5 Trends for Talent Acquisition in 2016

As we head into 2016, I believe that most employers – whether hiring in local markets or nationally – will experience increased difficulty in recruiting. This challenge will be driven mainly by a growing demand for high-quality candidates across all levels and types of positions. Everyone involved in hiring will need to move faster, because unemployment is low and the demand for skills is high across virtually every industry. It will be incumbent upon employers to reevaluate their hiring processes and cycles if they want to be as efficient as possible – otherwise, they will surely lose out on great talent.

At Linium, we are focusing on a variety of areas in order to meet the challenges of recruiting in 2016, and we are encouraging employers to do the same.

If you hope to successfully recruit top talent in the new year, you may want to consider the following five facets of your recruiting strategy :

1. Becoming More Mobile

Today’s job seekers live on their smart phones and tablets. We all need to make it easier for any and every candidate to learn about our companies, apply for our jobs, and interact with hiring managers via their mobile devices.

2. Finding New Ways to Attract Passive Candidates

Unemployment rates are low, and many experts expect that they will continue to drop. For employers, this means that top-notch employees will be at a premium.

The best employees are already working, and very few of these employees are actively looking for jobs. They are not spending their free time on job boards or applying for open roles Therefore, it is vital any employer in need of great employees to uncover, identify, and convert passive candidates into interested, active applicants. Employers can either do this on their own, or turn to expert recruiting firms to help them.

3. Understanding and Reworking Roles in the Organization so as to Counter the ‘Skills Gap’

Many employers recognize that the education professionals in their field receive does not necessarily equip candidates to address the needs of the organization. While the education issue itself has to be addressed, companies and employers don’t have to wait around for that to happen. They can get a jump on the competition by reevaluating and restructuring their jobs and open roles.

For example, an organization could implement remote work, telecommuting, and flexible schedule options as a way to attract professionals who have the skills they need, but who may not be geographically available. Another useful tactic may be to realign the duties of certain roles in order to match the skills that the workforce currently has, thus ensuring that work gets done, no matter what the skills shortage may look like.

4. ‘Selling’ the Company to Prospective Employees

These days, job seekers no longer apply by the hundreds for one job. An improving economy means more choices for candidates. Today’s job seeker looks not only for a well-paying position, but also a company with a corporate mission they believe in and values that align with their own.

Employers need to clean up their reputations and aim for good reviews and reports on social media sites like Glassdoor. More and more job seekers are looking at these sources and using them to evaluate prospective employers. Job seekers will not hesitate to turn down job offers from companies that get poor ratings on Glassdoor and similar platforms.

5. Looking Within and Investing in Current Employees

The current talent market is rough for employers. This raises an important question: Why turn to the outside market when you already have great employees working for you?

It is far less costly to cultivate your existing workforce through learning and professional development opportunities than it is to start fresh and look to external resources. Given the size of the skills gap and the fierce competition for candidates, employers may want to first focus on leveraging existing talent before they throw all their resources at the external talent market.

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2016 has the potential to be an extremely difficult year for employers. We encourage all recruiters and talent acquisition pros to focus on these critical aspects of their recruiting strategies. With the right plans and preparation, you should be able to weather the coming storm.