2019 is here and it’s time to take a look at the key hiring trends in HR which will impact recruitment. To help you grasp the most important ones, we’ve reached out to key hiring experts, including Ryan Leary, Sean Fahey, Rita Mendes, Thomas Eymond-Daru, Cynthia Cohen-Tordjman, Dorota Piotrowska, Jonatan Rugarn, Luke McGinn, and Tom Winter.
We’ve asked our experts the following question:
“What are the key trends in HR to impact 2019?”
Without further ado, here’s what they believe is going to happen.
2019 trends in HR: expert forecasts
Craig Fisher, CMO + Employer Branding Leader @ AllegisGlobal • Keynote Speaker + GM @TalentNet Recruiting/HR Events
In 2019 we’ll be looking at what constitutes work and workers differently.
Tasks and Accomplishments Versus Job and Responsibility
Delineate the work to be done by activity. What’s the task? What’s the outcome? What skills are needed to bring it to completion? For example, you don’t need to hire a full-time designer to produce a handful of web pages, but you do need the dedicated attention of someone who is skilled in design, and you need some time from a person who is skilled in programming. A full-time employee or contractor may not be needed. Instead, the task can be owned as a piece of the work portfolio by any available talent, whether an external flexible worker, current employee or potential new employee.
Ryan Leary, CMO @Recruiting Daily
The Block Chain. Skills verification and insight. Vision. In 2019 (and beyond), skills will be the predominant factor in hiring decisions, not work history. Technology will begin to hold hiring companies accountable for who they hire and candidates for what and how they present their experience.Sean Fahey, CEO @VidCruiter
I see two major recruitment trends becoming more prominent in 2019: The demand for a completely paperless recruitment solution and an increase in popularity for text message recruiting.
What I see by talking to recruiters every day is the need for more digitization, automation, and a completely paperless workflow. A digital system is most often requested by organizations trying to fill management or executive positions in my experience. Recruiters have been embracing a variety of digital recruitment trends in recent years, but I predict in 2019 we’ll see more in interest for digital in-person interviews because of the paperless option it provides. This type of system allows recruiters to take notes and rate candidates on any device, eliminating the need for paper in all your interviews.
Text message recruiting has also become increasingly popular in recent years, especially for organizations hiring employees for manual labor purposes. Texting is a great, modern way to get in contact with people and recruiters have been utilizing the technology for years. In 2019 that technology will continue to evolve and develop more advanced and automated features, especially since many recruitment systems are now mobile, as well. I wouldn’t be shocked if many companies start using this advanced text messaging recruitment system as the preferred way to contact and recruit candidates in 2019.
Rita Mendes, Recruitment Lead at @Nmbrs BV
In 2019, one of the biggest trends in Recruitment will be the focus on a more comprehensive way of looking at the Candidate Journey.
In the last years, topics such as People Analytics, Personalisation, and Employer Branding have enriched the recruitment field. The HR processes prior to the “hire” have been developing in a fast and fascinating pace.
Furthermore, we are opening recruitment to areas like marketing, sales, and product design. Concepts like CRM, EVP, user experience, user personas are becoming common practices. One of the logical consequences of this is that we are evolving from a mindset that only looks at the candidate in the selection part (interviews, assessment, etc.), to one where we are starting to see the candidate as someone whose experience starts from the first moment they have contact with the company, either through referral, career page, or another action.
The way we advertise our brand and nurture our talent communities today will define the hires of tomorrow, so all the efforts we are putting into humanizing the attraction and selection process will have a huge impact. This means that we will need to invest in mapping out the candidate journey that encompasses the first contact with the brand, talent communities, and the selection process.
In order to achieve this, we will need to design the journey considering the processes, the people, the tools, and what is the goal of each step. Creating a cohesive candidate experience will be important to make sure that candidates feel they’re communicating with the same company.
Thomas Eymond-Daru, Partner- Head of Alliances @Cubiks
The world is changing and HR is in the hot seat to quote Josh Bersin! Many trends are shaping today’s world like the rise of new technology, new generation, aspirations around social mobility, talent scarcity, globalization, digitalization… leading to this VUCA world (Volatile Uncertain Complex and Ambiguous). From my talent assessment specialist lens, when it comes to hiring I believe 3 trends will have an impact. The first is, of course, data, recruiters will have access to a bigger number and a wider range of data leading to more quality and better predictions in hiring decisions. The second is the power shift towards candidates, employers will need to place more emphasis in making sure the hiring process is more engaging (showcase your brand in an attractive yet genuine way, transparency is the new sexy!) and more insightful (do give feedback, not just yes or no, give insights into strengths and development needs, give career guidance tips, show that you really care). The last trend is making sure the competencies you are measuring as part of the recruitment process are future proof. These competencies are changing as much as the world is and hiring is a key process to align the workforce with future business challenges.
In order to keep up with these 3 trends, I’d recommend investing in analytics. There is so much you can do to improve your hiring process with the data you already have especially in the area of psychometrics. Do challenge your providers to give evidence that their tools are really working for you, they should be able to help (if not change provider!). Make sure your process benefits from the latest trend to make it more engaging (gamification, video interview, virtual reality…). And last but not least, have a fresh look at the competency sets used for hiring. Are they future proof? Do they measure what it takes to perform in this new world? If not it’s time to consider refreshing this!
Cynthia Cohen-Tordjman, Recruiter @Mannarino Systems and Software Inc.
Who would have thought that a booming employment rate would come with its disadvantages? With unemployment rates now being an all-time low of 5.8% in Canada, companies and recruiters alike now need to work harder than ever to compete for top talent.
In my view, one of the best ways to do so is by creating an unforgettable positive candidate experience. The importance of this is becoming more and more prominent. The individual going through the recruitment process should feel continuously supported and appreciated. I am confident that this approach will indirectly lead to increased engagement and interest to work with your company.
Here are some ways that contribute to a positive candidate experience;
- Contact – Provide updates throughout the recruitment process and respond to any questions and follow-ups as needed.
- Transparency – Provide details and insight on the job itself as well as the company culture.
- A taste of the job – For programmers, a testing tool can help mimic what type of programming challenges they might expect on the job.
- Human touch – Treat people in the process like your clients! You never know how you might encounter them in the future.
Even if the individual is not the right person for the job today, their positive experience can make a lasting impression. Who knows, you very well may end up hiring them down the road.
Jonatan Rugarn, CEO @Lingonberry Talent Acquisition, Group Leader @Zenuity
– I see a continuation of the need for mobile app developers (Android and iOS)Dorota Piotrowska, Head of People @Netguru, CIPD Lev.7, Certified Diversity Professional
The trends that I believe will be the most seminal are increasing expectations of flexible workplace including remote work, and digitalization of collaboration and communication. The process of embracing digital nomadism in IT sector is gradually taken for granted by candidates, and companies that do not provide the tools, have no processes in place and no culture fostering such possibility, may face challenges in attracting and retaining top IT talent.Luke McGinn, Head of Growth / Technical Recruitment @SelfKey & Founder @Amicus Elit
We will likely see many companies reduce spending budgets and explore new and more cost-effective solutions. The big-name platforms and tools that prove to be only as useful/productive as the controller or user-operator are overpriced, and thus losing wider appeal.
Smaller outfits, like DevSkiller, that deliver more value, data, intelligence, and information will be on the rise, in growth-adoption, while service platforms like LinkedIn Recruiter will see a small-to-significant decrease in user-license sales; due to high-cost and under-performing departments.
While increased ‘intelligence’ and ‘automation’ are always valid ballot entries, they’re both obvious and common [answers]. In 2019, we should see these trends grow of course, but in what way(s) will they emerge; at companies, in tools, and for improvement of hiring and recruitment process; and thereby gain new utility and value for everyday adoption? This is truly the question.
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For Intelligence; IMO we will start to see recruiters assume more responsibilities and ownership of the recruitment and interview full-lifecycle; resulting in the development of new skills, and fewer specializations within the hr/recruitment departments (like tech-sourcers, scheduling/coordination personnel, recruiting leads, client leads, etc.) at many large mid-size tech-companies.
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Automation of process(es), workflow(s), and remedial task(s); researching and developing new process-management and full-lifecycle tools and resources will, in turn, raise knowledge and awareness. At Amicus Elit, we are doing this through fulfilling successful recent use-cases. For one use-case, I took on the role of sole 360° tech-recruiter at a tech startup; as employee number 5. In six months, we scaled from 5 to 32 FTEs across various technical teams and functions. And so I believe 2019 holds revelations in realizations of old truths that are understated in the hiring and recruitment industry…that is to say; sometimes less is more.
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These changes in 2019 and later future could result in:
- Evolution and adoption of 360°/full-lifecycle as a norm.
- A rise in need/demand for a ‘growth architecture’ specialist to design and implement unique models and solutions (infrastructure/process related) for companies who need to grow fast. This is proving to be a tried-and-tested approach to increasing individual and team productivity/performance/
knowledge while at the same time diminishing department overhead and massive expense budgets (funding the more popular and widely recognized products and vendor solutions (in current use in company recruitment and hiring departments).
Tom Winter, CRO @DevSkiller
In 2019, recruiters will focus on creating a positive candidate experience, maximizing personalization, and building a strong company culture. While the U.S. unemployment is at its lowest in almost 18 years, attracting potential candidates has become harder than ever. Recruiters must devote more time to personalization and creating a positive candidate experience because most candidates are currently employed and don’t need to change jobs. When people change jobs, they do so mostly for better company culture. For that reason, strong company culture is a top priority.
This cannot be achieved without automating some most mundane tasks. Thanks to recruitment automation tools, HR professionals will be able to devote more time to creating valuable, highly targeted communication. They can also be more present where the human side of HR is most valuable, i.e. in the interview room.
Conclusion: 2019 trends in HR
While 2019 is bound some changes to the way we hire, most of these changes are a part of a bigger picture. I really hope you find these useful.
To help you make data-driven opinions, we’ve also put together a list of 70+ Human Resources statistics to guide your tech hiring in 2019.
Many thanks to all our experts! Here’s to a year of full talent pipelines and successful hires!
