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It’s 2020: Are You Ready to Cross the Talent Chasm?

It’s 2020: Are You Ready to Cross the Talent Chasm?

The Reality of “Workforce 2020”

More than two decades ago, industry researchers and influencers – consultants, universities, the labor census bureau – made bold predictions regarding the massive changes our nation would experience in the next 20 years, referring to the phenomenon as “Workforce 2020”.  These thought leaders reported that the labor pool, which was dominated by white males, would become more demographically diverse in terms of gender, ethnicity and age, ultimately, creating a “minority-majority” workforce.

While these demographic projections have very much come to fruition, no one could have imagined the impact that technology would have on employment today, or could have predicted the effect of social, political, and economic influences on workforce models and behaviors.  Consider trends such as:

Historic low unemployment. Digital transformation. Skills gaps. Artificial intelligence (AI) and robotic process automation (RPA). Globally connected work communities. Cultural diversity. Gig economy. Millennial workplace demands. Workforce of the future.

To name a few.

These forces are very real and, as a result,  are keeping CEOs and CHROs up at night in this tight labor market. In the Conference Board’s C-Suite Challenge 2019™, more than 800 CEOs surveyed reported that talent acquisition and retention was their highest internal concern; while The Hackett Group 2019 CHRO Key Issues Study found that HR leaders have added the ability to address talent and critical skills shortages to their plate of top improvement priorities, but have not been able to give this crucial area the attention it deserves.

The Shift to Modern Talent Acquisition Approaches

As we enter a new decade, these talent challenges will quickly become more profound, since we will quickly move from trends to reality and organizations will feel the financial impact of unhealthy talent pipelines and unfilled critical roles. As HR, Talent and Recruiting professionals, we can no longer depend on the inefficiencies of a linear requisition-to-hire process. In fact, only 6 percent of respondents to the Deloitte 2019 Global Human Capital Trends survey believed their recruitment function processes and technologies were best-in-class, while 81% believed they were standard or below standard.

As a result, HR and Talent leaders are entertaining modern approaches to talent acquisition to broaden their talent pools; to better nurture candidate relationships and connect with prospective employees; to shrink the time-to-hire to avoid losing skilled talent to other opportunities and competitors during the recruiting cycle; and to build their employment brands.  As organizations compete for the same top talent, their recruiting tactics will need include next-gen execution strategies.

Watch-list of Talent Trends

 Some trends to watch out for in 2020 include…

  • Alternative interviewing techniques, incorporating live video and on-demand video interview technology to improve speed, quality and the candidate experience
  • Recruitment automation to eliminate waste and improve processes and productivity such as screening, scheduling, and feedback loops
  • Collaborative recruiting to identify candidates via a combination of traditional and new sources that build talent networks and communities to sustain a healthy and diverse pipeline
  • Online structured interviews to accelerate interviewer competence and consistency, while ensuring equity in the process
  • Blended workforce models, including accessing freelance talent, to allow for efficient scaling up and down
  • Personal assistants and chatbots that create an on-demand, personalized candidate experience

With the war for talent at its all-time peak, it is not enough to simply refresh existing processes; it is time for organizations to reinvent their talent acquisition strategies. By leveraging modern tools and technologies, recruiting organizations can identify, access, and engage the right talent with speed and agility.

Share Your Talent Acquisition Plans for 2020!

What plans do you have to enhance your talent acquisition process? What outcomes are you trying to achieve? Take our poll to build cross-industry knowledge of the top next-gen recruiting strategies!

Click here to take our quick poll

6 Ways AI Will Enable Recruiting to Be More Human

6 Ways AI Will Enable Recruiting to Be More Human

We all have seen the news and know that more and more jobs are being taken away by robots and some people are even afraid of the future because of it. Well, there are pros and cons for every new technology that comes our way. Just like cars where it makes it so much more convenient for us to travel now but it actually pollutes the air we breathe. So let’s actually take a look at the five ways that AI can make the recruiting process more human and easy for a change.

 

AI will make job ads more targeted and effective.

Basically, this technique will give recruiters the ability to place highly targeted ads in front of the right people at exactly the right time. Data based potential clients browsing history and online activity will allow them to do this. Advertisers need to be able to understand each browsing activity using cookies or what you can say are pieces of data that follow people as they visit different pages. Tracking these cookies and knowing if there are candidates visiting a page will allow recruiters to compile these data and can be used to shortlist potential candidates. This can also be done by looking at prospective candidates browsing histories to check phrases they’ve searched and pages visited against those used by local talent who visited a certain webpage.

The truth is that we are living in a world where ads dominate a lot of peoples lives. In fact, Betterteam found out that “Facebook only shows your posts to about 2 percent of people who like your page. To give your posts a chance of appearing, you can use paid ads to target friends of people who like your page.” So having AI actually allows people to find the right job quicker.

 

Profile Augmentation will give a clear picture of candidate’s skills.

AI will soon make it possible to see not just a candidate’s job history but also what they are passionate about doing. Using the same technology that allows companies to model an applicants behavior based on browsing histories and interests. They could figure out a person’s interests and hidden skills and this then would allow recruiters to recommend jobs related to what candidates actually want to do and not just the job they are assigned to now. This is especially useful for roles that are hard to fill, like an Information Security Analyst. There are few people who can handle this type of job, but you would be surprised to know that there are plenty with experience in software development who would jump at the chance of levelling up their game and taking on the job.

 

Chatbots can do the initial basic questioning for you.

There are companies that are already using chatbots in recruitment. Some companies like Shamrock foods actually ask for a potential candidates phone number and name through chatbots. So it basically eliminates the need to fill out forms, meaning less paper consumption. Once this forms are filled out, the chatbot is able to collect that information, the persons’ profile then goes into a CRM system where human recruiters can do their work. Bots can even follow up with candidates if they aren’t actively progressing with an application. So the main advantage of it is that recruiters get their time freed up a lot and they can then focus on the more important aspects of recruitment.

 

Advanced competency tests can gauge emotional and cognitive abilities.

There are actually advanced competency tests can tell a lot about a candidate and you’d be happy to know that games are involved. Certain games that are specifically made to test out abilities are a great and innovative way to know a candidate’s skills that would otherwise be difficult to detect, like problem-solving. They can also help recruiters assess a candidate’s willingness to take risks by creating scenarios within a game. There are more and more companies already doing this, but it will definitely become bigger within the next 3 years or so. Companies like Shell, AXA and Generali Group are already using Knack to assess their potential employees.

 

Facial and speech recognition software in video interviews can reveal more.

Video interviews will soon take over the normal hiring process and be much more useful. In the future, a candidate may only need to speak to the camera while the machine takes them through a list of questions. Meaning that recruiters will only need to review those videos and can actually prevent potential bias because they did need to interact with the person themselves. This may seem too automated for some but it actually allows a fair chance for each candidate, which is still a better outcome. Also, you can expect that video interview software will, in the future, be able to analyze body language, the tone of voice that can help in determining the overall qualification of a potential employee.

And if you want to try the future for yourself, you can try out EasyHire and get their free demo to have a proper idea of what it’s like to interview through videos.

 

Reference checking will become quick and easy.

Checking a potential clients reference is one of the most tedious things recruiters have to do. You have to call a minimum of three people to check the credibility of the person you are hiring and while this is not the same for all companies, some still do this. Well, there are now tools you can use to do this and yes, AI is still involve. At TeleReference, they have an automated reference checking platform that will allow recruiters to make their hiring process more streamlined. They even have a video, telephone or written reference options that can fit any requirements that a hiring manager needs. Also, it gives the candidates a better chance because the hiring manager will have more time to look into skills and abilities rather than calling all day for reference.

 

Don’t worry about the future, because you can never truly take away the output that a human is able to do. We all need to just focus on what things AI can improve and not always think about the bad. In the end, we all just need to make certain adjustments and try to see AI for what it is, a helpful tool.

Human Resources Today

Reasons Why More Companies Are Using Online Assessments For Hiring

Reasons Why More Companies Are Using Online Assessments For Hiring

Did you know that there was a meta-analysis done by Fox School of Business Research Paper  that found out that personnel selection procedures for general abilities test combined with an integrity test, which is correlated with personality traits, is one of the best combinations for accurately predicting job performance? And that is why more and more companies are using tools that can leverage their video interviewing process and the likes. And if your still doubtful, read on to know more about this new trend in the recruitment industry.

 

Why are more companies using online assessments?

Talent assessments are also what you would call a pre-employment tests or employment screening tests, and they are used to help employers identify candidates that will be a good fit for jobs available at their company. Tools like this help predict the on-the-job performance and retainability of a potential employee. So, in theory, applicants who pass the screening test should perform better as employees if they’re hired. And if you’re still feeling doubtful and have these myths about pre-employment assessments bugging you, here is a Select International’s list of myths about pre-employment assessments and how they debunked them.


Big companies use online assessments.

Talent assessments are playing a bigger role with bigger companies and they are being used as part of an online screening process that helps these big companies decide to ultimately interview. In fact, The New Economy looked into why employers value online assessments more than university degrees and learned that “ Employment tests do more than simply help employers spot candidates with the most potential… Their lack of bias presents a useful tool in the fight against discriminatory hiring practices.” And that’s just one of the few reasons.

Most talent assessments are now being given online, because it really is the most convenient way of doing it. And large companies such as Macy’s, Bloomingdales, Sears, Walmart and Burger King are already using pre-employment testing in their process.

How do online assessments work?

If you are applying to one of the companies that are already using online talent assessments, the entire hiring process leading up to interview is handled through the Internet. You should expect that the job postings are listed online, candidates apply online through the company website, and then take the talent assessment. Tests may even be hosted on a third party website. In such cases, you’ll be given instructions on how you can access the site and take the test.

There are even employers that use job simulations that are designed specifically to measure whether candidates can perform tasks associated with the job. A good example of this is if when an employer asks a staff member to role play scenarios with candidates to assess sales, problem-solving, verbal communication, or counseling skills.


How valid are talent assessment and outcomes?

It starts with the companies and how they come up with the job descriptions. They need to be detailed and well aligned with success factors for jobs will have the most useful output from talent assessments. Any type of assessment should be consistent and conducted in a standardized manner to generate reliable results. And there are certain ethical hiring standards that dictate that assessments be delivered to all candidates for a particular job and not applied selectively. In many cases, the company is looking for a certain type of employee that perfectly fits their organization structure.



Don’t decide too long on whether you should be using online assessment tools.  Because according to iCIMS, The Modern Job Seeker Report, 2017, When searching for a job, people want to visit job search sites that allow them to instantly mark jobs of interest (54 percent), receive recommendations based on job preferences and resume (53 percent), and input salary requirements and enable employers to reach out directly (53 percent). That basically proves that everything is being done online now and that goes for recruitment as well.

Employment trends that won’t continue in 2017

Employment trends that won’t continue in 2017

1.    The trend of increasing job openings in Leisure and Hospitality will level out.

There are several factors to consider. I don’t believe we will see a decrease in the number of establishments that would be caused by poor economic conditions. I do however anticipate the repeal of Obamacare that may cause the part-time opening to turn into full-time employees, thus 2-3 openings become a job. Also, it is likely that the Fair Labor Standards Act will be overturned as well allowing for more hours to be put in by Salaried employees and less need to hire part-timers to avoid paying more overtime wages.

2.    The number of contract (gig) workers will decrease. 

A couple of factors may affect this trend. The first may be an increase in the level of complexity of hiring foreign workers under the Trump administration even in contract positions. New legislation that will include tax advantages to hire full-time workers will make it more attractive to bring these workers on full time.

3.    The stagnation in the number of open positions in healthcare will end.

Increasing numbers of baby boomers needing care will allow more positions available in all areas of Healthcare as well as anticipation in the repeal of Obamacare that has disrupted budgets nationwide.

4.    The downturn in energy positions will end.

I don’t anticipate this being caused by increasing oil prices. I don’t see the price of oil to rise over $60 a barrel for some time. I see a leveling off of oil between $50-$55 over the next three months enabling confidence that we have some sustainability at those price levels. This as well as the easing of environmental laws, will enable more exploration and drilling to take place in the coming year.

On-demand video interviews

On-demand video interviews

We’re excited to announce the on-demand video interviewing capability to our EasyHire.me Interview Management Platform. With EasyHire.me on-demand interviews, you can streamline and accelerate your pre-screening process.

On-demand interviews provide significant benefits to the hiring team. By creating a concise list of job-specific questions and inviting a number of promising applicants to record responses on their own time, the hiring team could get valuable pre-screening data to visually compare. This allows the hiring team to shortlist the most qualified applicants, much faster. The hiring team saves valuable time as no scheduling of interviews is required and the same interview recording can be shared and viewed multiple times.

On-demand interviews significantly simplify the hiring process for both the companies as well as the candidates. It is well-suited for even passive candidates as they can fit it into their busy schedules without taking time off work.

Check out our latest press release for more details.

Reclaim your lunch break

Reclaim your lunch break

Have you spent one too many “working lunches” at your desk, just to make time in your schedule for Skype and phone interviews? Have you spent half an hour watching a candidate struggle through your questions, wishing you’d taken a proper lunch and seen the light of day for once during the week instead? Time is money, time is a proper meal. Let EasyHire’s new on-demand interview feature put interviews on your time.

Let EasyHire.me do the hard work for you in the initial screening of candidates. Once you’ve selected a pool of candidates that match your criteria, an email goes out to each interviewee with a link to take EasyHire on-demand interview. There, the candidate will record themselves answering a pre-selected set of questions. You’ll get notified upon the completion of their interview and you and your team can watch at your convenience. You can fast forward and rewind. You can watch early or you can watch late, not having to work around the candidates schedule or different time zones.

Use EasyHire’s interview management to complete the interview process, whether it’s video, phone, or in-person, with those you’ve decided to make it onto the next step in your interview process. Hire great people. Reclaim your lunch break.