A lot of thought goes into how the future of work will affect employees and jobs, but what about HR and the future of recruitment?
The world of work is changing, there’s no doubt about it. When thinking about the future of work and what it means for us as a society, the first thing we tend to think about is our jobs.
Will we still have jobs? Will technology affect those jobs? What will those jobs look like? But there’s another element to the future of work and that is the recruitment for those jobs.
Just as the roles themselves are changing, along with workplace practices and trends, so too is the way in which talent is recruited.
Even working within human resources (HR) is changing, and the challenges faced by recruitment staff must not be ignored when we discuss the future of work.
According to the Deloitte Human Capital Trends survey, talent acquisition is one of the key change areas of 2017, along with the need for organisations to focus on leadership, culture, and learning and development programmes.
Alison Gill is a senior manager in human resources at Deloitte. She said attracting and retaining top talent with the right skills to meet business objectives will continue to be a huge challenge for recruitment teams.
‘Historically, recruitment was seen as a HR activity. Today, recruitment must be a business priority’
– ALISON GILL
“More so, ensuring that top talent is the right cultural fit for the organisation is key to ensuring that you have a high-performing and engaged workforce.”
Gill also believes that building psychological and emotional connections plays a pivotal role in attracting and retaining top talent.
“Do people feel aligned with the organisational culture? Do they feel that they can learn, develop and progress? Can they make a positive impact at work? Are they being rewarded and recognised fairly? These are all key questions that organisations must address,” she said.
“Historically, recruitment was seen as a HR activity. Today, recruitment must be a business priority. At a time when employees are seeking out their next career move with an employer of choice, rather than the other way around, a strong employer brand is critical.”
Gill said it’s extremely important for businesses to be visible to candidates. In order to recruit top talent, companies need to show not only the type of work they do, but also what it’s like to work there.
“Businesses need to present a compelling offering, building meaningful connections that will satisfy candidates’ need for professional development and desire to make a positive impact on society,” she said.
‘A strong employer brand is critical’
– ALISON GILL
Work-life balance and employee wellbeing will also play a key role in recruiting and retaining the best talent. Gill said that as the future of work edges closer to the present, recruitment teams will have an essential role to play now more than ever.
“The first step is attracting the interest of prospective candidates,” she said. “The recruitment process is merely the final stage of a carefully considered candidate attraction and engagement strategy. The war for talent is on!”
