Recruitment and hiring processes are undergoing sweeping changes, and are being increasingly optimised to convey more than just another ‘opening’ in a company.  And to tap the pulse of TA fraternity in the country, Aon Hewitt is back with the Talent Acquisition Pulse India 2017 Study.

While the research is underway, here is a look at what the 2016 edition of this research titled as ‘Decoding Hiring Trends in India’, revealed. Last year, the research surveyed 160 organizations, spread over more than 12 industries. Here are the highlights of the same:

Deep Focus on Employer Branding

Recruiters admitted that employer branding and talent management are the two biggest challenges that they face.  1 in 2 organizations fears losing key talent due to active engagement by competitors. Thus, in the age of volatility, having a well-defined and consistently communicated employer brand is an obvious advantage. 

Manager Capability 

The hiring manager’s capability to identify the best talent is a key enabler to ensure that candidate selected is the right ‘fit’ – and organizations are beginning to realize this! 

50% of the organizations reported that they not only invest in building interviewing capabilities for hiring managers but also focus on integrating data across the hiring cycle to drive talent decisions. With an emerging feedback culture, 54% organizations are seeking hiring manager feedback on the hiring process and effectiveness.

Digital and Data 

With the increased adoption of technology, TA can’t afford to ignore digital recruitment. Over 50% organizations have digitized at least one process of the entire recruitment cycle. In probably the biggest attestation to the inevitable importance of digital technologies in recruitment, some 65% of the companies agreed that they had dedicated team members for talent assessments, data analytics, and technology. However, the process of leveraging big data for effective hiring decisions is still in its nascent stage.

The metrics of hiring

Unsurprisingly, the cost and speed of hiring remain the most prevalent hiring metrics. While 55% of the organizations consider ‘time to fill’ as the important yardstick, 44% look at ‘cost per hire’ and 37% also track the ‘time to offer’. 

The ‘cost per hire’ too has several components: vendor costs (70%), background verication (66%), referral cost (65%) and assessments (50%) accounting for the majority. While 29% of the organizations believe that ‘quality of hire’ is the most important metric to measure the effectiveness of the hiring, the metric to assess the same are varied: ‘early attrition’ (30%) and manager feedback (20%) to name a few. The ‘quality of hire’ metric is, however, set to become the most important metric in the future. 

Quick-look 

Here’s a look at some of the interesting facts and figures that emerged from the study:

• 45% of the organizations report that the lack of targeted strategies to engage with passive talent is a competitive threat.
• 50% employers today actively build hiring manager interview capability to ensure recruitment is effective. 
• 50% of organizations use social network for sourcing talent at mid and senior levels.
• Components that improve candidate experience and enable efficiency (technology, branding, referral, and assessments) have higher wallet share.
• Employees are the new talent scouts, as organizations are increasing wallet share for recruitment through employee referrals (35%). 
• With less than 20% of organizations reporting mobile enablement of recruitment processes, employers are inadequately positioned for the mobile wave. 
• To optimize ‘offer to Join’ ratios, last mile solutions at the ‘post-offer stages’ remain a key opportunity area.

This year the study attempts to highlight and understand the changes in the hiring trends, identify future challenges and suggest the best course of action for employers, recruiters and hiring managers in India. To participate in this year’s edition of the Talent Acquisition Pulse India 2017 Study click here.