While juggling with the unpredictable spontaneity of economies and evaluation of new wave of employees in the job market recruiters have managed to open doors for some new trends in 2019. These trends bring promising tools and strategies in the recruiter’s room and look like they are here to stay for 2020 as well. 

Social Recruiting

Instagram influencer model is not just for the millennial talking about fashion, travel and Monday blues. Corporate organizations are too exploring this influencer fever for recruiting. Whether it’s pushing sponsor ads or marketing their company’s culture on social media, HR has logged in their way into the candidate’s mind very well this year. About 84% of businesses said that they have successfully used social media for recruitment. While LinkedIn and job portals still remain one of the top platforms for job seekers to hunt for their next break, they are as receptive to social media updates for suitable job opportunities. This trend is predicted to shine out in 2020 as well as carrying forward the legacy of 2019 trends. 

Recruitment Marketing

Who said the marketing tricks are only for marketing the company’s products and services to customers? This year HR realized that the tricks clearing the shelves and adding numbers in the sales section of the company’s balance sheets could be used to attract potential candidates as well. Recruitment marketing works more or less similar to product/service marketing. Employer storytelling, conversion rates and talent engagement were the key goals of recruitment marketing in 2019. Glassdoor reports that 69% of job seekers wouldn’t take up a job with an employer who has a bad reputation. The recruitment marketing mix includes using social media, branding for potential employees and using platforms such as Glassdoor and LinkedIn for higher conversion rates, etc. Communicating the Employee Value Proposition is going to be one of the critical goals of 2020 for the marketing team on the HR side. 

Candidate Relationship Management

While the conversations around efficient on-boarding and induction are garnering pace, HR teams realized that smooth selection process was even a more significant win for them. Candidates with a positive experience during the interview process (whether or not they were selected) were more likely to recommend the company to other job seekers. According to the research, most companies take longer than 12 weeks to attract a potential candidate and costs extra bucks as well. Apart from marketing, CRM could be a new game-changer that will prevent recruitment teams from sweating it out. Changing jobs and going through a selection procedure is a challenging task for candidates. They are under enormous pressure to perform well and choose the right offers. If employers ease this challenging procedure, then they are always going to be on candidate’s good books irrespective of the selection results. While unique and holistic software for CRM has been around and garnered momentum in 2019, they will see a rise in 2020. 

Recruiters in emerging economies welcomed gig workers

While developed nations saw the gig economy growing full-fledged, the emerging nations saw gig workers making their mark only in 2019. The gig platforms noted an increase of 30% in the activities on the platform. The independent workers strode out in all the industries this year, unlike the last few years when only a few industries and job profiles were deemed suitable for gigs. There has also been a shift from labour-intensive gigs to now more knowledge-oriented freelance jobs such as finance and law. Though there has been a lot of discussion around the loneliness epidemic and unstructured hiring in this industry, freelancers like both the sweet and sour experiences in the industry. 2020 is expected to make a buzz around structured recruitment, defined career paths and clear job roles in the gig economy. 

2020 Outlook

All the above trends are set to soar high and see the bright skies of the corporate world in 2020. The talent wars are becoming more and more complex for many organizations pushing them to improvise their recruiting strategies. The recruitment trends, such as social media hiring are also influenced BY Gen Z entering the workforce. Hence, the norms are no longer just dictated based on the tastes by millennials. Gen Z is said to be more money-minded and pragmatic compared to their predecessors, and hence, there are speculations that strategies that worked for boomers might see a comeback for Gen Z. However, unlike Gen Y, they are not too big on hustling for the perfect opportunity and therefore, recruiters need to meet them where they are.

Recruitment has always been an edgy task. Recruiters are always in flux about attracting and hiring the right candidate and if the right candidate is fit for the job or not. However, the new hiring trends may make this quest for recruiting managers a comfortable journey.