Recruiting is anything but boring these days, and 2016 is shaping up to be an exciting year. Everything is changing, from the way that the employees themselves factor into the equation to the way that qualified candidates are sourced. Recruiters are realizing that employees, and by default employee candidates, really are the vital asset that all of the great-sounding taglines claim that they are.
Because of that, there’s a refocusing of effort tailored to understanding candidates, finding them in new ways and offering them what they expect. Here are a few of the big ideas on the horizon for 2016.
RELATED: How Recruiting is Changing in 2016 and Beyond
Digital Continues to Revolutionize Recruiting
There’s hardly anything that digital can’t do to make recruiting better. The paper resume is old hat now, but there’s a lot more to digital recruiting than just an uploaded resume. Recruiters can now use technologically advanced matching, which puts the right job opportunity in front of the right candidates. And with video capability, the interview process is easier and can take place anywhere.
Beyond the bare-bones basics of recruiting – job ads, resumes and interviews – digital is making it easier for recruiters to source the best candidates. Tools that collect and analyze data from social media do a lot of the hard work, such as picking up cues like cultural fit and whether a candidate might be open to the idea of a new job.
Job Candidates Expectations Can’t be Ignored
It’s a job seekers market, and even more-so a passive candidate’s market. While some companies still experience a deluge of applicants with every new job opening, that’s not that case for most businesses.
Provide what candidates expect, and you’ll get better results. What they expect is an application process that’s fast and easy to use, says Business News Daily. More job seekers and passive candidates use a mobile device all day, every day. Does your hiring process make it easy for a candidate to apply for a job using mobile? That’s the way of the future, and it’s available for you to implement now.
Candidate Job Experience Isn’t Everything
Aligning experience with job requirements is one way to recruit. But that ignores a wealth of candidates who might be ideal in the long run. Skills can be taught on the job, explains Clear Company. Not only that, you could institute a training program within the company so that recruiting from the inside is easier.
Of course, some jobs require a certain background and perhaps a specific degree. But lacking a few skills shouldn’t bar an otherwise great candidate, especially one that would fit perfectly given the right training and opportunity.
Good Cultural Fit Means Lower Churn
Every recruiter has experienced it. The resume looks great and the interview couldn’t have gone better. But in just a few months, your new employee goes off for greener pastures. In a 2013 survey by HR assessment and development consultancy firm, Cubiks, about 1/3 of responders said job descriptions don’t align with the realities of the job. But only 32 percent of employers reported trying to measure cultural fit during recruitment; instead, they say that their companies rely on resumes and questionnaires.
Cultural fit can’t replace competencies, and you wouldn’t hire a wholly unqualified person for a job that they couldn’t handle. But poor cultural fit can break what seemed like a perfect hire. Going with your gut might not be the best approach, at least not on its own, especially when there is technology that can identify potential problems before you make the hire.
Recruiting will never again be the same as it was, and that’s a good thing. You can still get applicants by using a job ad and collecting a few resumes. But why limit yourself, your candidates and your company when there is so much more that you can do?
Only the most innovative recruiters will reap the best rewards. Fortunately, all of the tools that you need are right at your fingertips. You only need to implement them and shift your game plan.