobile app to find job vacancies, and in 2017, it was reported that there are approximately 3 million active job listings on the platform. These statistics, combined with the fact that fellow social media network, Facebook, introduced their own “Jobs” section to their platform earlier this year, suggest that this is one of the recruitment trends we can expect to become more prevalent in 2018.
LinkedIn, already the dominant social domain for recruitment and professionals will be still be utilised, albeit in a less formal way. Senior Associate — Bianca Mazzarella of Mcdonald Murholme, Employment Law Solicitors predicts an increase in “HR / recruitment staff members advertising job openings on their personal LinkedIn pages. This would allow jobs to be promoted to those who either have an interest in that organisation or that particular staff members career. This form of recruiting would then allow connections to share the job post to those interested in their circle. This allows the job to have more exposure to those particularly interested.”
In terms of technology, another trend will be the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the hiring process. This is already being utilised by brands like Unilever, who have tested screening candidates for entry-level positions. This involves playing neuroscience-based games, and answering questions. As Business Insider UK explains, the technology analyses candidates’ keywords, intonation, and body language to assess their suitability for the role.
According to Unilever, this technology has enabled them to hire its “most diverse class to date”. Thus, with AI removing unconscious bias by filtering candidates based solely on their skills and performance, we predict that AI use in the hiring process is only going to become more prevalent next year.
Linda Simonsen, adds further comments advising “Future-ready businesses will harness technology to tap into the talent pool and recruit for Emotionally Intelligent staff. Sophisticated recruitment technology may include candidate journey mapping, and leveraging Big Data, which can determine high performer profiles. Artificial Intelligence (AI) and predictive analytics can also be used to ascertain an employee’s future tenure and performance. ”
Ujwal from InterviewBuddy.in says: “More and more companies, businesses, staffing agencies, and even universities and colleges are shifting to intelligent video-based hiring. This is because one common caveat faced by companies and staffing agencies during recruitment is the impersonation. The person completing the written assessment or attending the telephonic or video interview via conventional video communications platform (like Skype) is different from that of the actual hire.
James Jennings, Co-Founder & Director of Sourcr, a recruitment technology platform, backs this up, stating: “There will be a greater use of automated screening tools, such as gamified tests or video interviews, to deal with the ever-increasing number of applications. In the future I think you’ll be unlikely to speak to a human until the later rounds of interviews.”
“To overcome this pitfall, platforms like InterviewBuddy.in have developed an intelligent video analytics based simple cloud video platform where every assessment and interview is auto-recorded and stored to let the stakeholders know who the actual hire is going to be across all the departments. Moreover, the platform offers an AI-based sentiment, emotion & facial analytics features which are highly sort after for crucial and senior level hires and comes handy to complement human judgment.”
CVProof.com is a platform that enables CVs and all types of credentials (including assessment, medical, and training records) from any industry and country to be digitally validated in a seamless process. The new system to combat fraud and wasted resources in recruiting. “Recruitment is a haphazard process,” says CEO and founder Ray Chow-Toun, “managed by documents sent digitally to head hunters, put through lengthy and unstructured vetting processes including background and reference checks. The applicant will have his or her formatting preferences, and every recruiter has a different document and receiving system. On average, research shows that 25 percent of applications submitted have credentials discrepancies. It’s all too easy for candidates to defraud.
“CVProof.com is a platform built from the ground up to do two things,” says Chow-Toun. “It’ll fight wasteful and expensive credential fraud, and it’ll open up a vibrant new market in the process. Any employer can easily verify the credentials claimed by a potential employee using the same cutting edge technology that secures cryptocurrency.”
Apps such as CheckWorkRights, a new innovative smartphone app that eliminates the risk of managing employees on working visas will also save time on administration for the likes of HR managers. CheckWorkRights Director, Will Aldous, says the app is a simple way to avoid costly employment errors, which many employers aren’t aware they are making: “CheckWorkRights allows you to employ workers on visas and keep track of the time they are allowed to work for you according to the permit they hold. We have seen a number of instances recently where CheckWorkRights and a simple scan of a worker’s passport could have saved a business from serious fines due to non-compliance.
“Many businesses who we work with are surprised to learn they are non-compliant and at risk of serious penalties and reputational damage, and were previously unaware of their obligations to do regular checks on the expiry dates and conditions of their employees’ visas.”
Platforms like InterviewBuddy connect students, job seekers & people looking to scale up their career with domain-specific industry experts to practice interviewing.
