Recruitment in 2019: Putting the human touch back into HR

According to findings from Jobsite.co.uk’s Delphi report on the future of the employment industry, Recruitment in 2019

· The candidate pool will become increasingly fragmented
· The balance of power will shift to the candidate
· Differing rates of uptake will impact on new recruitment technologies
· Tailored approach will become even more important

Human resources in 2019 will become even more hands on, despite a rise in new technologies, a new report into the future of the recruitment industry reveals.

Recruitment in 2019, a Delphi study published by Jobsite, predicts employers will need to abandon any attempts at a one-size-fits-all approach to recruitment due to a more demographically and geographically diverse workforce, a jobs market in which in-demand skills and experience give quality candidates greater clout, and an increasing number of application technologies.

Instead, there will be a renewed importance on intermediaries and human decision makers as recruiters discover the limitations of technology.

The report’s predictions are based on the views of a panel of experts, including: recruitment media and technology business owners; academics; HR professionals; recruitment consultants; recruitment market commentators; and specialists in general web technology and futurology. The key findings include:

The candidate pool will become increasingly fragmented

A range of factors will create a more diverse candidate pool, including an aging workforce, ever-increasing numbers of working women and international recruitment, particularly across the EU.

As a result, there will be greatly differing rates of adoption of new technologies and a demand for increased flexibility in employment packages, with older candidates or working parents looking for something other than the standard 9-5.

The candidate will become king

Assuming the global economy returns to a ‘normal’ state by 2019, ‘war for talent’ will resume in key markets. This will be combined with candidates becoming increasingly accustomed to shaping their own employment offer, a ‘one-size-fits-all’ package being eclipsed by a ‘pic n mix’ approach. The varying adoption rates of technologies will also mean that it will be candidates deciding new recruitment processes.

The return of the human touch

The increased fragmentation will highlight the limitations in the automation of the recruitment process. This will put a renewed emphasis on human decision makers, with recruitment consultancies predicted to enjoy a renaissance as employers look for scarcer talented staff in increasingly splintered markets. Although technology may be used to manage the time-consuming, transactional part of the process it will only serve to enhance decision making – not replace it.

The report also highlights further complications for the HR community. The ever-increasing uptake of social media will mean that all employees will effectively act as brand ambassadors, which will require monitoring and potential sensitive governing by HR. At the same time, a fragmented candidate pool will make managing the employer brand in a clear and consistent way more important, with recruitment marketing becoming more akin to consumer marketing.

Keith Potts, CEO of Jobsite.co.uk comments:

"Jobsite has been at the forefront of online recruitment for nearly a decade and a half. In that time, the industry has changed almost beyond recognition and, as this report shows, that's only going to continue.

"As recruitment becomes more fragmented and complicated, everyone involved in the industry will have to evolve if they are to survive - ourselves included.

"2019 may seem a long way off, but the expert predictions that make up the report are based in the here and now. HR professionals, recruitment consultancies and those of us working for job boards need to start making plans today if we are to successfully meet the challenges of tomorrow.”

The full Recruitment in 2019 report is available to download for free at:
www.jobsite.co.uk/delphi

This article was sourced from www.onrec.com