Global HR advisory firm shares eight top trends for next year
As the end of 2015 approaches, predictions for talent acquisition in the year ahead have been unveiled by global people and organisational advisory firm Korn Ferry Futurestep. Its forecast is based on insights from 24 global experts and reflects trends that have emerged over the past 12 months and those that are predicted to become prevalent in 2016.
Byrne Mulrooney, chief executive of Futurestep, said: “Today companies are taking an even more strategic approach to talent acquisition, becoming increasingly inventive to attract and retain valuable candidates.
"While 2015 indicated the start of this thoughtful attitude to hiring, next year we expect this approach to pay off as organisations start to see the fruits of their labour, with the right talent being matched to the right position and making a truly lasting impact.”
Futurestep's predictions are:
Candidates will drive the hiring process
By 2025 the candidate pool will have shrunk. The 2015 McKinsey Global Growth Model study (covering 2005-2015) found there were three times as many workers as retirees. But within the next decade this ratio will have fallen to 1:1. Add this to the need for specialised talent, especially in the technology and life sciences fields, and it is clear candidates are in the driver’s seat, often entertaining multiple job offers.
Employees can choose the organisation whose values align with their own and that lays out a clear path to career advancement for them. This means HR will need to ensure they have a strong employer brand to win the best talent.
The rise of investment recruiting
As job requirements change, more and more employers are looking beyond the skills and background workers can offer. Now it is more common to find HR looking for people with the right traits and motivations who can be trained on-the-job for professions from software coding to customer service. The previously staunch reliance on hiring college graduates is waning as recruiters evaluate people on their ability to perform in the future.
Increasing use of smart data
Data on time-to-hire, cost-per-hire and source-of-hire, once thought to be cutting edge analysis, have become more commonplace as many companies are hiring full-time analysts to mine their metrics for more in-depth talent insights. Competitor talent pools can now be scrutinised using large data sets to find candidates with the right skills and potential. Metrics have advanced so much that employers can even analyse data on whether full-time or part-time employees bring the highest return on investment.
Streamlined HR technologies
The advancing march of globalisation has been a catalyst for many organisations consolidating their HR function. It is an acknowledgment that talent needs to be aligned with wider business strategies and improved operational efficiency. HR technology is expected to become more streamlined as clients turn from multiple HR technology vendors to bundling their human capital management, applicant tracking systems and video interviewing onto one platform.
A concierge experience for candidates
Talent acquisition leaders are more conscientious of the candidate experience than ever before and 2016 will see a rise in adoption of new services and investments to make a lasting and positive impression on future employees. Services will become more personalised as the likes of candidate concierge services come into play. With this approach candidates are sent a link to download an app for their mobile device that would offer GPS guidance to the exact location of an interview, detailed background info about the people they are meeting, and when they arrive on the corporate campus, geo-location beacons will send notifications as candidates pass campus landmarks. Recruiters will also be expected to give special tours of other company departments, develop presentations on the company culture and provide lunch between interviews.
Internal talent recognised as asset
Many companies are integrating formal internal mobility programs with dedicated portals for employees to learn about opportunities and share their interests and abilities instead of focusing outside their organisations for talent. Sourcing talent from within has its benefits, from a shorter time to productivity – existing employees already have an understanding of the business – to lower staffing costs, which as a result means better financial performance. It also provides greater levels of employee satisfaction and retention, reducing competitive intelligence leakage and positively impacting an organisation's employment value proposition as a result.
Longer-term view of graduate hiring
Graduate recruiting has bounced back since the 2008 financial slow down. Employers see degree holders as a strategic asset – they bring fresh thinking, drive innovation and change, and can immerse themselves and ‘seed’ the culture of the organisation, making them “home-grown talent”. If they don’t have all of the needed skills and experiences, they can be trained on the job. In addition, graduate hires can create a sustainable managerial and executive pipeline of high-potential talent. Be warned, however, Millennials often want to know what their proposed career trajectory will be for several moves within the organisation or they may not accept a job offer or could leave after a short period.
Embracing diversity for growth
Equal opportunities in the workplace have always been important but this is changing from a tick-box exercise to a true necessity. This year we saw organisations understand the real value of minority groups, including women and military veterans. But fishing in untapped talent pools isn’t just a volume exercise for industries that are plagued by a lack of skilled talent, such as STEM, it represents a strategic shift too. New data continually adds to the body of evidence showing how diversity positively impacts business performance and in 2016 we will begin to see its impact more clearly.