Are you prepared to compete for today’s best talent? From shifts in candidate expectations to AI-powered hiring, recruitment trends continue to change from year to year. Below are recruitment trends businesses and Hiring Managers should be aware of in 2020.

Staying on top of technology

Automation and Artificial Intelligence (AI) have been used within the recruitment industry for years, making searching for talent more efficient and effective and is forever evolving.  

However, technology tools do come at a cost and therefore larger corporations and recruitment agencies are in a better position to take advantage of these, but not that simple for Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) as they may lack the resources needed to access these tools. 

What are the biggest recruitment challenges?

The biggest recruitment challenges are still the same for all organisations

• Attract right candidates to apply 
• Knowing where to find candidates / marketing the position on the right platforms  
• Allocate time to the recruitment process  
• Having a sound onboarding process, including the induction

Before I explain how to overcome these obstacles, I would like to share some stats about candidates in today’s market 

• More than 73% of job seekers today are only passively looking for a job. 
• 80% of HR leaders say employer branding has a significant impact on their ability to attract talent
• 73% of job seekers say the process of looking for a job is one of the most stressful events in their life 
• 83% of candidates say it would greatly improve the overall experience if employers provided a clear timeline of the hiring process

Looking at these stats, it’s clear that an employer’s brand, culture and communication are the most crucial part in attracting the right candidates. This is where SME can shine, even without flashy tech gadgets. 

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Advert writing is not just about attracting candidates with technical skills to apply but also to use language that appeals to the right type of person you want to apply. This also applies when deciding what avenues to use when marketing your position.  If you grasp these fundamentals, you will get the most from your advertising dollar. 

How effective is your shortlisting? If your advert results in large amount of applications, how do you get through them in the most effective way? 

Equipped with AI and automation, this task only takes seconds, whereas a skilled and experienced recruiter would need several hours to do this manually.

In stark comparison, an untrained person (including most business owners / managers) may need the best part of 2 days for the same task.  

This is where a precise recruitment process is valuable. Ensuring the right templates and processes are in place, including interview sheets, score matrix and reference checking templates makes the process more efficient and effective. 

SME owners are usually time-poor and if these processes are not implemented, the selection is often compromised (At sometimes disastrous results).  

Simple and powerful: 

As mentioned earlier, another important aspect of recruitment is to create a great experience for the candidate. The last thing you need is to see the candidate that you have your heart set on, becoming disengaged, feeling that the process is cumbersome, and ultimately not seeing value in accepting your offer. 

People who are satisfied with the recruitment journey are 38 percent more likely to accept a job offer.  For candidates that didn’t get the job, a good experience will encourage them to speak in a positive way about your brand. 

On the flip side, a whopping 83% of people say a negative experience during the process changed their mind about a role or company they once liked. 

Don’t lose them

Ensuring your onboarding process is efficient and streamlined will engage your new top-talent right from the start.

Whilst using the latest technology and AI for their recruitment process may be not be within your reach, you may want to consider technology for your induction processes. Online induction training usually come with great cost savings and are more efficient and effective in most aspects compared with paper-based training. Having an online induction program also ensures consistency in training, compliance, and record-keeping. 

Key summary: 

Understanding who you are looking for, where to look for and how capture the right candidate must be supported by following an efficient process, having experienced staff doing the recruitment and a sound onboarding process.  The use of technology is a bonus, but the above is the real key for SME to shine in 2020.