2013 was a difficult year for many businesses, with the economy forcing many to reassess their spend in all divisions, including recruitment and talent management. It was a year that saw a focus on internal training – with the ageing workforce an issue that divided industry opinion, and globalization a key aim. In technology, mobile emerged as a clear frontrunner to take the industry into the future. And it’s technology as a whole that’s setting the agenda in 2014 too, particularly in the areas of data and social media. We can expect innovation within recruitment to gain greater momentum this year, widening its remit to drive change, improvement and forward thinking.
Here are the top five trends expected to shape the recruitment and talent management industry globally in 2014:
1. Business will start hiring for tomorrow – not just for today. Forward-thinking companies already realize that hiring for today’s skills means workforces could become quickly outdated. 2014 will see a focus on not just hiring for the job at hand, but preparing for what is needed next – taking stock of the company’s current talent inventory and increasing the emphasis on skills auditing to seek out ‘hidden talent’. To build the kind of dynamic workforce that holds its value even when deluged by new challenges, organizations need to develop a 21st century competency framework, particularly in economies where the challenge of finding specialist skills is felt most acutely.
2. Mobile recruitment will finally take off. ‘Social, mobile, local’ has become something of a marketing mantra, but of all of these it’s mobile that’s about to become big news. 2013 witnessed the emergence of many companies serving the mobile space. In 2014, we will see the larger ERP players develop their own innovative solutions – and many of those smaller companies look set to be bought up. As mobile computing goes from strength to strength, this sector within recruitment will inevitably continue its growth, with more applications and functionality related to talent management becoming available on these devices.
3. Big data will drive real decision-making. Much like mobile, big data has been hotly tipped as a key trend for several years. Yet for all the talk, the real impact has yet to materialize. Now though, new services are emerging that can analyze and sort the mass of data held within the world’s biggest companies – meaning big data can start to play a grown-up role in the world of recruitment. For 2014, the challenge and the opportunity will not be around collecting big data, but using it to inform strategic business decisions and demonstrate the ROI of recruitment activity.
4. Smarter sourcing will win the day. For a long time businesses have challenged recruiting teams to ‘find me more people’. But 2014 is likely to be the year when organizations awaken to the possibilities offered by the many sourcing tools available – and start to develop sophisticated approaches about when and how to deploy them. Leading companies are already doing much more than simply focusing on active candidates. Targeting top-tier passive candidates is increasingly recognized as a priority for the modern talent function, a fact which drives home the need to develop strong employer branding and build engaging talent communities. By understanding the sourcing channels, budgets and ROI available, organizations can better reach the desired talent for a particular role, sector and geography.
5. Expect more globalization – but more localization too. In 2014, globalization will become increasingly important for businesses that recognize the benefits (and threats) that come from the connected world we inhabit. With this, there’s a move towards full service providers who can deliver a complete package that combines the benefits of both a global perspective with local market knowledge. Where some organizations try to roll out a ubiquitous approach to all offices around the world, many are seeing the benefits of tailoring processes to suit the diversity of each region they are present in.
2014 will be an exciting year for the recruitment and talent management industry. With many predictions revolving around the industry becoming more focused, businesses are expected to implement a more streamlined approach to tacking talent acquisition and planning issues in the next twelve months.
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