The Latest Talent Acquisition Trends Are Changing Everything

In spite of the fact that the U.S. still has a fairly high unemployment rate, it can be a challenge to recruit high-quality candidates with the training and skills companies need. Things are changing so quickly in some fundamental areas, such as technology, the economy and health care laws, that finding, assessing and hiring candidates has become even more complicated. Learning what’s trending in talent acquisition can help improve your future recruiting efforts. Here are some trends to look for in talent acquisition in 2013 and beyond.

Recruiting Goes High-Tech

Technology is affecting talent acquisition in a number of ways. The first is the trend toward assessing candidates online. Recruiters are relying more heavily on technology for the first level of screening, by asking candidates to fill out online knowledge and skills assessments as the first step toward hiring.

Acquisition will also become more mobile. The process is shifting toward app-based and mobile services for both recruiting and hiring. While text messaging and SMS have become common recruiting tools in the past couple of years, the growing prevalence of tablets and smartphones means mobile apps will become an important part of talent acquisition strategies.

Social media will also play a growing role in recruiting, especially at the college level. Because younger applicants are so entwined with social media, recruiters will find diverse uses for the technology, such as Skype interviews, online applications and testing, and social referring tools, to help find and evaluate college-age candidates.

New Laws Make Planning Tricky

By 2014, ObamaCare, or the Affordable Care Act, will require companies with over 50 workers to provide health insurance to all employees or incur penalties. The new legislation is having a serious impact on recruitment planning, especially for small and medium-sized businesses. Companies are likely to continue their reliance on contract staff for a large portion of their workforces and put off hiring permanent workers.

Boomerang Hiring

We may see an upswing in re-recruiting of former employees, whether that’s a good or bad idea is up for debate. When the recession hit, many companies let large numbers of workers go, including, in some cases, their best performers. As the country recovers economically, recruiting resources may become more focused on bringing some of these top employees back to their former employers.

Recruiting as Marketing

The trend toward branding of recruitment companies is on the rise. Recruiters are trying to create name recognition the way consumer brands have traditionally done. They are using more corporate marketing strategies to attract referral sources and potential candidates. Marketing through traditional and newer means, such as social media, are both now central to recruiting companies’ overall strategies.

A Focus on Talent Retention

Please. Let my daddy keep his job. I promise he’ll take shorter “poopy” breaks, too.

Keeping top talent, even if it means moving people within the organization, will grow in importance in companies’ talent acquisition strategies. Recruiting from within saves recruiting resources, allows companies to see returns on their investments in employee training and development, and can benefit employees’ careers. The trend is not to resist, but to embrace and encourage, internal employee movement.

Career development will be another talent retention strategy. Younger workers tend to be more motivated by their career goals than by salary or promotion alone. Companies are beginning to actively promote career management planning for employees at all levels.

The trend toward talent retention means that recruiting departments will be under increased pressure to justify their existence. They will have to prove their expenditures have a positive impact on overall revenue by demonstrating that new hires are improving their company’s bottom line.

But the Future Does Look Bright

Just thinking that such a dinosaur of a group as HR is finally getting in line with the latest talent acquisition trends is a promising thing indeed. It’s been said many times before, but the more thoroughly you can hire, means the less you have to fire. The trends are good in the end and I am looking forward to a more effective workforce.