Top 10 Recruiting Trends
By
Bruce Powell
It
shouldn't come as a surprise. Companies have been operating
lean for several years and no longer have the capacity
to backfill when a key employee leaves. After years
of hiring freezes and 'making do' organizations have
no more room to flex. Instead - and to their chagrin
- they're back in the recruiting game.
Here
are 10 recruitment trends you can expect to see during
the rest of 2005:
1.
More detailed job specs. Companies
finally know what they want. And because they're so
lean they can't afford any more hiring mistakes. Watch
for longer, more detailed job descriptions with very
specific background criteria, clearly outlined performance
expectations and delivery timelines.
2.
Increased emphasis on assessment. Employers
are holding themselves to higher standards of candidate
assessment. Detailed and quantitative evaluation criteria
are becoming the norm with many companies using multi-person
interviews and 3rd-party assessments to ensure objectivity.
Watch for growing use of online and offline testing
tools (i.e., IQ, EQ, Myers-Briggs, psychometric) to
add context to candidate evaluation.
3.
Scarcity of "quality" candidates.
The "top gun" candidates are becoming harder
to find. While there are still lots of 'job-seekers'
in the marketplace, the high-caliber, proven performers
are becoming rare. Smart companies refreshed their workforce
during the downturn and many of these 'star' candidates
are already entrenched at their new firms. Like a game
of musical chairs, the song's about to stop and companies
will be scrambling for the few great people left.
4.
Return of "the sell". As
the economy heats up, candidates once again have the
'power of choice.' More opportunity means that companies
have to work harder to convince top candidates to take
their job. New strategies will be developed (or revived
from the 90's) to "sell' candidates on why they
should work for your company versus the competition
(hint - it's usually not about the money!).
5.
Pursuit of "passive job seekers".
The scarcity of great people looking for work
means that companies will again need to pursue employed
top performers - i.e., the "passive job seekers"
who are happily ensconced in their current roles. And
because these employed stars are harder to convince,
companies will have to "sell" them on the
switch (again - it's usually not about the money!).
6.
Return of the headhunters. Good recruiters
provide professional counsel on everything from employment
branding to objective assessments on candidate quality.
They understand the candidate's 'WIIFM' factor and can
often help companies attract - and close -
candidates they couldn't attract on their own. While
sometimes considered expensive, smart companies will
begin to recognize the value of engaging strategic partnerships
with professional headhunters to give them an advantage
in the 'talent game'.
7.
Adoption of passive recruitment. Companies
are already improving the passive aspects of their recruitment
strategy - from notching up their 'employment brand'
(via career websites, marketing and even PR!) to leveraging
employee referral programs (i.e., the most efficient
way to attract superstars is to ask current top employees
to recommend other top performers to the team!).
8.
Rise of "employee engagement".
As the economy improves and headhunters return, turnover
among "disengaged" employees will skyrocket.
Recent studies show that up to 75 per cent of employees
will consider a new job - with no gain in salary
- if they can achieve greater satisfaction. Watch for
companies to being focusing on the retention, development
and engagement of their top employees - to
reduce their need to recruit.
9.
Internal re-assignment. Smart companies
looking to fill organizational roles will soon realize
the best candidates are often right under their noses.
Rather than looking for experience outside the firm
many companies are cross-hiring internally
and educating current employees for the new roles (i.e.,
hire for fit, train for skill). This re-allocation of
existing resources shows new corporate commitment to
top employees, stimulating employee engagement and productivity.
10.
Strategic "human capital" planning
(finally!). After years of talk, companies
will actually act on integrating their "people
strategies" into their corporate plan. This will
result in an increased emphasis on forecasting and resource
planning, employee ROI and "investment hiring"
to prepare companies for future years. The only way
to win the 'talent game' of the future will be to actually
engage in strategic human capital planning now!
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