2019 Talent Trends: Enterprise Talent Acquisition and Retention

High-performing organizations don’t get that way by accident. In fact, putting talent acquisition at the center of a business strategy can yield 18 percent higher revenue and 30 percent greater productivity, according to Deloitte Consulting.

“Talent acquisition, at its highest levels of maturity, can be immensely effective in helping to execute corporate strategy and move a business forward,” said Robin Erickson, vice president and talent acquisition research leader at Deloitte.

We looked at some of the hiring trends driving strong business performance and these top 10 made our list.

Recruitment marketing

In today’s stronger job market, people don’t pick talent as much as the talent picks them. That paradigm shift requires businesses to get creative with how they attract talent. Recruitment marketing is all about using tried-and-true marketing methods to attract qualified job seekers.

Employer branding

More than 75 percent of job seekers research a company before applying to a job, based on a LinkedIn research study. That’s why employer branding is a top trend for 2019. Even a poor Glassdoor review can hurt a company’s chance for attracting the best applicants. Most candidates won’t even consider a job in a firm with a bad reputation, even if that means they won’t have a job at all.

Talent pools

This is a database where HR people keep their top job candidates. It’s made up of people who have applied in the past, referred candidates, sourced candidates and anyone who has joined the pool on their own. The great thing about talent pools is you can draw from them now or when you need candidates in the future.

CRM (Candidate relationship management)

In the past, job candidates have complained the hiring director “ghosted” them after the initial phone screen. That practice no longer holds up in today’s candidate-driven marketplace. Strong candidate relationship management is key to recruiting top talent today. This could include personalized follow-up emails or phone calls, but staying in touch is key to this strategy.

Social recruiting

Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn are fast becoming new tools for HR people to search actively for talent. Hiring directors these days use social media to develop initial relationships with candidates and encourage them to apply for jobs.

Data-driven recruiting

HR activities shouldn’t take place without the data to support what’s working and what isn’t. HR directors can analyze data and hiring metrics to discover important insights, such as time to hire, cost to hire and quality of hire.

Employee referrals

While this has been around a while, it deserves greater attention in the coming year as referrals are one of the most productive ways to hire talent and fill positions. Research shows referred employees take less time to hire and onboard and they cost less to recruit.

Talent sourcing

LinkedIn research shows only 36 percent of candidates are active job seekers, while 90 percent of people are actually interested in hearing about new opportunities. That means a company has to put in the extra time and effort to attract those passive job seekers.

Strategic alignment

Essentially, this means hiring in relation to a company’s future plans and not just today’s needs. Hiring practices should be aligned with the overall business strategy, and future skill gaps should be identified and accounted for in the hiring strategy.

Office automation

The trend to automate certain office procedures doesn’t just positively impact a company’s bottom line, it can influence employee loyalty. The IVM Smart Stations® are a great example of this. Giving employees instant access to the supplies they need to stay productive, empowers employees to be more creative and collaborative. This is a benefit an employer can tout in their application process to lure better talent.

What hiring practices does your company use to attract the best of the best, while keeping recruitment costs low?

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