Part of my job as a marketer is to keep up with trends in culture and the staffing world. Recognizing and predicting trends is no easy task, but it’s important in order to make relevant connections with the people who see our advertisements. In this age of viral internet sensations, trends can change in an instant. My goal, and yours, is to be on the lookout for upcoming trends that could potentially provide fresh marketing material.
LinkedIn recently released their annual Global Recruiting Trends survey for 2015. Their data offers some great insights to the shifts the staffing world is expected to experience next year. You can read the full report, or check out the highlights below.
Recruiting leaders in the U.S. and around the world expect an increase in hiring volume and recruiting budgets in 2015. Not only that, but according to World Bank Global Economic Prospects, the global economy is also expected to jump, strengthening from 3.4 to 3.5 percent in the next two years. This means you should be prepared to compete for talent in 2015. LinkedIn tells recruiters to start informing executives about the increase in competition, and to use data to measure your talent pools and supply-demand.
2. Career-centered online media are the top sources of quality hires
How well have you been tracking the ROI on your sources of hire? According to the survey, the top metric for tracking recruiting team performance is quality of hire. The most popular sources for quality hires focus on online media, the top three being internet job boards, social professional networks, and company career websites. To get the most value from your online sources in 2015, focus on those which are “career-centric.” This means you need to pour more into social media, websites, and online job boards rather than broad-appeal sources. To do this strategically, measure your ROI across your sources of hires, define what makes a quality hire for your staffing firm, and train your team to manage both inbound job applications and outsourcing.
3. Employer brand is considered important but resourcing lags
I’ve written before on the importance of branding, and LinkedIn’s survey confirms that online branding will continue to have a huge impact on promotion. The top four channels for promoting employer brand are no surprise: company websites, online professional networks, word of mouth, and social media. Company websites hold the top margin, social media, and online networks are on the rise, while word of mouth has dropped significantly. It’s no surprise that 56 percent of recruiters say that branding is a top priority — and it should be yours, too. Plan to line up your priorities and your budgeting. How does your branding budget compare to other investments? Craft your messages for your different talent pools, leverage employees as ambassadors (as their profiles are another branding source), and partner with strong marketers to create content that will keep you ahead of competition.
4. Improved candidate and job matching is expected to reshape recruiting
Across the world, improving candidate and job matching is an upcoming trend expected to take the lead in the New Year. With this trend in mind, LinkedIn is promoting their fit-based search, which prioritizes candidates based on their similarities to existing employees, as well as their behavioral interest in your company. Launch your own plan for job and candidate matching by optimizing your job posts, using keywords, and identifying the winning attributes of quality employees so you know what you are seeking in candidates.
Is your staffing firm ready for 2015? Following the trends is a hard enough task, that’s why it’s our job at ASJ Partners to ensure that your staffing firm’s online presence is professional and impactful. As you plan for 2015, consider partnering with us to optimize your marketing potential.
