It’s that time of the year when we look back at the major trends and themes in HR, but more importantly look ahead to what may come in 2019. If 2018, was the year of diversity and inclusion, 2019 looks to be the year of recruiting automation and data driven HR.
Although trends like employer branding and diversity are sure to continue to be areas of focus, the undercurrents of factors like high employee turnover — currently at a 5-year high of 20% — are sure to dictate major areas of investment in the new year.
Subsequently, recruitment teams will likely experience a changing environment, one that reinforces the need to improve hiring accuracy and conversion - where a 2% screen-to-interview conversion and waiting weeks between candidate conversations won’t be good enough.
So, without further ado, here are 7 trends we think will be prioritized over your team’s recruiting efforts in 2019.
A Refocus On Culture Fit
More and more companies will be focusing their efforts on hiring for the soft skills when it comes to candidates in the new year. With everything from the high cost of employee turnover to employees damaging a company’s reputation, recruiters will likely revisit investments in workforce assessments in ensuring that the new hire will not only be able to adequately perform on the job, but be a definitive culture add when it comes to the team. And why not? The minimum average ROI on assessments is in the area of 18x.
It also doesn’t hurt that developments in Industrial Organizational Psychology have made it possible for assessments to become more accurate when it comes to gauging personal behaviors and less susceptible to biases.
Improve Hiring Speed with AI
Even with the evolution of technology and the speed at which modern business operations run, it’s surprising that HR teams are still typically stuck with older technology.
That is all about to change with a shift in HR automation. We’re not talking about your newly installed applicant tracking platform or new HRIS system. With continued adoption of artificial intelligence across all business verticals, hiring teams will see an increasingly larger amount of the more mundane and tedious tasks being taken care of by machine learning algorithms that will shorten workloads and increase productivity in both the short and long run. This should help recruiters improve the conversion of screened candidates to phone interviews and time-to-fill metrics - currently estimated at about 2% and 42 days respectively - and get back to what they do best, hiring people first teams.
Increased Focus on Employer Branding
Candidates who can see themselves in your organization are more likely to engage with you first, it’s a fact. And, we all know it’s basically a seller’s market right now — with competitive labor markets allowing great candidates the option to pick and choose who they work with.
In order to stay competitive and develop quality inbound recruiting leads, teams will need to build a great career site and flesh it out with a variety of stories told through all sorts of mediums that accurately reflect your team, its mission and its culture . Further investment in initiatives that can support a more organic inflow of high quality candidates will remain a top priority in organizations looking to boost Talent Promoter Scores and your Employee LTV.
Continued Attention On The Candidate Experience
It’s a tight labor market, we all know this. So, it’s not a surprise that recruitment teams will continue to focus on developing a world class candidate experience in attracting the best and the brightest.
Teams will continue to audit and iterate their candidate experience at each step of the way — streamlining it and removing cumbersome roadblocks in delivering a great experience for highly touted candidates. Additionally HR teams will no doubt be tapping into technology in supporting those initiatives that will allow recruiters to be through and comprehensive in their search.
Adapting to Non-Traditional Work Schedules
And with the advent and further development of technology, recruitment teams will now have to consider relatively non-traditional work schedules as a growing norm. With the rise of remote opportunities, it won’t come as a surprise to a talent acquisition professional that the perfect candidate may not be the most local one.
As a result, HR teams will need to allow for more flexible work schedules and locations when it comes to attracting those that can sometimes add the most value.
Evolve Diversity and Inclusion Initiatives
Companies embraced D&I practices in 2018, driven mostly by well documented studies proving that diverse workforces improve bottom line revenue. So, it should come as no surprise that HR teams will continue their push in retaining a diverse talent pool. To that end, sourcing from unconventional channels — such as focused job boards or testing platforms with a deeply diverse candidate pool —will remain a priority as HR teams continue to be committed to building a solid and diverse talent pipeline.
SquarePeg helps teams solve for the soft skills when it comes to business hires with our proven AI hiring platform. Sign up for a personalized demo to see how SquarePeg can help with your new business hires or learn more at SquarePegHires.
