It’s the new financial year. The appraisal period is also getting over, and from next month onwards, people will start assuming the new roles in various capacities. There will be quite a number of people who will quit and move for greener pastures. The talent market is going to see some changes. The talent market isn’t what it used to be. It is now a jobseeker’s market, with the war for talent getting larger and more complex every day. While recruiters have tinkered with a few ideas in the past, these have mostly been minor experiments.  No more. This Financial year 2016-17 is when some game-changing trends will kick in.

Talent branding will become mainstream

Marketing and branding are no longer merely about the organisation and its offerings. Recruitment is one area that is witnessing a lot of marketing investment. So far a “niche” area, talent branding will become mainstream this year; small and medium enterprises will also embrace this widely.

Candidate nurturing will be inevitable

The challenge of finding the right talent for the right role in an organisation is that it is not always possible to time and map it perfectly. Sometimes you meet a great candidate, but there’s no immediate organisational need and you are thinking…”hmmm I wish we had him on our team… but I cannot think of any immediate role for this person to fill”. Those with deep pockets (and needless to say, determination) go ahead and hire the person ahead of demand. Most others want to “keep the candidate warm”. Even firms such as ours (The Smart Cube) actively interact with candidates through networking events, coffee catch-ups, mailers, etc. Sometimes, we remain in contact with people for 6–12 months before bringing them on board. It works. And increasingly, more firms will adopt this strategy in 2016.

Video will become super critical

There was a time when “video” meant my favourite rock stars playing entertaining stuff on TV. Not any longer. Video as a medium has been whole-heartedly embraced by the corporate world; recruitment as a function is warming up to the power of this medium. 

Experts have been talking about the impact of video in attracting and recruiting talent. Check this link, as an example. It is a great way to showcase the culture of the organisation, the excitement around the place and the kind of passionate people new hires would work with. In 2016, gear up for more employee videos shot on cell phones, personalised video resumes, video interviews and even video job offers.

CX = Customer Experience or Candidate Experience?

While hiring, managers constantly complain about not getting quality candidates, but not many of them do a good job of giving the candidate a memorable experience. Those who take the jobseekers for granted and deal with them in a high-handed way pay a heavy price for their follies. Slowly, awareness is increasing, and more attention is being paid to how a candidate in the recruitment pipeline is dealt with, how that engagement can be improved and how the overall recruitment conversion metrics can be improved. Check this link for some interesting tips.

Welcome, Generation Z 

If you thought Millennials are difficult to deal with, brace yourselves for Generation Z (definitions vary: some say born after 1990, others quote 1994)—the next stream of talent pool. As per research, Generation Z is more entrepreneurial, loyal, flexible and realistic in approach to careers. When you hire them, focus on growth opportunities and work–life balance (and not necessarily salary). Read here for more details.

Analytics! Automation! Awesomeness!

Bob is a senior executive with 20+ years of experience. He is thinking about a career shift. He has not uploaded his resume anywhere; he has not spoken with any head-hunter; but he has been doing a lot of online research around his experience and skills, his industries of interest, potential areas for him to move and so on. Someone tracks his digital footprint, determines his interest in a career change and calls him with an interesting offer.

Sounds like science fiction? Not really. There are some amazing organisations coming up in the recruitment space with very impressive products and offerings combining analytics, automation, integration, etc. Read about the Indian start-up Belong. In the US, Smashfly is creating a lot of waves. Check out this article for more such examples.

In case you have been focussing solely on old-age methods to recruit, think again. This may be the time for you to start using some revolutionary techniques in recruitment.