Employers: Recruitment Trends 2010-2020

The future recruitment landscape.

It is well known in recruitment and human resource circles that the population is aging, terms such as Baby Boom Generation (post world war two, born during the middle part of the 20th Century, circa 1946 - 1965), Generation X (Born between 1961 and 1981) and Generation Y (1970's to 2000) are referred to, and these generations are very different.

People's work habits are changing, how people search for a job is changing, how employers recruit is changing, the different generations want different things, have different values. Employers need to be aware of their target audience's views, their habits and their lifestyle choices. Times are changing, be aware of those changes, embrace those changes, or be left behind.

The aging workforce

Employers need to embrace the aging work force and understand their life choices. If the job seeker wants to work full time, part-time or flexi-time, the employer should try to empathize with this, understand why and try to fit this into their business model if it allows. Those employers that do not have this flexibility will lose out on some of the talent pool, and this aging talent pool is growing.

The part-time workforce

More and more, great people, with great skills, that will be great for your business decide they want to work in a flexible way, they may want to work part-time, flexi-time, fixed-term contract, reduced contract, or on an interim basis. This is a growing trend which employers need to understand and embrace where they can.

Some points for employers to consider:

• demand for flexible working patterns by both workers and employers is set to gather pace in the coming years and will play a greater role in the employment relationship;
• the predominant employment relationship of the future will be the same as now, between employers and employees;
• consequently, negotiating flexible working patterns may become key; and while part-time working will continue to grow, the relatively stable trends in full-time employment will demand even more innovative approaches to achieving flexibility in the workplace.

The war for talent

Finding the right people matters. It matters whether you own a small business or a large business; businesses compete on the combined abilities of their employees.

Though the benefits of the 'intangible' assets brought by people can be hard to quantify, the evidence suggests that they are growing steadily. Accenture calculates that "intangibles" accounted for 20% of the value of the top 500 companies in the US in 1980, compared with around 70% in 2006. The consultants McKinsey & Company, whose organisational training budget is £100m, described this as the "war for talent". "All that matters is talent, talent wins".

The drive for talent has pushed companies to think about what they need, rather than what they need right now. Identifying, employing and developing the right people are key parts of recruitment process around the world's most successful companies; this is the war for talent.

Future observations

Increasing the importance of branding, image and tacit judgements about target audience needs to be constantly addressed. Employers historically may have appointed job seekers on the basis of 90% experience & 10% attitude, that situation has now changed to around 40% on attitude & a series of "soft skills". Recruiters need to think not simply about matching skills with job vacancies, but matching people with companies.

Some questions to think about include:

• Do you operate a recruitment tracking system?
• Do you know what source your most successful empoyees come from? Direct or agency
• How do you define success?
• How long did those staff stay employed?

One off savings vs. long-term efficiency

Control of recruitment in large organisations is often a tug-of-war between HR & procurement departments. Priorities differ profoundly depending on who gains control; HR can often focus on long-term investment & development, while procurement is concerned with keeping costs to a minimum. Costs should never outweigh value in recruitment, more metrics & tighter evaluation procedures are required if long-term efficiency is the aim and a LEAN recruitment process achieved.

Challenges for the future

• Rising prosperity and tight labour market means that people can be more discerning about whom they work for, and on what terms;
• This means that company values, branding and reputation matter more and more in attracting the best candidates;
• Recruitment therefore becomes more and more, about matching people with organisations, as well as just skills with vacancies.

The promise "not just to improve someone's work, but to improve their life" reflects a subtle shift in many people's priorities', with consequences for their expectations of work.

Summary

The recruitment landscape of the future will be different. Employers and recruiters need to be organised in their recruitment process, understanding what is important to them, what values define the employees/ staff that work for them? What strategies will they use to win the war for talent? As the population grows, we are living longer, changing our views on work and when we work, employers and recruiters need to understand these changes and endeavour to be flexible to attract and retain the best people

About the Author

Bill Wynn is the joint Managing Director of Project Resource. Bill started his recruitment career in 1997 with Computer Futures (IT recruitment); he worked there for 5 years prior to forming Project Resource Limited (Construction, Civil Engineering and Infrastructure recruitment) as a founding Director. Bill is interested in business partnerships, working with growth companies, professional companies that mirror the professional standards that Project Resource adheres to.

Links to The Author

Project Resource: Our Directors

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Resources:

Institute of CRF

Employer Branding 2010-2020

Wikipedia: the war for talent

Office for National Statistics: Implications of population ageing for the labour market

White Paper PDF

Download the Recruitment Trends 2010 to 2010 White Paper in PDF format for offline reading and printing.