TAccording to LinkedIn, 56% of business leaders revealed that their hiring volume will increase in the year ahead. Understanding candidate movement in the market can significantly aid hiring strategies, where managers can adapt their tactics in-line with market demands. In 2017, Technology will be an integral support function helping with; people analytics, sourcing automation and inclusive hiring monitoring.
At Selby Jennings we support companies with hiring needs in over 60 countries; giving us a clear view of local, regional and global talent markets we operate in; and what is high on the agenda from CEOs, to Human Resources, to hiring teams around the world.
With many companies laying out their hiring and growth plans for the year, there are number of important trends that will impact recruitment in 2017.
Diversity of Thought
Diversity is a global issue, and according to PWC, although 40% of the global workforce is female, only 4.8% of Fortune 500 CEOs are women. Diversity is not just a tick-boxing exercise; a multitude of studies have identified that diverse businesses achieve better financial results, meaning inclusive hiring is now a priority across businesses. Sitting alongside traditional HR initiatives such as success planning and employee engagement, diversity will top the agenda for 2017.
Organisations need to address ways to better attract, develop, engage and retain top talent. The key here is a fine-tuned approach; increasing diverse hires at both entry and board level, and building robust strategies for retention.
Through the start of 2017, female talent is a priority group from a diversity perspective, and although women are increasingly saturating the workplace, this same integration is not filtering through to the upper ranks and companies’ financials are suffering as a result.
Equality and inclusivity are the building blocks required to cement diversity into a company culture, and more businesses will look to introduce these in the year ahead. Hiring targets must shift to become more inclusive, and upper-management should work to make the workplace mentality more appreciative of diversity, as well as creating engagement techniques tailored to these new hires.
As diversity takes a lead, there will be a shift away from the traditional understanding of the term, and a new era of inclusiveness, led by analytics, will give way to what is being labelled ‘Diversity of Thought’.
The Multigenerational Workforce expands
2017 is the year that the workplace starts to stretch across the widest spectrum yet; with employees ranging from 18 to 80 years old. Millennials are now filling senior management roles from a younger age, apprenticeships are catching up in popularity with degrees, and Baby Boomers are delaying retirement, the age of the workforce is set to become broader than ever.
CIPD’s Tapping into Talent report identified that different generations have different preferences towards various aspects of employment, including training. These results were supported by the NextGen survey by PWC, which found that millennials are more likely to pick workplace flexibility and work/life balance in preference to traditional benefits such as travelling and salary. Managing the needs and expectations of different generations will no doubt be vital in order to retain and engage the workforce of the future.
Also, newer generations look for organisations where diversity is a priority; there must be proof that inclusion is ingrained in the culture, rather than a problem requiring strategies, programs, and initiatives cultures. Attracting innovative talent requires a genuine outlook by companies to acknowledge inclusion as an opportunity not an issue.
Candidates seen as customers
In a recent survey by StartWire, 77% of candidates polled felt that they thought less of an organisation when they did not hear back after applying. The 2015 North American Candidate Experience Awards Research Report supports these findings, asserting that poor candidate experience has the potential to damage an employer brand. The industry is aware of this issue and, according to LinkedIn’s Global Recruiting Trends 2017, over 80% of leaders acknowledge that employer branding has a significant effect on hiring talent.
Communication with candidates during the hiring process is often substandard, it’s vital that employers re-evaluate their employer value proposition (EVP), and aim to create a coherent candidate journey, just as they would for a customer.
Flexible working options increase
From flexible hours to remote working, adaptable working patterns can help increase staff satisfaction in the long-term. This isn’t just limited to traditional flexi-time jobs such as tech and IT; there is evidence where five industries have recently seen a jump of 20% in flexible working patterns, including; mortgage and real estate; HR and recruiting; accounting and finance; pharmaceuticals; and education and training. Powownow estimates that 50% of organisations now allow flexible working in some form, meaning that it’s swiftly becoming a wider industry trend.
Personality counts
In the past, companies have typically placed the main emphasis on skills and experience, but, according to JobVite,60% of recruiters will prioritize job fit in 2017, businesses are increasingly looking more closely at the potential fit of a candidate. While skills can be taught, qualities such as attitude, personality and passion, are likely to have more prominence when it comes to how well someone will settle into a role.
Cultural synergy is of huge importance as it will affect how candidates communicate and how they will process and deal with different business scenarios. Qualities such as integrity need to be given preference in order to maintain trust within teams.
Business priorities for 2017
When it comes to hiring, senior business leaders have recently identified that if money wasn’t an impediment, they would support an agenda which funnels their resources toward employer branding, new technology and better sourcing tools.
In reality, restricted staff and budgets in many internal recruitment departments, coupled with a growing demand for quality candidates, indicates that automation could help businesses bridge-the-gap between demand and resources. Cutting-edge tools can increase the quality of candidates delivered, as well as helping to filter out subconscious and conscious human bias.
Access to data will be higher on the agenda this year, with many large companies listing it as the No.1 trend. This increased emphasis on the digital transformation roadmap and data analysis could help find people-patterns that make a business’ hiring and retention process more efficient.
Diversity and purpose initiatives will also be seen as a way for companies to differentiate themselves from competitors and boost engagement with top talent in the New Year.
To discuss how we can support your own recruitment plans, contact us today.
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About Us
Selby Jennings is a leading specialist recruitment agency for banking and financial services. For more than 15 years, we have given clients and candidates peace of mind that the recruitment process is in expert hands. Our continual investment in best-in-class technologies and consultant training enables us to recruit with speed, precision and accuracy. Today, Selby Jennings provides contingency and retained search recruitment across 11 offices in 6 countries. Contact us to find out how Selby Jennings can help you.