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Hiring in 2013?
What Did You Say?


Hiring in 2013?


Key talent acquisition trends to watch


Unemployment rates remain at some of the highest levels in history.

So why is it still so challenging to recruit quality candidates with the right skills, training and culture fit for your business?

In a word, it's CHANGE. Fundamental and rapid changes--in everything from technology and the economy, to healthcare legislation and workforce demographics--have made it more challenging than ever to effectively source candidates, assess applicants and staff your business. It's time to turn your eyes to the recruiting horizon.

10 best and next practices for talent acquisition in 2013

  1. Online candidate assessment. To ensure that managers see candidate slates that include only high quality prospects, recruiters will rely more heavily on technology for initial screening. For high-volume jobs, candidates will be required to complete brief, but effective, online technical knowledge and skill assessments.
  2. Consumerization of technology. Although technology has been a bit slower to reach talent acquisition than other segments of the IT marketplace, shifts toward app-based design and mobile services for talent acquisition and onboarding are expected to gain momentum over the next two to three years.
  3. Hedging hiring planning. The Affordable Care Act, which requires companies with more than 50 employees to provide health benefits or to begin paying penalties in 2014, will have a huge impact on hiring planning--especially for small businesses. According to an October 2012 survey from the National Federation of Independent Business, 10 percent of small businesses are planning to grow their workforces, while 11 percent plan to reduce headcount. To manage uncertainty, these organizations will hedge their hiring planning and rely heavily on contingent staff as a central part of their workforce strategies.
  4. Quantifying recruiting financial impact. As pressure to demonstrate business benefits increases for all overhead functions, recruiting will be forced to quantify its impacts on both revenue and ROI. More and more, recruiters will have to justify expenditures in terms of the positive impact on revenue as a result of better hires, shortened time-to-hire, increased diversity and/or a stronger employer brand.
  5. Mobile technology. Just two years ago, trend spotters focused on basics like SMS and texting as recruiting tools. Today, feature phones, smartphones and tablets are taking center stage. With tablet sales expected to outsell traditional laptops by the end of the decade, mobile will become an even more critical part of any talent acquisition strategy--with functionality equally as robust as in the standard software.
  6. Employment branding. Market leaders in sourcing and recruitment have adopted strategies typically only used in a consumer-marketing environment. Moving forward, companies will use corporate marketing tools to approach recruiters' main "consumers" (job candidates, future candidates and referral sources). As a result, organizations must learn to effectively communicate their employment brands through both traditional and social media channels.
  7. Talent communities. This pipeline development strategy isn't just for big companies any longer. Small- to mid-market organizations are discovering the value of actively engaging potential candidates in two-way communication. As a result, creating a positive experience, effectively branding the company and generally "wooing" candidates through interactive communities is becoming the recruiting standard.
  8. Boomerang hiring. Large-scale workforce reductions forced most companies to let top performers go during the recession. As the economy continues to recover, smart recruiters will focus resources on bringing the best of their former employees back into the fold.
  9. Technology-driven college recruiting. Almost all college students are now visible on the Internet and well connected on social media. Recruiters will increasingly leverage technology, via video interviews, online assessments and social referral recruiting tools, to source and assess college students.
  10. Predictive analytics supplant historical metrics. Most existing recruiting metrics are useless as decision tools because they only look backward. To understand talent acquisition challenges on the horizon, recruiters will rely more heavily on predictive analytics. Predictive metrics will help recruiters estimate upcoming turnover rates in key jobs, forecast which positions will require recruiting due to growth, and project which recruiting and assessment practices can improve quality of hires.

Volatility in economic, business and recruiting conditions are likely to continue throughout 2013. What will your organization do to not just survive, but thrive in this environment?

Your staffing partner can help. As an invaluable source of information, advice and resources, your staffing consultant can design a smart workforce strategy to help you remain flexible, capitalize on new business opportunities and hire smarter this year.