LinkedIn’s 2018 top global trends in recruiting show diversity a top priority for companies

The Global Recruiting Trends 2018: The 4 ideas changing how you hire report by LinkedIn Talent Solutions reveals four major recruiting trends that are going to be in vogue in 2018. The report has inputs from 8,800+ hiring managers and recruiters from across 39 countries about those trends and combines those survey insights with examples from 17 companies at the forefront of these trends.

The four major trends that the report highlights are: diversity, new interviewing tools, data analytics, and artificial intelligence.

Diversity

The report states that diversity is one of the major game changers. According to the report, 78 percent of companies indicated they are prioritizing diversity to improve culture. However, the companies are not able to meet their diversity targets and end up falling short. Some of the reasons for the same are that hiring managers and recruiters are unable to find diverse candidates to interview – another problem is retaining diverse employees. The latter may be a result of how employees feel when they join the organisation, as feeling accepted is an important part of continuing at an organisation.

The report also states that to actually attract diverse talent, companies have to embrace diversity, and the best way to do that is to critically look at the company culture. “Top ways companies espouse diversity are by respecting differing opinions and encouraging people to be themselves. The executive tone is also key: while diversity used to be an HR-owned strategy, now CEOs are championing the issue, integrating it into their company missions, and diversifying their own C-Suites.”

Even if you succeed in building a diverse culture, it is essential to talk about it so more people continue to be attracted to the company. There are multiple ways companies can do it and are doing it, and this includes ensuring diversity is well reflected in interview panels, and web and media material. Interviewers trained in recognising and avoiding unconscious bias also help the company show that it values diversity.

Three tips on how you can be diverse: use more diverse language in your job descriptions, empower employees to tell their stories, and promote diversity and inclusion through ERGs (Employee Resource Groups).

New Interviewing Tools

While recruiters and hiring managers have banked on the traditional good old interview methods, things have changed over the years, and there is a realisation that though the older method is still effective, it falls short on some things such as assessing the soft skills of the candidate, assessing her/his weakness, the bias of the interviewer, and not knowing which questions to ask. The process is also a long drawn one.

According to the LinkedIn report, the best way to add to the old model is to include new techniques. A few that the report suggests include online soft skills assessments to measure traits like curiosity and teamwork, job auditions where real work helps to observe the skills of the employee, and casual interviews that help to understand the character of the person. “With virtual reality (VR), companies immerse candidates in simulated 3-D environments to test their skills in a standardized way. Video interviews can be recorded or live and help by tapping a broader talent pool in far less time,” states the report.

Data analytics

There is no escaping data, and we have been hearing continuously how data is the new oil. How do companies use data? According to the report, companies use data to answer all kinds of questions related to talent and also to understand problems and execute a growth strategy. The report states, “We found that the most common uses are to better understand attrition, skills gap, and offer-compensation issues. If you’re trying to grasp why employees are leaving, for example, you might look to employee surveys, 360-degree reviews, compensation history, and promotion history to start triangulating an answer.”

Artificial intelligence

With all the talk about AI replacing humans, the report shares some interesting insights. According to the report, a survey shows that only 14 percent of talent acquisition professionals are concerned that AI will take their job. “Rather than eliminate your job, AI augments it by analyzing more information faster and smarter than you could ever do alone. It automates low-level tasks so you can focus more time on recruiting strategy and candidate relationships,” states the report.

Jobs that require personal and emotional engagement are least likely to be replaced by AI. AI will only help speed up the process of hiring and recruitment, and help managers move things quickly.

In a world driven by technology, the time to embrace it has arrived. Use of new tools and technology will not only reduce the hiring time but also help discover the best talent for the job. With the help of data and new interview tools and techniques, companies can truly overcome the diversity and culture challenges that they face. Make the team and the culture not only driven but also diverse.