Two seemingly conflicting trends are shaping recruitment today: candidates expect a more personalised application experience that respects their privacy, while companies are needing to make faster, higher quality HR decisions. Surprisingly, but not paradoxically, the rise of big data analytics and the automatisation of HR process both carry the potential to meet these needs.
As collected by the Research Division of Hogan Assessments, here are the four most important recruitment trends to watch in 2019.
- Unravelling the mystery of big data: we now have the ability to gather almost unimaginable amounts of data, but it’s useless if there aren’t clear takeaways from the numbers. Traditional interviews have all too often failed in providing a clear picture: 63% of HR managers claim they can’t assess candidate soft skills, and 57% say they are worthless in understanding candidate weaknesses. Staffing professionals therefore need big data solutions that actually make sense of people.
- Turning candidates into brand ambassadors: In the age of social media, and online reviews, companies are increasingly aware of the impact the candidate experience can have on their brands. Gamification of the application procedure, personalised offers with the help of big data and 24/7 service to the candidates through chatbots provides an experience resembling a service rather than a torture.
- Finding and identifying future leaders: most organisations hire new employees to address pressing needs. However, short-term staffing fixes are not enough. Growing numbers of companies now hope to plan for the future before a position is even filled, and as a result, they’re seeking out talent they can easily identify as future leaders
- Building a diverse workforce: both corporations and employees now want to ensure the hiring process emphasises diversity and inclusivity to prevent discrimination, reduce conflict and produce a stronger work atmosphere – with a stronger ROI to match.
However, not all new assessment methods are able to effectively address these emerging needs, and some new technologies aren’t proven or are fundamentally flawed. For example, Amazon, known for innovative big data initiatives, tried to create an AI to spot the best candidates based on resume content. Unfortunately, since a majority of roles considered by the AI were filled by men in the past, the AI learned to reject resumes submitted by women. If the developers of AI algorithms are themselves biased, then bias will dominate their results.
Fortunately, a well-structured assessment can provide HR professionals with accurate, impactful information that blends the latest technological developments with methods that have been tested and proven.
