2018 New Year Trends in Search & Recruitment
2018 is quickly approaching, and it’s time to begin strategically planning our search and recruitment efforts for next year.
There are a few trends that we estimate will be significant in 2018 including the impact of demographics, technology in the talent acquisition process, an emphasis on employer branding, the affect of healthcare news on recruitment and the importance of attractive employee perks.
Demographics
Demographics will have one of the most significant impacts on recruiting. The baby-boomer generation is defined as those people born between 1946 and 1965. Baby-boomers started retiring about 7 years ago. Most of this generation will retire in the next few years because their retirement accounts and investments have recovered. In addition, a significant portion of this generation were born between 1953 and 1960…those people are now 58 to 64 years old. These baby boomers will retire in much larger numbers than the last few years creating demand for people in all organizations and disciplines. Retirement vacancies in management and executive positions will be greater since many of the executives and managers are over 55. While some companies have well developed succession plans many will need to go outside their company to fill the vacancies created by the people retiring. Having well thought-out recruiting strategies to fill these positions will be an integral part of a company’s succession plans.
Impact of Technology
Technology affects many industries in today’s digital age, including the talent acquisition industry. Subsequently, the effect social media has on the job search and recruitment process has steadily increased with time. LinkedIn continues to be a powerful platform for networking and job recruiting, and sites like Facebook and Twitter have become research tools for both candidates and employers. According to Career Builder, over 60% of employers are using social media sites to research candidates. With over 90% of young adults on social media in the U.S., we can only predict that the use of social media in the recruitment process will continue to increase.
Employer Branding
Recruitment specialists know that employer branding is just as vital to the hiring process as advertising efforts and technology. According to LinkedIn’s 2017 Global Recruiting Trends Report, over 80% of leaders acknowledge that employer branding has a significant impact on their ability to hire talent. However, recruiting budgets typically are not spent with employer branding in mind. We predict that there will be a slight increase in branding efforts in 2018 as companies work to stand out in competitive markets.
Healthcare Influence
As healthcare legislation remains uncertain in 2018, benefits packages become increasingly valuable to potential hires. Employers should not underestimate attractive healthcare plans when offering job positions. Recruiting specialists will likely focus their efforts on promoting the comprehensive benefits packages that companies offer.
Employee Perks
Young professionals in the job market generally place a higher importance on work-life balance than older generations. This means that perks like flexible work hours could potentially be more important to them than other benefits they are offered. With the increasing use of technology, the ability to work remotely on a part-time or full-time basis has also appealed to candidates. According to CNN Money, the number of remote job listings in each industry grew more than 20% last year. We don’t foresee this trend going away any time soon.
Looking for more 2018 predictions? Check out our 2018 Salary Increase Trends blog. You can also stay up to speed on all of 2018’s search and recruitment trends by following The Overture Group on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn and signing up for our monthly E-Newsletter. For expert assistance with your recruitment strategy, contact The Overture Group today!