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

November 20, 2019 Bonnie Tichman

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

4 Ways to Increase Candidate Engagement in Higher Ed

July 26, 2018 Dana Rocha

Don’t miss out on a Nobel because of bad process

Higher education institutes have always grappled with long hiring processes. Of course we’d like it to be faster, but we also recognize the search process as inherently longer because of the nature of the position. Each search is conducted with careful consideration and the hope that taking time to make the right decisions is mutually beneficial for new hires and the institutions. That said, it’s difficult to maintain candidate engagement throughout lengthy decisions. Here’s a few ways to cut down on the “black hole” effect. Don’t lose your hires because of bad processes because you’ll be kicking yourself if you lose a candidate and see them winning a Nobel prize at another school a decade down the road.

1. Be thoughtful when building an application process.

Ensure your application process is flexible and includes only the information necessary to make a decision. Too much information required upfront can discourage some of the best candidates from applying. For example, references are often not required during the initial round of review. Requesting more information from candidates who are qualified later in the process will keep them engaged if they see your process as logically sequenced and relevant. Essentially, don’t push away smart candidates with dumb process setting.

2. Manage Expectations!

Be upfront with your candidates about the timeframe. You may have a period of when applications are accepted before anyone at all gets reviewed. You may have expected delays such as breaks or other known periods where the hiring team will be busy or unavailable. Look at your calendar, assess, and establish a realistic timeframe for your candidates by attaching dates (or date ranges) to each application step and review.

3. Communication is your friend!

According to a recent hiring survey conducted by Robert Half, “when faced with a lengthy hiring process, 39 percent of survey respondents lose interest and pursue other roles, while 18 percent decide to stay put in their current job.”

Use your institutions marketing software or the thousands of free or paid tools you can find on the internet to set up an email sequence. Letting candidates know you are still interested in them as well as providing more details about your Institution and community to keep them engaged. In the final rounds or if it comes down to the candidate choosing your institution rather than you choosing them, hosting events and tours can be another great way of keeping candidates engaged.

4. Have a personal touch

Sending updates via personal secured video messages are easy and cost effective – sometimes free! Vidyard Go Video for example is sleek and simple way to communicate with candidates or employees via a personalised video.

Simply record a quick video that personal and effective. This tool also tracks when candidates or employees actually watch the video and how many times viewed.

Check out EasyHire.me – by far the best platform for integrating video interviewing, live or recorded, into your hiring process for faster acquisition times and consistently higher quality candidates.

Jeremy Hoffman
Vice President, Sales
EasyHire

Scaling Fast? 3 Questions HR Can’t Afford to Forget

June 29, 2018 Dana Rocha

Don’t forget the essentials – especially in times of fast-and-furious growth

Job interviews can be a jarring, if not a downright anxiety-provoking event for many, especially when it’s not for a mere ‘job,’ but for the brave next step in a candidate’s career. Depending on the position, interviews can be high stakes for candidates and hiring managers alike. With recruiting agencies, advertisements, time spent on training, cost of low productivity, possible upfront moving costs and even hiring bonuses, the wrong decision on a hire can cost tens of thousands of dollars. Unstructured interviews with a lack of consistent questions can sometimes have HR and hiring managers forgetting the most basic questions:

-Can you do the work?

-Will you like the position and bring your best in every day?

-Will you fit in with the company?

These are, of course, the very basics. There are thousands of articles and blogs containing the words: “Top Interview Questions” and most questions do assess one of these things. However, companies of every size need to be cognizant that gaps can start growing if they lack quality HR processes. Make sure to having screening tools, consistent interview techniques, and collaboration processes. For example, an enthusiastic ‘thumbs up’ from the department head should not be the ultimate decider in the hiring of a candidate.

Finally, I’d be an irresponsible blogger if I didn’t mention EasyHire. Which, by total coincidence has sponsored this blog space (too weird!) This software is used by HR departments and staffing professionals to screen large pools of candidates with intuitive video interviewing technology.

One last thing: for job seekers reading this, I think these questions are just as valuable. If you don’t know the answers to these questions with regards to companies you’ve applied for, maybe you should find out!

–The EasyHire Team

How Well Do Your Candidates Interview?

June 23, 2018 Jeremy Hoffman

Grill candidates with video interview prep to cool their nerves and increase confidence on game day

Whether you’re working in a search firm setting or a corporate environment as a contract recruiter, think for a moment how much of your time you spend sourcing, screening, and recruiting candidates. A lot. Now think: how much time do you spend preparing your candidates for actual interviews?

Before in-person interviews are scheduled between the candidates you’ve recruited and the companies you represent, it goes without saying you’ve already done a whole lot of work developing the matches, the “good fits.” However, understanding the role and its context within the company and confirming a genuine candidate is great due diligence, but is it enough?

Question for you: “How well do your candidates interview?” If you don’t know, you need this article.

Preparing candidates for real-life interviewing is critical to your success. Using a video interview platform allows candidates to comfortably practice on their own time and gives you the opportunity to review and provide feedback where needed.

1: Record, Review, Refine…

In the few days, hours, and minutes leading up to the interview, everyone gets nervous. No matter how much coaching you provide, it’s simply how we’re wired. Video interviews can help simulate some of the same pressure felt in in-person interview. Additionally, get used to curveballs. Prepare candidates for questions they may not have thought of candidate can be asked questions they might not expect. Being able to practice this scenario over and over will create flexibility in candidates’ responses.

2: “Why do you want to work here?”

The well-prepared candidate should know the company he or she is interviewing for better than their own resume. If candidates don’t prepare for this question, it will not only be obvious, it may be a dealbreaker for their candidacy. Asking this question and reviewing it in a recorded video interview will help your candidate avoid the longest most awkward silence ever.

3. Ready, Set…

Video interviewing platforms such as Easyhire can simulate the challenging interview environments by prompting candidates with similar questions in a live or pre-recorded scenario. Alongside timed assessment, multiple-choice, extended text, including coding / whiteboarding windows, written response, and others, you can be more confident in your rockstar candidates on their big day.

4. Go with confidence!

Even with years of experience and qualifications a candidate may have, don’t take chances and assume your candidates will do great until you’ve seen it with your own eyes. Some may be ready to go off the bat. However, many candidates may have been out of the market for a while or are entering a new industry. With new technology, preparing candidates with video interviews may be innovative to some, but it’s really just common sense.

-Jeremy Hoffman

VP Business Development

EasyHire