What We Learned About Recruitment Trends In 2018
It’s been a year of change, adjustment, and innovation. And as 2018 winds down to a close, it’s time to take a look back at the challenges, opportunities, and major trends that helped shape the recruitment landscape this year—and may just linger into 2019.
Embracing Diversity (For Real)
Diversity has been a catchword for years now, but 2018 took it to new heights as companies move beyond lip service and using diversity as a tool to look good and begin to understand that diversity in the workplace necessary for success—and a win-win for everyone!
Pooling talented workers who come from different backgrounds often results in more innovation, productivity, and enthusiasm from those teams. In fact, according to a recent survey by LinkedIn, 78 percent of hiring managers say diversity is the number one factor influencing how they hire. As communities embrace people from all walks of life, companies are too.
Taking A Marketing Approach To Attract Talent
Now more than ever, companies need to convince incoming talent their position is the right position. Recruiters have realized they must employ a personalized approach as often as possible in order to attract top talent. Organizations are applying the same tactics they use to market new products to reach potential new hires.
Gone are the days when giant corporations automatically had the upper hand—business/employee relationships have gotten much more symbiotic over the years, resulting in the current push for companies to market themselves in new and exciting ways for the benefit of the new recruit.
Using Technology To Whittle Down The Candidate Pool
With social media profiles, digital resumes, and other personal and professional data available with the click of a mouse, recruiters are using technology to their advantage and relying on these formats to engage new talent on a one-on-one level. According to Recruit Loop, “One of the most exciting [developments] is that of predictive data. Experts expect predictive technology to continue to improve. This will include being able to automatically seek out active and passive candidates that fit the needs of the organization.”
And it’s not just seemingly futuristic technology that’s making a difference either—electronic management systems are still being utilized, but are being used more for decision-making purposes than simple information storage.
Contacting Former Supervisors Instead Of HR
While the traditional form of following up on interviewee’s references has always included a call to the human resources department, Industry Week has noticed this year shows a marked uptick in employers calling a potential hire’s supervisor in order to gain the most relevant information about a candidate. The reasoning makes sense: A supervisor is much more likely to talk openly about a former employee than HR, and a supervisor has likely worked in much closer proximity on a day-to-day basis than anyone else in a position of authority. This is one new recruitment trick we can expect to be the norm from here on out.
While these are the major recruitment trends companies noticed throughout 2018, only time will tell which ones stick around for 2019. Unemployment has reached record lows this year, and companies will have to be vigilant if they want to entice the best talent. It’s a job seeker’s market—at least for the foreseeable future, with the economy continuing to grow and unemployment expected to drop further in coming years.