According to LinkedIn’s 2019 Global Talent Trends Report, the employer-employee relationship is transforming – whether you’re ready for it or not.
As we look ahead to 2020 and beyond, here are the top talent trends employers need to be thinking about when developing their recruitment and retention strategies.
1. Soft Skills
In the age of AI and automation, hard skills are being replaced by robots and technology. The good news is: soft skills never go out of style.
When hiring, employers need to prioritize screening for hard skills and soft skills to find the most well-rounded person for the job. Unfortunately, assessing soft skills during the interview process isn’t always straightforward or quantifiable without a formal process.
Here are some tips for evaluating soft skills:
- What soft skills do you value at your company? Creativity, influence, adaptability, collaboration, and time management are becoming some of the most desirable skillsets candidates can bring to the table.
- What soft skills are needed for the role specifically? If you’re hiring a senior accounting professional, for example, consider targeting leadership skills, conflict management, creative problem solving, adaptability, and resourcefulness.
- Complete a personality assessment. Using a reputable, research-backed personality assessment like DISC can be an effective way to test for the soft skills you need most, without bias.
- Be mindful of unconscious bias. Recognize that bias can creep in if your interviews are inconsistent and unstructured.
- Standardize your interview questions. Develop a list of questions that are suited to the soft skills you are targeting. Use these questions repeatedly when hiring, regardless of who’s conducting the interview.
- Ask problem-solving questions. Ask questions that require the candidate to adapt to change, build on your feedback, and communicate their approach.
2. Work Flexibility
As technology enhances connectivity, flexibility is becoming the new normal – and it’s proving to be a powerful retention strategy, too.
For many industries, the 9-5 workday is a thing of the past, as remote work and flexible hours pave the way for the future. We see this shift most prominently in the software and IT sector, leading the way with 72% of companies allowing flexibility at work. Finance roles trail behind as a close second, with 62% of companies accommodating flexibility.
Employees are reclaiming their work-life balance with adaptable work environments, and it’s good for business. Flexibility attracts talent, improves retention, increases productivity, and expands the talent pool, which can lead to greater diversity within organizations.
However, flexible work doesn’t come without its challenges. When working remotely, it can be hard for team members to bond and collaborate, and without having everyone in the office, oversights can happen more frequently. That being said, instant messaging tools, audio conferencing, and video conferencing help overcome these hurdles.
Tips for creating a flexible work culture:
- Know what flexibility your employees want
- Connect through technology
- Build and talk about flex policies
- Train leaders to manage remote teams
3. Pay Transparency
Websites like PayScale, Glassdoor, and LinkedIn have made sharing salaries online more of a common practice. However, businesses are split on the pay transparency trend, and we can’t blame them.
Some employers fear that pay transparency has the potential to cause wage disputes, creates limitations on the ability to negotiate, and encourages competitors to poach talent. However, being open about pay tends to build trust amongst employers and employees, can streamline negotiations, filter out those who’d decline early on in the recruitment process, and ensures equitable and fair pay.
Tips for establishing pay transparency:
- Conduct an internal audit to see how your pay compares to competitors
- Decide on how transparent you want to be
- Get your employees involved
- Develop compensation criteria
- Train managers to discuss pay appropriately
- Take time to roll out pay transparency policies
Are you ready to embrace the trends that are transforming the future of work? Trust BullsEye Recruitment to analyze emerging talent trends and decide which ones should be applied to your recruitment strategy. Then, count on us to take the necessary steps to account for them!
To discuss your unique hiring needs, contact us today!
P: 403.264.2242
E: trevor@bullseyerecruitment.com
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