Traditionally, we look ahead to what lies ahead for the next year. Which recruitment trends should not be missed when making your plans for 2024? We spoke to experts in the field, conducted desk research and got input from our clients on the most important trends for them. The conclusion is clear: automation, AI and candidate experience reign supreme. Read directly what the 5 most important trends in recruitment and recruitment marketing are and how you can apply them in your recruitment strategy.
Recruitment trend 1: AI recruitment
The term ‘Artificial Intelligence’ (AI) had been doing the rounds for a while, but in 2023 it really took off. Thanks to the arrival of ChatGPT, artificial intelligence is suddenly available to everyone, and people are making good use of it – including in the world of AI recruitment. This is hardly surprising, as AI allows you to automate processes and thereby speed them up. At the same time, artificial intelligence enables personalisation and helps reduce confirmation bias in your recruitment process, as AI, in principle, has no preconceptions.
The applications of AI recruitment and recruitment marketing are already huge. With artificial intelligence, for example, you can:
- Automated and unbiased sourcing, screening and evaluating candidates;
- Vary content on your work-at-home site by person based on the website visitor's browsing and social media behaviour;
- Have videos analysed by AI-driven tools. This gives you an instant way to objectively assess online job interviews.
In recruitment marketing software, too, you will see more and more features based on artificial intelligence. For instance, you can have AI automatically create new content. You upload your house style, tone-of-voice and previously used images and are then automatically presented with new content that you can immediately use in your recruitment marketing campaigns. AI can also be used to automatically make smart improvement suggestions based on your campaign results.
AI is going to change a lot within recruitment and recruitment marketing. We could talk about it for much longer! We did just that in our webinar. Watch the on-demand webinar back here.
Recruitment trend 2: Jobless recruiting and skill-based hiring
It’s not just technological trends we’re seeing in the world of recruitment. Increasingly, the traditional approach to recruitment – involving job adverts, CVs and cover letters – is being abandoned, with employers hiring new staff based on their skills. Skill-based hiring is the future of recruitment, according to research organisation TNO. We also saw one of our own clients, ‘s Heeren Loo, make this shift in their recruitment approach a few months ago, and the initial results have been very positive.
Many well-known employers are making this transformation in their recruitment methods. In fact, there are many advantages to it. For instance, your selection process becomes more objective. Because you establish in advance what skills someone needs to be able to do the job well, you start talking to candidates based on these clear criteria and you can compare candidates better. The result of skill-based hiring is a wider range of talent in your organisation. Candidates with experience or knowledge from a completely different sector are now also eligible for the vacancies in your organisation, which brings more diversity to your teams. And therefore often more success!
Another advantage of skill-based hiring is lower turnover. Because you make a better match, people stay with your organisation longer. That saves a lot of money, because a fast-departing employee is incredibly expensive.
Recruitment trend 3: Data centralisation
Gone are the days when, as a recruiter or recruitment marketer, you made decisions based on your gut feeling. Nowadays, a huge amount of data is available. Only, this data is often scattered across a variety of sources, such as your ATS, the ad accounts on social media, Google Analytics and job boards.
To get really good insight into the ideal media and effort mix, among other things, you're going to bring this data together. We see more and more employers using APIs to automatically export data to a PowerBI or Looker dashboard. With this, you create an overview of the performance of the different channels you deploy and discover what happens when you turn one of the knobs in the media mix. The same goes for effort mix modelling. By having one central dashboard where you can see the effectiveness of sourcing, social media campaigns, job boards and recruiting through agencies, you immediately know where you need to do more of it and which efforts you can best adjust downwards.
In short, with data centralisation, you gain more insight into the effectiveness of your recruitment efforts. As a result, you can ultimately lower your cost-per-hire, because you know exactly what works. And you go full steam ahead with that!
Recruitment trend 4: Robotic Process Automation (RPA)
RPA uses bots to mimic human actions for administrative tasks. You have probably experienced this yourself. Think, for example, of the chatbots that pick up first-line customer service at airlines, insurers and online shops.
RPA software is also being used in recruitment to make processes more efficient and improve the candidate experience. For instance, you increasingly see a chat (bot) on a job site that can automatically answer simple questions or refer you to the right recruiter. In addition, bots are used to collect and process candidate data and to find and screen candidates. With these kinds of applications, you can make a big efficiency gain, as recruiters no longer have to perform these tasks manually.
It's not just about saving time when deploying bots. On the contrary, you can use them to enhance the candidate journey. For instance, there are bots that guide candidates step by step through the entire application process by keeping them informed of each next step, e.g. via Whatsapp. Your application process thus becomes more transparent and effective.
In recruitment marketing automation software, you can already see applications of RPA software. For example, lead generation tooling lets you qualify new leads by asking them automated screening questions, and you can easily stay in touch by sending regular messages with interesting information or developments in the organisation. Scheduling job interviews automatically is also quite possible with bots. That will save you a lot of emailing or appending back and forth!
Recruitment trend 5: Optimising the candidate experience
The candidate is still in the driver's seat in today's job market and a positive candidate experience is therefore crucial. The better you establish the candidate experience, the stronger your employer brand will become. In addition, candidates need a quick follow-up and a smooth application process. And you want that too, otherwise the competition will steal the candidate right in front of you!
In addition, you simply have to gain the candidate's trust before they apply at all, and you can do that by being transparent. With people's growing distrust towards agencies, the government and companies, it is important to pay attention to this as an employer. With an open and equal application process, it works very well to win the trust of talent.
One of the ensuing trends we see a lot is the provision of chat capabilities, allowing a candidate to connect with an employer in an approachable way. It feels very different to start a chat than to be immediately assessed on paper, as happens with a CV and cover letter. With accessible contact options, you not only improve the candidate experience, but you can also increase conversion on your work-at-home site. Many employers have seen this drop significantly in recent years. Due to the strong competition on the job market, people are less and less inclined to apply in the traditional way. By offering accessible contact opportunities, you actually kill two birds with one stone. You improve the candidate experience and increase conversion.
We are also seeing higher levels of transparency in other ways. For instance, mentioning a salary range in job postings is increasingly common and the challenges an employer struggles with are also more often honestly named in the application process. Painting a true picture and not being taken by surprise during the application process or onboarding is how you offer a fine candidate experience.
The common thread: efficiency and candidate experience
Looking back at these 5 recruitment trends, you will see two focal points recurring as a common thread.
Focus on efficiency: With the advent of robotisation and automation, there are opportunities to recruit more efficiently and employers want to seize them. In addition, budgets are increasingly under pressure and therefore optimised processes are increasingly important.
Improved candidate experience, e.g. through personalisation: The candidate experience will become even more central. Employers are moving with candidates' needs, paying more attention to their perception of the entire application process and working towards a truly unique candidate journey for each candidate.
Stay ahead
Innovation is incredibly important for a successful recruitment (marketing) strategy, both now and in the future. Which trends will you incorporate into your recruitment strategy for next year?
