Which hiring trends do you need to look out for in 2020?

Hiring trends needed for 2020

A new decade can bring about both excitement and nerves for hiring managers. Staying on top of industry hiring trends isn’t always easy and the problem is exemplified by the rate of technological advancement, which is why BMS have created this list of top hiring trends needed for 2020:

Digital talent acquisition

88% of businesses are facing a digital skills shortage. In response, our government are rolling out training programmes with the aim that the workforce will have basic digital skills by 2025. In the meantime, employers need to attract and retain those digitally-savvy candidates.

However, to attract these candidates companies must refresh their hiring processes and incorporate more digital tools. Consider how you can use technology to improve your candidate experience and assure tech talent that your company is a digital leader. Using video interviewing gives you the added benefit of increasing the scope of your candidate pool.

Hiring for soft skills

With digital talent being in short supply and a national shortage of other hard skills, employers are turning to soft skills. A recent McKinsey report predicts that from 2016 to 2030 we will see the call for social and rise by 22% across Europe, particularly creativity, collaboration and adaptability.

However, assessing soft skills in candidates isn’t easy. You must combine several methods to get a more holistic picture of their capabilities. Have each potential candidate rank their soft skills from strongest to weakest and use this list in the interview stage to see whether they can give examples of when they exhibited these skills, either at work or in their personal life.

Accessibility

Diversity and inclusion (D&I) has been a hot topic for years, but what about accessibility? A company can’t celebrate their D&I if their hiring process restricts any demographic from applying.

20% of people  who are working age have a disability, yet only a fifth of those are visible, so it’s time you put your hiring process under the microscope. Begin by asking yourself whether the language used in your job descriptions could be discouraging anyone from applying. For example, many companies in the past have asked for a full, clean driving license but that may be unnecessary for the scope of the role. Next, think about how you might introduce extended time to complete assessments or use alt-tagging on your images so that candidates who can’t see the image can understand the content of it.

With the unemployment rate sitting at its lowest it’s been in 45 years you must expand your search for talent by casting the net wider and the reward will be a more diverse workforce who will drive innovation.

Data-driven recruitment

A Deloitte study found that people analytics is now a primary concern for 69% of HR executives in European companies. These companies are using metrics such as retention, engagement, cost per hire and skill-gap analysis to guide their recruitment strategy. This method of data-driven recruitment can not only help improve your quality of hire but involves all stakeholders and gives everyone a clear picture of the process. As a result, hiring managers gain access to information that can be used to make the case for improving the hiring process.

Artificial Intelligence (AI)

We couldn’t reach the end of a top trend list without mentioning AI. Though, we should make the distinction between a trend and a movement because this is where AI differentiates itself from the other trends in the list. AI isn’t the new kid on the block, it’s been around for some time and its applications within recruitment are just beginning to emerge.

The technology has proven its value in screening large candidate pools and optimising candidate matching. Currently, AI is demonstrating the possibility to widen to scope of remote working – the Office of National Statistics predicts that this year 50% of UK employees will be telecommuters. But where will AI take us from here? We’re seeing AI increasingly used for facial expression analysis in interviews to assess which characteristics a candidate possesses or lacks, such as risk-aversion. While that may already sound a very advanced use of the technology, as AI keeps progressing we can be sure that it will continue to permeate the hiring process.

Let BMS help you navigate the recruitment landscape

Over the last three decades, BMS have refined an assessment process crafted to match the right candidates with the right clients. If you’re interested in how BMS can help you find your next sales talent or would like more information regarding the recruitment landscape contact us.