Recruiting 2017 - What is next?
As I look back on recruiting in 2016, there have been great strides made in making talent acquisition a significant and aligned partner to driving business success and adding overall value to organizations in the development of the next generation of talent. Here are a few of the successes I have seen in the recruiting world in 2016 and the trends coming for 2017:
2016 Highlights:
1. Competition to find top talent continued to tighten in 2016. Recruiters have had to be increasingly more creative in how they attract active and passive candidates to opportunities in their organizations.
2. Metrics played an even more instrumental role in recruiting as companies continued to review how their resources were being spent, where and how. Companies started to use data to analyze competitor talent pools to find candidates with the right skills as their organizations continue to evolve into the next generation.
3. There was a significant change in perception of the role of recruiter from being a "candidate pusher" to an internal consultant. This has placed recruiters in a position of being a true strategic partner to their organization in terms of planning for future growth, assisting in the forecasting of labor and providing guidance to their business partners to help them be successful in meeting their hiring objectives in a timely manner.
Five Trends to Look for in 2017
1. Talent/Recruitment Branding will be a focus this year. A savvy candidate seeking a new career opportunity is going to be performing research online into the company where they want to work. Creating a talent/recruitment brand or going through a brand refresh is going to be what we will see this coming year. Organizations will be showcasing the “why” a candidate wants to come be a part of who they are in every social media platform tied to their brand to reinforce being an Employer of Choice.
2. Attracting top talent will continue to be a challenge for employers as competition increases. In addition, employers must focus on retention strategies to keep the top talent they have hired. A focus on talent development to nurture, grow and care for the existing talent is critical in this highly competitive landscape.
3. The candidate experience will see an overhaul in 2017. Organizations are realizing the importance of how candidates translate into customers and vice versa. Talent Acquisition will most likely see process improvements that are more candidate friendly in 2017 that involve more and easier ways to apply as well as an increase in communication. These are game changers for employers that adopt them early because candidates want to receive communication often as well as where they are in the recruitment process. Those that meet these candidate demands will build a pipeline of interested candidates and a new or even more loyal customer because of how well they were treated during their recruitment experience.
4. Metrics will continue to be a driving force next year. Organizations will continue to measure the tried and true metrics such as Time to Fill and Days to Fill, but they will be digging deeper into a set of more robust metrics that matter to the future and growth of their organizations. Metrics will be used to capture a whole-person analysis to determine the right skills, experience and competencies necessary to succeed.
5. Recruiters will source differently in 2017. The strategy will be broader and open to multiple perspectives. There will be more out-of-the-box thinking and creating a link to how skills and experiences from different industries can be applicable and valuable to their career opportunities.
Recruiters and organizational leaders in Talent Acquisition have made great strides in 2016. From changing the perception of recruiters and leveraging their ability to be strategic business partners and consultants to the organization to evolving the metrics process from a numbers game to telling a story of how recruiting efforts are paying off.
There are exciting things to come in 2017 and recruiters should be excited about their role in the next year. Organizations will continue to look for talent that will have the ability to stretch, learn and grow beyond what they know today. Recruiters will be instrumental in playing a part to seek out that new talent of tomorrow.
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