2018 Recruitment Trends According to Experts

Categories: Advice for HR Professionals, Infographics, Recruitment Advice, Trends and Learning

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In 2017, the recruitment firms and the overall HR industry delved into how they can increase employee engagement, improve employee retention, and utilize automation technology to make their process more efficient.

This 2018, more disruptions and trends will evolve to help shape the future of HR and recruitment. Here’s what you can expect this coming year.

2018 Recruitment Trends According to Experts

“AI and machine learning will continue to grow and proliferate.”

Modern talent acquisition technology is powered by AI and machine learning. According to SocialTalent, people are already coming to terms with how AI and machine learning can make their professional lives more fruitful. AI reduces recruiter bias by focusing on skills and experience instead of demographics such as age and race.

The use of algorithmic sourcing, talent mapping, and text analysis algorithms will help recruitment firms and HR professionals pick out skills and experience faster and more effectively. In addition, it helps recruiters engage with top candidates in a more streamlined process.

As such, AI and machine learning will grow and expand this 2018. To leverage its power, recruiters need to study and analyze the technology. As a result, they not only skill up, but they will also increase their productivity.

“But, the hiring decisions will still be made by humans.”

Oleg Vishnepolsky, Global CTO at DailyMail Online and Metro.Co.Uk, stresses that despite the growing adoption of AI and machine learning in HR, humans will never be replaced. Hiring decisions will still be made by humans who are merely assisted by digital tools such as AI and machine learning.

Recruitment firms will still be in demand. But, recruiters will need to skill up. They need to be able to handle AI and machine learning programs, process big data, and perform quantitative data analysis. As a result, the hiring process will become less subjective and more transparent to candidates.

“Video assessment of job candidates will rapidly expand.”

Because companies are now hiring remote workers from around the world, video assessment of job candidates will rapidly expand in the coming year. The talent pool is now global, and recruiters are turning to creative solutions such as video conferencing to screen candidates. According to Josh Bersin of Deloitte, more companies are investing in video assessment tools for talent acquisition.

Video assessments offer recruiters the same predictive value with just four or five video assessment questions. So, rather than asking applicants to come in for an interview and take a 200-question test, it’s faster and more efficient to use video assessments. It’s less costly, as companies no longer need to transport candidates from far-off locations to their office, just to meet them.

“People analytics tools will become a ‘must-have’ for HR teams and recruiters.”

Deloitte’s Josh Bersin predicted that people analytics tools would become a necessity for HR teams and recruitment firms. Data analytics and AI will converge to focus on the three critical areas: embedded analytics; artificial intelligence; and organizational network analysis (ONA).

Rather than becoming just mere data analytics vendors, software providers will now offer embedded analytics that provides readily-available data with the need for any report generation. ONA tools will also be offered, in addition to AI, to understand how people communicate, by capturing data from emails, feedback sources, and the like, to identify workflow patterns, bottlenecks, and roles.

“Recruiters will focus on improving the candidate experience.”

In 2017, the HR industry focused on improving the employer brand. However, a bad candidate experience can significantly reduce an employer brand, no matter how established it already is. In a recent post, Joanne McDonagh of Rezoomo claims that this 2018, HR teams and recruitment firms will focus on improving their candidate experience, to further the employer branding.

A recent survey concludes that candidates want better communication and timely notifications from their recruiters. In fact, the same study found that the top causes of a bad candidate experience are unclear application instructions and lengthy application process. So, make sure to streamline your application process, make it short, and notify your applicants whether they passed or not.

“More companies will create and promote wellness policies.”

Perks and benefits, aside from the salary package, is at the top of every employee’s mind when considering a job. In addition, the public awareness about the importance of health and wellbeing in the workplace is growing. Along with this, companies are seeing its benefits to employee productivity, performance, company culture, brand reputation, and overall business growth. As such, over 40% of companies are promoting wellness policies in the workplace, according to 3rd Eye Advisory.

Deloitte further supports this trend. According to their recent report, the well-being market is exploding and shifting its focus from traditional health and accident insurance to well-being and healthcare solutions. As such, new HR technology will emerge to assess, measure, monitor, and improve well-being at work.

“Remote working will continue to rise.”

The volume of employees who work remotely has multiplied by almost four times since 2005. In 2015, 37% of employees can work remotely. In 2016, 43% of American workers claimed that they spent some time working remotely. The number of remote workers will continue to rise this 2018.

In fact, a Gallup study revealed that flexible hours and work-from-home benefits greatly influence an employee’s decision to take or leave a job. Candidates now seek flexible hours to enable them to keep a proper work-life balance.

Remote working drives employee satisfaction, boosts productivity, and reduces costs for employers. As such, more companies will transform their traditional policies to accommodate employee demands for flexible hours and telecommuting. With VPN systems and collaboration software constantly improving, telecommuting will surely grow this coming year.

Bottom Line

As HR professionals and recruiters, you need to make sure that you’re prepared for the coming year’s expectations and industry demands. This 2018, make sure to leverage the power of AI, machine learning, and video assessment to have a more efficient and effective acquisition and hiring process. This will help you improve the candidate experience, so you can focus on making the right hiring decision instead of mundane tasks like sorting through your applicant database. At the end of the day, new HR technology will never replace the human touch of recruitment.


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