Getting a job isn’t what it used to be. Neither is attracting top talent. Driven by an essentially full employment economy, CEO’s and human resources managers understand that job candidates have more choice and tend to be more discerning through the application and interviewing process. And because it typically costs about 33% of an employee’s annual salary to replace her or him, they also know the importance of hiring candidates whose hard and soft skills align with company values and culture.
The challenge for hiring managers is to promote the kind of candidate experience that both accurately reflects company culture and persuades prospective employees that working for their company is superior to working for one of their competitors.
That challenge can at times feel overwhelming, requiring businesses to understand not only the metrics that reflect change, but also the emerging trends that will define how they best achieve their employment goals.
BY THE NUMBERS
A host of recent studies indicate that job seekers want businesses to simplify and clarify the application and interview process. They also want to work for companies that share their values, values like diversity, social responsibility and transparency. Those candidate desires are reflected in the following metrics from Learning Hub:
- Almost 85% of job seekers say they won’t work for a business with which they had a negative candidate experience
- Almost 75% of companies say they write clear job descriptions—but only 36% of job seekers agree
- 60% of candidates will stop filling out a job application if they think it’s too long
- Businesses that invest in a stronger candidate experience improve the quality of new hires by as much as 70%
- Almost 70% of job candidates say they want to work for businesses that value diversity
BUSINESSES NEED A NEW TALENT ACQUISITION MODEL
Those metrics, although they reflect the changing expectations of job seekers, don’t adequately capture the ways in which the hiring process writ large is evolving.
For that, it’s necessary to look at what’s most important to hiring managers—and to the companies for which they work—from a higher altitude.
It’s necessary, in other words, to see the emerging trends that are reshaping the hiring process this year. As Forbes notes:
“If you are in the talent acquisition space, it is hard to ignore the tidal wave of rapidly changing hiring technology, alongside a historically strong candidate-driven market. Companies that don’t strategically consider hiring trends run the risk of being left behind. A new talent acquisition approach is needed.”
WHAT EMERGING TRENDS WILL RESHAPE THE HIRING PROCESS IN 2020?
Every business is different, of course, with different employment imperatives and challenges.
That said, none can afford to ignore the trends that will change the ways job candidates view the hiring process—and the ways they best position their companies in that new hiring environment.
Those emerging trends include the following 3:
1. MANY LARGE, ENTERPRISE ORGANIZATIONS NO LONGER REQUIRE A DEGREE
IBM’s recent announcement that it would no longer require a college degree for “the vast majority” of its new jobs took many smaller businesses by surprise—but not everyone.
According to Tech Republic, IBM is just one of 15 leading companies moving in the same direction—and that list includes some of the nation’s leading businesses: Google, Apple, Lowe’s, Ernst and Young and Bank of America, among others.
As IBM’s director of career and skills Kelli Jordan points out, this does not mean a lowering of standards.
What IBM and these other corporate giants are pushing instead is hiring candidates who have the requisite skill set to succeed in their companies.
That means skills tests that are sufficiently nuanced to measure all the qualities these businesses value. It could also mean cutting hiring costs and a more objective, unbiased hiring process. Look in 2020 to see if other businesses follow suit.
2. BUSINESSES ARE PUSHING HARDER FOR A DIVERSE, INCLUSIVE WORKPLACE
According to Human Resources, almost 70% of job candidates say diversity is an “important factor” in weighing job offers.
CEOs and hiring managers have responded by intensifying their search for workers from diverse backgrounds, as well as greater diversity throughout their organizations.
For example, one recent survey found that more than 75% of respondents agreed that diversity on their boards enhanced their companies’ performance.
At the same time, job announcements for positions related to diversity and inclusion increased by more than 30% over the past year, another indication that businesses want a more visible commitment to diversity, one that will be blended into their employer brands to widen appeal to prospective employees.
3. COMPANIES UNDERSTAND THE NEED FOR A MORE OBJECTIVE CANDIDATE EXPERIENCE
A recent Yale study found that bias (typically inadvertent) remains rampant in the hiring process.
According to that analysis, job interviewers make critically important assessments about candidates based solely on factors like gender and race—this in the first 5 seconds of the interview.
That finding carries implications that extend beyond the obvious unfairness of the process—it also means lack of clarity in hiring decisions that could mean choosing a candidate who “looks the part” rather than having the requisite talent and skills to best handle the job.
Aware that bias in hiring hurts the bottom line, a growing number of businesses are incorporating various forms of “blind interviewing technology” into their hiring process.
This includes things like technologies that eliminate social status indicators in interview responses. Other companies are transitioning to “hiring teams” who, because they reflect multiple points of view, tend to obviate the individual bias of one or another member of the team.
Still others are outsourcing key human resources and hiring functions to with experience in objective hiring practices.
CONCLUSION
The one constant in the business world is change. The businesses that succeed are the ones which understand this dynamic and respond effectively and strategically, whether that change takes place in human resources, accounting or payroll.
Of course, effectively taking stock of the changes that reshape business strategy can be time consuming, and at times both complicated and confusing. At a time when what worked yesterday can’t be counted on to work tomorrow, an increasing number of forward leaning companies are outsourcing key operations to experienced firms who can give them the direction, guidance and advice they need to succeed. That’s where we can help.
To learn more about the ways our accounting, HR and payroll administration outsourcing services ensure you achieve your principal objectives and take your business to the next level, contact us today.
