January 11, 2018
Each year professionals from all business segments make predictions on what they believe will be a focus and priority in their industry. Before we jump into our predictions for recruiting and employer branding, we'll take a look back at the last five years to remind our readers of the evolution of our industry.
HR & Recruiting Predictions (2013 - 2017)
In 2013, LinkedIn told us to expand our mobile strategy in order to expand our talent pool and recruit more effectively. In 2014, Bersin by Deloitte told us that the skills gap was widening making it crucial making it essential for recruiting professionals to start thinking globally when hiring. In 2015, we were told that social networks had the highest quality of hire and that it was the most effective way of promoting your talent brand.
In 2016, as a part of one of Proactive Talent's first trends blog, we discussed how candidate experience was going to play a starring role in whether or not candidates would even look at your company for employment. And last year while we choose to reflect on the importance of sourcing metrics -- artificial intelligence took off faster than a speeding bullet.
So what about 2018? We've seen everything from mobile to artificial intelligence. Will A.I. continue to dominate the talk of the town or will another trend pop up? We asked some of our key consultants the following question, "What trends will we see in 2018 as it relates to not only recruiting in general but employer branding?" This is what they had to say.
Proactive Talent's Predictions for 2018
Will Staney, Founder & Principal Consultant
Q: What are your 2018 predictions for recruiting in general?
This is the age of the hiring manager. Hiring managers will be held to a higher standard and will be held more accountable when it comes to attracting talent beyond screening and interviewing. We are going to start to see a bigger emphasis on using personal branding as an effective talent attraction tool. In doing so, outreach will become more personalized for both prospective candidates and employees. Recruiters will help educate hiring managers on how to digitally network (i.e. social, video, online events, etc.) their way into the favor of passive candidates.
Q: What are your 2018 predictions for employer branding?
Live video will be king. Transparency will be taken to an entirely new level beyond produced and edited video content. We'll get to see the raw, unedited look into a company with content such as live Q&A with leaders and coverage at company events as told from an employees point of view. We'll get a true look at the culture inside a company.
As social becomes mostly 'pay for play' -- we're going to see employers tapping into social channels like Facebook and Instagram for recruiting and marketing. It's not the job board killer, but some of the budget from job boards will start shifting to social networks. All this content will primarily viewed, consumed and actioned via mobile.
Phil Hendrickson, Lead Consultant
Q: What are your 2018 predictions for recruiting in general?
Because of social movements like #Metoo plus the laws and legal trends enforcing pay and gender equality, I believe companies are going to start thinking differently about diversity recruiting. Talent acqusition teams everywhere will be looking towards artificial intelligence and other technology to help find and attract more diverse talent with their main goal of taking bias out of the recruiting process completely.
Q: What are your 2018 predictions for employer branding?
The power of movements like #GrabYourWallet has put employer branding center-stage in the mind of business leaders everywhere. Companies have learned that their brand has a tangible impact on their bottom line, specifically, their ability to attract and retain the talent needed to remain competitive and their customer's decision to spend money with them -- or or vote with their wallet and spend it elsewhere.
Grace Chiu, Employer Brand Consultant
Q: What are your 2018 predictions for recruiting in general?
The rise of AI and machine learning will impact recruiting in two major ways. The first is the ability to automate some of the more repetitive tasks so recruiters can focus on the 'human' aspect of the recruiting process of connecting with candidates and building relationships. The second is the use of chatbots and their ability to improve candidate experience by answering common applicant questions in real-time and providing more powerful one-on-one interactions.
Q: What are your 2018 predictions for employer branding?
The year of augmented and virtual reality. There have already been early adopters for employer brand, but we'll start to see more companies leveraging this technology to showcase their workspace, people, and overall culture. Virtual reality will help companies go beyond storytelling and create an immersive and interactive experience that not only tell but show their culture and employee experience to ultimately attract and convert candidates, both passive and active.
Shawn Dullye, Employer Brand Strategist
Q: What are your 2018 predictions for recruiting in general?
The amplification of employees will help drive recruiting in 2018. We'll start to see a major push in the creation and maintinence of employee advocacy programs such as employee referral programs and content directly from employees.
Q: What are your 2018 predictions for employer branding?
Employers have started testing video job descriptions as a way to stand out and be different. This year we're going to see more first-hand accounts of a job from the actual employee via video instead of written out job descriptions. With the ability to upload native videos on LinkedIn -- this is an easy way for employers to stand out in front of a large audience.
Well, there you have it. The major trend that continues to stick out across all four of our consultants' predictions is a greater, more effective emphasis on the use of video in the HR & Recruiting function. What do you think? Share your predictions with us.
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