3 Big Predictions for Recruitment in 2019
Not sure which trends to believe? Here are the 3 fundamental HR shifts that will definitely impact your recruitment strategy in 2019.
If you want to win in the candidate-driven job market, you need to adapt your recruitment and hiring strategies depending on what’s “hot”. But navigating trends and buzzwords can be a major time suck. And how do you know if any of these trends have staying power, or if they’re simply pushing someone else’s agenda?
Let’s cut to the chase and dig into three of the biggest trends that will have a tangible impact on recruitment in 2019.
1. HR automation becomes a ‘system of productivity’
You know Josh, right? As in Bersin?
The industry analyst and founder of Bersin by Deloitte has been calling HR trends since LinkedIn was just a baby.
Josh believes his latest research will outline the role of HR for the future. From his perspective, recruitment is moving into a new era — “One where HR technology is no longer a form of automation system but is now becoming a true system of productivity.”
What does that mean exactly?
Josh describes it as HR in the Flow of Work. “All these wonderful HR apps should be natural, easy and integrated into our work environment — we should be able to chat, click or swipe and the HR tools we use should be as integrated into our lives as email, text messaging or our favorite mobile app.”
We couldn’t agree more.
With 70% of the world’s workers embracing remote work and the labor market predicted to stay tight, it’s safe to say today’s talent market is drastically different than it was ten years ago. But somehow, HR technology is still finding it tough to catch up.
If you want to keep pace with the competition in the years to come, your recruitment and hiring practices will not only need to be intelligent and useful, they also need to feel like a natural part of your hiring team’s day-to-day workflows.
2. AI makes hiring more human
How can recruitment benefit from a full range of machine learning tools in 2019?
Let us count the ways! As Terry Hoffmann, President of Hoffmann Coaching so beautifully puts it:
“AI serves both candidates and employers as both struggle to access humans. One tosses an electronic application into the bottomless abyss. The other sorts through mountains of unmanageable data. Both are searching for the perfect fit. As automation advances and highly relevant analytics are leveraged, employers and candidates will increasingly focus on what matters most, a mutually great fit”.
Josh Bersin breaks that down into exactly what this could mean for your hiring success, “So you could imagine an AI system that looks at all the possible demographics, job history, and interview questions with a candidate and then predicts how well they will perform on the job.” Cool, huh?
But biased patterns lead to biased outcomes and talent acquisition pros would be wise to use AI with caution. As Bersin suggests, AI can help recruiters make better decisions by taking the grunt work off their plate but what you choose to do with that extra time is what really matters. Will you send better outreach emails? Connect with a candidate over SMS? Host a strategy sesh to align with your hiring teams?
Unless they’re helping you create a better, more fulfilling candidate experience, automation and AI just aren’t worth the hype.
3. Culture comes under scrutiny
According to Deloitte’s 2018 Millennial Survey, the world’s largest talent demographic has become pretty disillusioned with employer brands.
The annual deep dive of 10,455 millennials and 1,844 Gen Z workers around the globe found that only 48% of respondents believe corporations are committed to helping improve society, compared to 65% in 2017. “Loyalty must be earned, and the vast majority of millennials are prepared to move, and move quickly, for a better workplace experience,” say the report’s authors.
Combine this growing sense of skepticism with a workforce that is generally overworked and overwhelmed and you may see more candidates jumping ship for the gig-based work model. Unless you can convince them otherwise.
In a recent episode of Basecamp’s Rework podcast, founder Jason Fried made a bold callout of our current working culture, which he describes as a “modern interruption factory.” Jason posits that the toxic “hustle” myth may become more and more apparent to workers to the point that, although they might not have the power to change it, they will at least change the way they view job opportunities.
Moving forward, don’t be surprised if your candidates are scrutinizing not only your mission but also your overarching outlook on work, including the work/life perks and benefits to back that up.
What’s next?
In today’s high stakes talent economy, recruitment is your HR ace-up-the-sleeve. That is, if you use it right. Employers who not only read about the latest trends but also act on them will be the ones who succeed in bringing the right candidates through their door. 🏆
So, are you ready to step-up your hiring strategy? Invest the time and resources now to get on top of the game. And whether it’s AI or automation, keep in mind there’s always a learning curve. The important thing is to keep trying as we traverse the road to truly human HR.
