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How to adapt to changing recruitment trends

Written by: Hazel Mason
Published on: 14 May 2019
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The recruitment landscape has shifted in recent years. It used to be that employers held all the cards and candidates had to prove their worth. But the shoe has been steadily moving to the other foot.

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In a candidate driven market, it’s ever more important for your organisation to stand out and position yourself as an employer of choice. This means honing your recruitment advertising, being clever with your employer brand and ultimately, looking for more than just a job posting.

People Management Jobs offers a range of recruitment solutions to meet your HR and L&D hiring needs. 

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How have recruitment trends changed in recent years?

Attracting the top talent

How employers attract talent is changing. In a 2016 survey carried out by Haymarket Media Group, it was discovered that whilst pay remains a top priority, company culture is rated the second most important factor when it comes to deciding whether to stay with a company or take on a new role. More than half of workers (58 per cent) reported that they would take a pay cut to work for an organisation that offers a more diverse and engaging culture. 

Therefore, how you position your brand and advertise your company culture can be a turning point in your recruitment strategy. 

Recruitment marketing is taking off as a means to get an employer’s message out there and begin to develop an inbound marketing strategy. Whether this is through an in-house team or a service provider, recruitment teams are investing in the creation of talent pools, digital marketing activities such as social media, and building online communities on sites such as LinkedIn and via email.

Now, more than ever, employers are having to compete against each other for the top talent. This means they have to be innovative in how they position their brand and culture as well as highlighting what they can offer the candidate - ie. employee benefits, salary, career progression, flexibility, training, equal opportunities and diversity.

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Changing working conditions

Alongside changes to how employers attract candidates is how they retain that talent once they’re employed. Increasingly so, the employee can determine how they would like to work and a company is seen as behind the times if they are not offering their employees the opportunity to do this.

There is a rise in individuals undertaking temporary or contract work where they can negotiate higher rates and better terms for their employment. Plus, flexible working arrangements are becoming the norm for employees, allowing them to set their own hours and work from home when they wish.

This, of course, builds a great relationship with employees who feel in control of their working life and trusted by their organisation. When an employer is offering their staff the opportunity to mould their own careers, it increases morale, staff satisfaction and, ultimately, loyalty.

AI, technology and social

Naturally, wider organisational impacts such as technology and social media, have also had their influence on recruitment. Technological advancements have not left recruitment behind, with new systems introduced to manage the hiring process and shortlist candidates, as well as the introduction of digital marketing tools to help attract talent.

There is software which can determine a candidate’s suitability for a role through keyword searches and systems to book interviews cutting out a phone call or hand-written email. Analytics software has also joined the mix enabling recruiters better visibility of their processes and successes. It’s now easier to monitor ROI and time to hire rates, as well as set goals.

Ultimately, these advancements have streamlined the recruiter’s to-do list allowing for more focus on additional tasks such as marketing and employer branding. Social media has risen as a key method for attracting candidates and positioning an employer’s external image. Through social media, employers are able to build their brand whilst also growing talent pools and communities to which they can reach out when hiring.

Social media also adds to an employer’s mobile friendly image as increasingly candidates are searching for roles on the go. Becoming mobile responsive is a key focus for recruiters wishing to stay up to date and in front of their audience at all times.

Job board adaptation

Thanks to the above, job boards are having to adapt and transform into more sophisticated recruitment vehicles. As such, many are offering recruitment advertising solutions such as targeted emails, social media advertising and programmatic solutions in addition to your traditional job postings and CV database searches.

Furthermore, employer branding solutions are developing with agencies specialising in advising and helping you to promote your employer brand through content, social media, surveys and much more.

People Management Jobs’ Wonderful Workplaces initiative aims to transform your brand and boost your recruitment efforts so that you can be best placed to attract and engage top talent through multiple specialist channels.

Our solutions can help you to gain an in-depth understanding of your candidates and recruitment market, showcase your company culture, career development opportunities and job vacancies, and position your organisation as one of the most exciting places to work.

People Management Jobs packages offer you a variety of recruitment marketing services, including targeted candidate emails, promoted jobs and programmatic campaigns. For more information about our packages come and see us as Stand F21 at the Festival of Work, 12-13th June 2019.

Can't make it? Visit our website or call 020 8267 5805 for our bespoke solutions.

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