2020 Recruitment Trends You Need to Know About
Anyone who works in recruitment knows the industry is always evolving. In order to attract strong talent, recruiters must stay abreast of developing trends.
The following examples are particularly worth paying attention to. In 2020, it’s likely these will be some of the more noteworthy recruiting trends affecting the industry:
Increased Automation
Recruitment can be a time-consuming task. It can also be fairly expensive for an organization. That’s why it’s important to leverage all necessary resources when seeking candidates. For instance, if you were trying to recruit a CEO or similar executive for a company, you might want to enlist the help of an executive hiring firm. With expert help, you can save time while also freeing up your staff to focus on other important HR tasks.
That said, it’s also important to automate as many tasks as possible. To some degree, this is already true. As HR and recruiting technology continues to improve and develop, experts believe automation in recruitment will become even more critical in 2020.
There are several recruitment tasks that automation can streamline. Identify which of these tasks or functions should be prioritized for automation, based on the savings in terms of costs and staff time. For example, when seeking candidates to fill lower-level positions, it may be company policy to immediately reject applicants who don’t meet certain criteria. You can easily use recruiting software to automatically screen candidates, flagging those whose applications or work histories indicate they fail to meet your standards. Automation can also help with candidate sourcing and engagement; the technology can aggregate and analyze candidates’ information and then match them with positions that would be the best fit.
These are just a few examples; automation can also help with scheduling and background checks, too. Figure out your company’s recruiting “pain points” and research how automation might be able to provide a solution.
Greater Emphasis on Video Recruiting
Like automation, video recruiting isn’t exactly a new concept. That said, companies have begun to recognize the value that video recruiting offers to a greater degree than ever before.
Video recruiting offers several benefits depending on the nature of the position being filled. For instance, it’s becoming more common for people to work remotely. Employees like the flexibility of remote work and the ability to live where they choose — which may be a particular bonus if your company is located in a region with high housing costs. Video allows recruiters to interview those candidates who may not live nearby. It also allows companies to record interviews to solicit feedback from other staff and to analyze the candidate in greater depth. These recordings can also help staff improve their interviewing techniques, or they can be used to train new HR employees.
Of course, video also helps organizations save time and money. Instead of wasting resources scheduling an in-person interview with a candidate who turns out to be unqualified, a recruiter can first interview them remotely via videoconference.
Increased Emphasis on Culture Fit
Culture fit is another factor that is becoming increasingly important to organizations across virtually all industries. This may be due to recent improvements in data analysis technology. In recent years, companies have been able to analyze HR data more effectively than before. This has helped them more accurately identify which factors contribute the most to employee success. Many have found that employees who fit in with the company culture are far more likely to thrive than those who do not.
It’s important to understand how this can affect hiring processes. Recruiters will of course have to strengthen their ability to identify candidates who are good matches for company culture, and managers may wish to put greater emphasis on culture fit when it comes to the final hiring decision. That said, HR also needs to coordinate with other decision-makers to ensure the organization as a whole is building a positive culture.
Offering Flexibility
As mentioned, remote work is becoming more common. So are similar trends, such as offering employees flexible scheduling options.
This is important to keep in mind if you’re a recruiter. According to surveys, today’s jobseekers actively seek out employers who can offer this flexibility. All other factors being equal, if a candidate is considering two jobs and one allows for remote work or flexible scheduling, that is almost certainly the job they will choose.
Companies need to adjust to this shift in attitude. Although it may not always be possible to allow employees to work from home or to set their own hours, managers need to examine each role they’re filling to determine what type of flexibility is appropriate. Recruiters can then emphasize this to candidates.
More Diversity in Hiring
Once more, organizations are increasingly relying on software to analyze HR and employee data, using the results to determine employee success rates and other metrics. This has also resulted in many organizations recognizing the importance of diversity in the workplace.
With a diverse workforce, an organization benefits from multiple perspectives, greater creativity, and a dynamic company culture. Similarly, some two-thirds of jobseekers (according to a 2014 Glassdoor survey) say diversity is an important factor when evaluating job offers and potential employers. A 2015 McKinsey report also revealed that companies that rank in the top quartile for ethnic diversity are 35% more likely to have above-average financial returns. It will behoove recruiters, hiring managers, and executives alike to consider the value of diversity when making staffing decisions.
