LinkedIn just recently published their 2024 Future of Recruiting report. This is always an excellent read as they poll thousands of recruiting professionals to compile their data. Below we give our readers our view on Linkedin’s six big trends and how it affects wholesale distribution and Manufacturing.
- AI will supercharge recruiting.
AI will assist recruiters in doing their day-to-day tasks such as writing and reviewing job specifications, pinpointing skills, and accomplishments on resumes, researching recruitment trends. AI can add speed to your daily tasks. AI currently will not be able to replace good old fashion industry knowledge as recruiters engage with candidates to discuss specific opportunities in specific marketplaces. AI will not be able give candidates a sense for what it is like to work at a specific company from actual employees who work there.
- Recruiting will build the skill-based workforce of the future.
Skill-based recruiting will certainly become an even bigger factor in the future, we see it already today. In most technology driven roles, employers are looking for candidates that have specific skills such as a user of Eclipse, Prophet 21 or Infor, a candidate that has programmed a Rockwell Automation PLC or HMI, a candidate with hydronics experience or boiler specifications. These skills are also found on the plant floor. We see more and more distributors looking for candidates that have acquired a specific skill from working with products directly on the plant floor or in the field. This real-world experience drives up salary requests but assures the employer that they will incur a fraction of the cost of training to make the candidate a fit. The skills-based candidate is ready to make an impact from day one based on inherent skills they already have.
- Quality of hire will top the recruiting agenda.
Yes, every hire counts! We see this becoming more and more prevalent. But what signals that a candidate is a quality hire? Is there another candidate lurking out there that could be better? We see employers wanting to see many more qualified candidates more frequently now and this elongates the hiring process. An employer really needs to decide what key factors are must have skills and nice to have skills faster. As quality of hire comes to the forefront of every hire, is the employer willing to pass or elongate the process while waiting for someone better? Is that person out there? This is a major risk factor that could affect the outcome of the search as Time kills all deals and top talent has many choices.
- Agility will be a must have for recruiters.
As a recruiting firm we always need to be agile and react quickly to changes in market demands. We suggest more open communications with our clients, we would like to share marketplace intelligence on candidate trends to make sure our clients view us as an extension of their team. We all need to adapt to shifting hiring needs. If a client only relies on us to provide candidates for their open positions, then they are not utilizing us appropriately.
- Recruiting teams will advocate for flex policies.
We see a trend of employees still wanting remote or hybrid work options despite Covid being less of a factor. As employers want staff back in the office, remote or hybrid work has now become the norm with employees. Employers that provide remote work as an option have a far greater access to top talent. Their candidate pool is much larger. You need to know what your local competition is offering. We see traditional IT, e-commerce, customer service, inside sales and product specialists still being offered a flexible work choice and those companies that are offering it also have some leverage on salary as they are accommodating the employees wishes for flexibility and choice. Those that offer flex choices have a far greater chance of a quality hire.
- Attracting Gen Z will require a new playbook.
Millennials and Gen Z need much more than a color glossy pamphlet to look at a company’s branding effort. This group also has a lot less loyalty and becomes a flight risk and employers need a game plan to obtain, train and retain this part of the workforce. This is the age of technology, and this group requires tech. Having a great website, multi-levels of media and video productions on your company is a must have. These types of candidates also like to have meet and greet meetings/interviews with people within your company with the same roles…peers. They want to clearly understand their path to success and promotion and understand their career roadmap with your organization. If you fail to portray a techie type image, you traditionally lose out on this type of talent. Thus, companies really need to rethink the way they attract this talent. Team with local universities and Community colleges to seek out your workforce of the future.
