Shifts in recruitment practices for 2022

Technology, led by artificial intelligence (AI), social media and robotic process automation’s (RPA) has created a new paradigm in the recruiting space. Increased reach, access to data streams that run deep and wide, has suddenly opened up avenues unthinkable in the past. While it increased the reach and easier accessibility to global talent pools, it impacted the ability to harness this flood of information. Hiring larger teams and upgrading the ATS systems were passe. But organisations still struggle to harness the human behind the resume.

I have been a firm believer that recession and downturns are a great teacher, and now I think a pandemic just took the crown. Business priorities which circled around process, the right form of digitalisation, organisation specific use of AI and related technologies were either being acquired without complete adoption by the operating teams and negligible understanding at the leadership level to sponsor such change. Organisations have gone for centralised COE or SME teams, but the discord continues between COEs and the field owing to the disconnects in embracing technology and change across all levels.

This realisation combined with new ways created during the pandemic, has changed mindsets; hybrid ways of working have now been embraced by even the most traditionally run organisations. The resolve to ensure that technology is adapted and adopted with the right check and balances in place is almost fierce in its intensity. I sincerely hope, our business leaders invest some time in familiarising with this round of technology changes.

Elephant in the room
The biggest fear that one has that after days and weeks of searching, interviewing and the finally onboarding the candidate. The candidate and company have a complete culture mismatch and the hiring fails. The mandate is back on the table in nine months to a years’ time and the whole nine yards need to be crossed again. Neither company has benefitted from the hiring nor has the candidate and that is a huge African pachyderm standing in the room. Opportunity cost of this hiring fail is significant. Big data analytics, algorithms, recruitment gamification is being able to give better insights into the candidate’s personality, attitudes, and potential watch outs.

For example, AI is helping recruiters filter applications basis specific parametres to shortlist the most compatible candidates. An increasing number of enterprises and recruiters are choosing to shift to smart and intelligent hiring technology, and 2022 will see that number grow manifold. There is an increasing trend of executive profile assessments done by third parties as an added input to ensure right fits.

Clairvoyance and recruitment
We cannot remove the human from the talent acquisition process and increasingly recruiters are being aided in their clairvoyance by technology. Integrated technology solutions are being used increasingly by recruiters to help them seek, attract, interact with, and convert candidates to become relevant applicants. These solutions work by automating the hiring process to substantially streamline recruitment and make it exponentially more efficient and effective. It is difficult to overlook the many advantages of recruitment automation tools. Historical data of candidates, the reasons that trigger them to change a role, what phase of an organisations journey were they a part of, what was the actual value addition done by them at a certain time in a market versus was it a case of a high tide raises all boats. These nuances make the difference and I would call increased technology a crystal ball.

D&I and talent density
The last two years have also changed the way candidates look at a potential role and organisation. It was always present to a certain degree, but we see a bigger wave now. The millennials, Gen Zs or should I say the digital natives. For them diversity is a given, work life balance, mental well-being, talent density in their peer group is critical when signing an offer. They are more prone to change jobs quickly versus looking for long stable tenures. Organisations need to find hooks in their culture that keep them engaged and committed. Raised in an environment of “immediate feedbacks/likes” they see culture and value fit of paramount importance.

Studies suggest that diverse companies enjoy almost twice the cash flow per employee and that inclusive teams can improve team performance by close to 30% in high-diversity environments compared to enterprises that are still thinking about whether the D&I bandwagon is worth hopping on. Diversity in hiring coupled with a increasing talent density has become crucial for attracting better-suited candidates and, inclusion significantly helps increase employee engagement and trust to have a ripple effect driving profitability and employee retention.

Anjali Samuel is the managing partner at Mindfield Resources