The latest Future of Recruiting report from LinkedIn paints a challenging picture for 2024 for talent and staffing leaders, whether working in-house or agency-side. In this article, Freshminds summarises some of the key points from the Report. The full report, The Future of Recruiting 2024, can be found here.
Data gleaned from surveying thousands of recruiting professionals, top talent leaders and billions of LinkedIn data points culminated in six key predictions that should help HR professionals and recruiting teams to better embrace the changing world of work.
1 AI will help to supercharge recruiting
57% of recruiting professionals using generative AI tools say it’s faster and easier to write job descriptions
Talent leaders and HR professionals expect adoption to accelerate through 2024 and beyond
2 Recruiting will build the skills-based workforce of the future
73% of recruiting professionals say sourcing based on skills, rather than experience or qualifications, is a priority
More companies will prioritise skills-based hiring and upskilling to help widen their talent pools and attract the best-qualified workers
3 The quality of hire will top the recruiting agenda
Quality of hire is the number 1 topic shaping the future of recruitment
With hiring still in overall decline, employers will be increasingly vigilant about making sure every hire is the right one
4 Agility will be a must-have for recruiters
91% of recruiting and HR professionals say they’re focused on being agile to adapt to hiring needs
Search and staffing teams will make a strong effort to ensure that their organisations are able to quickly adapt to changes in the labour market. This could include a rapid up swing or drop in hiring demand.
5 Recruiting teams will advocate for flexible work policies
There was a 146% increase in remote job applications in 2023
Companies that allow employees to choose their work location see a positive impact in attracting talent. HR teams and recruiters can advocate for effective policies
6 Attracting Gen Z will require a new playbook
Attracting and retaining Gen Z is one of the biggest challenges faced in the next 5 years
Gen Z will account for more than a quarter of the workforce by 2025. Accessing the new generation of talent will be a priority – and a challenge
Generative AI vs softer skills
The above trends and predictions will affect in-house talent teams, as well as external partners and recruiters.
Taking a deeper look at some of the implications of this research: the use of Generative AI is slowly taking hold in the talent and hiring sector. The tools automate more mundane tasks such as writing job descriptions, and sourcing talent pools, freeing up managers’ time for more fulfilling work, and allowing them to engage and communicate more effectively with candidates.
Talent leaders expect adoption to accelerate in the coming year, as recruiters upskill and gain a better understanding of how Gen AI can be used in different ways. Looking further ahead – Gen AI may help to transform the role of the HR function, allowing more time to spend on strategic issues, and opening the door to becoming more of an advisory role.
Even as Gen AI automates many recruiting tasks, the human touch cannot be replaced and will continue to be critical. In fact, the top three most desireable recruiter skills cited by hiring professionals in the LinkedIn survey were human skills: communication, relationship-building and adaptability.
Skills or qualifications?
The Report points out that many companies are taking a step towards skills-based hiring, simply by removing degree requirements from job descriptions. The number of jobs listed on the LinkedIn platform that had omitted degree requirements jumped 36% between 2019 and 2022.
Not only does skills-based hiring help organisations to identify the most qualified talent, it can also open the door to candidates from historically marginalised groups who may not necessarily have a degree, thereby creating more diversity in applicants.
Where skill shortages are identified, recruitment teams can step in to push upskilling and training, to ensure the existing workforce is fully prepared. Upskilling can be achieved through a mix of hiring, acquisitions and training, rather than just focusing on the handful of people who have the right skills and who might respond to job advertisements.
The quality of hire
While a focus on quality of hire is gaining momentum, it is something that is notoriously difficult for companies to track and measure. Defining what a “quality hire” looks like must first be defined and this looks different for every management team.
Some factors that talent leaders reported to consider important are
job performance
team fit
culture add
productivity
retention
Gen AI could also be used to inform a “quality of hire” metric, if the data points are agreed in advance.
The importance of agility
Breaking down silos surrounding recruiting teams will make it easier to anticipate and avoid the huge swings in demand that have plagued companies in recent years.
Recruiters want, and need, to help their clients or internal teams to anticipate economic and labour market ups and downs; and to pivot quickly when necessary.
Flexible working
Following on from the home-working required by Covid, employers are calling back their workers to the office in ever-increasing numbers. But something has shifted, particularly in the younger generation. Rigid policies will ultimately make it harder for organisations to attract top talent.
The LinkedIn report shows that employees who require employees to be fully or mostly in-office have seen reduced talent pools, fewer applicants and increased competition. And companies who allow employees more choice over their work location see a positive impact on recruiting.
This is reflected in actual candidate behaviour on LinkedIn. Employers who are considered to have flexible work policies enjoy a 16% increase in candidates accepting their InMails, and 29% more likely to receive an application from a candidate who viewed one of their jobs.
Generation Z
To succeed in attracting the next generation of talent, HR professionals and recruiters will need to take the time to understand Gen Z’s unique set of attributes.
These candidates tend not to compromise their principles for a job.
Working for a company that offers professional development is critical; and compensation, work-life balance and flexibility are particularly important. And organisations who do not offer learning and development opportunities are unlikely to be competitive over the long term in attracting Gen Z candidates.
For a fuller review of the findings from LinkedIn, the full Future of Recruiting Report can be found here
