Technology, increased demand, and competition present new challenges and opportunities in the recruitment landscape. Recruitment trends are not the only ones changing. Business needs and job hunters do too.
In 2015, about 90% of recruitment professionals said that candidates mainly drove recruiting. This shift in the hiring landscape means that head hunters need to update their skills to keep up with the growing and changing demands from both employers and employees. So as 2017 approaches, here’s what you need to work on to upgrade your skill set. The skills required by recruitment managers in the future are:
Recruiters should be able to identify potential talents and engage with them, even before job positions are offered. They should also be able to build relationships with top talents online through data-driven analytics.
A Deloitte survey found that U.S. companies spend an average of $4,000 to fill an open position. Meanwhile, another study found that 47% of job offers in 2015 did not push through because the candidates accepted other proposals.
A lot of money is spent, and sometimes, wasted just to replace a former employee. The challenge is to get a replacement fast despite lengthy hiring processes. This is where strategic thinking comes into play.
Be a well-adjusted recruiter who can identify potential top talents, and engage with them even before that job availability. Strategies include lead nurturing in the form of online engagements and relationships built through data-driven analytics.
“There is a big skills gap [in companies today] and a lot of pressure on HR to fill that gap. Some recruiters are almost blindly filling positions without really knowing what the hiring manager wants,” said Aberdeen Group human capital management analyst, Zach Lahey.
The movement of recruitment practices from traditional to online have prompted the need to handle big data from digital resources. Knowing how to use online tools is different from crunching and analyzing data well.
Recruitment managers should possess the capability to analyse data from online profiles and convert them into intelligence. Good data analysis can guide your decisions throughout the recruitment process.
Top talents are almost, always not without employment. Analyzing online profiles can help you spot and nurture rightful candidates with the goal of offering them employment packages that are just too good to decline.
According to Glassdoor’s 50 HR and Recruiting Stats That Make You Think report, 79% of employees use social media to look for jobs, while 86% of people use social media in job hunting within the first 10 years of their careers.
Social recruiting has become the new norm, as more and more people use these platforms to engage, network, and look for employment. As a recruiter, you must be competent in using social media to reach out where job seekers hang out.
Social recruiting does not end with a job ad. You must strategize how to use social media towards reeling in the best of the best, and keep them engaged before making the first contact about a job opening.
Recruitment managers should possess sound marketing skills as they are required to play active role in talent acquisition programs. A study found that 69% of job hunters are more likely to apply for a job opening if the employer is actively managing its brand. This means that job seekers require more than just a competitive salary and benefits to jump ships.
As a recruiter, you are expected to actively play marketing roles in talent acquisition. This includes keeping the company website and online profiles active, publishing relevant information, and participating in the conversation online especially through social networking sites. Careers sites that are optimized for mobile consumption are likely to get higher shares when it comes to job searches.
Hiring managers should embrace mobile marketing skills and make most of the mobile revolution to be able to reach out and access the talent pool of candidates via mobile.
They should know how to use the latest technologies to improve lead generation and nurture strategies. They must be well-conversant with use of online tools and platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Flipboard and stay abreast of the skills on demand in the industry.
In the era of modern technology, you need to have the ability to use various new technologies to keep up with changing trends. The more knowledgeable you become in optimizing these tools to connect jobseekers with employers, the better recruitment specialist you become.
It will give job recruiters a much-needed edge against their competitors. This is crucial for companies who are targeting the Millennial demographic, which is slated to make up 50% of the workforce by 2018.
Hiring managers should master negotiation skills to get the best out of the workforce. They should be capable of making compelling proposals when it comes to opportunities, mentoring, long-terms goals and career growth.
Just as consumers are spoiled for choice, top talents know their value. A modern-day recruiter like you must master negotiation skills to get the best in the workforce, especially the ones coming from the Millennial demographic. These younger professionals are opportunities-driven. Salary and benefits are not only important factors in recruitment anymore.
In conclusion
A recruitment agency whose team is well-equipped with the right, relevant skills can help you find the talents you are searching for. These teams know the value of lead generation and forging relationships with high performers, all of which can assist you in filling open positions in the most efficient way.
Author credit: Ron Cullimore, Head of Client Services, Manila Recruitment
This article was originally published here.
