5 important talent acquisition trends

Talent acquisition is a vital function of any company’s Human Resources department. A truly successful talent acquisition strategy can help you acquire the people and skills you need to succeed in the present and set up your business for the future.

This is particularly crucial if you're going through a period of change. You need to expand your talent pool to take on new projects, or to deal with the repercussions of a major event.

By tracking the latest talent acquisition trends, you can ensure you're in the strongest position to find the best candidates and keep up with your competitors in a tight labour market.

Here are five of the key themes in the talent acquisition trends to be aware of in 2024:

1. AI and automation

The growing importance of AI (and related concepts like automation and machine learning) in HR and the world of work isn't a new trend. We can definitely say it is likely to accelerate and take on more importance in 2024 and beyond.

New technologies and solutions, such as applicant tracking systems, can help you improve your recruiting process. Tools like Pymetrics — a tool that the Randstad Innovation Fund supports - can make you more efficient. Pymetrics uses AI-driven methods and solutions to conduct in-depth evaluations of candidate experience. It is used to match them with the most suitable roles.

AI, automation and machine learning could also open up new opportunities for you. It can help to predict future performance and engage with potential candidates throughout the hiring process.

AI is becoming an increasingly significant aspect of how companies function and how people do their jobs. It's important to prioritize AI-related skills and strategies when hiring and training your employees.

The most common talent acquisition trends in HR that companies are using AI to achieve:

• better interview process that will enhance the candidate's experience
• more efficient and streamlined onboarding process
• effective employee engagement programs to boost employee retention rate

2. diversity and inclusion

Modern companies have much to gain from making diversity and inclusion (D&I) a core hiring process component.

Firstly, widening your scope to encompass the broadest and most eclectic range of candidates can impact business performance. A series of reports published by McKinsey over the past six years have shown the connections between diversity on executive teams and the likelihood of financial success strengthening over time. Research from Boston Consulting Group supports this, demonstrating how diverse leadership teams drive innovation.

Furthermore, making a clear commitment to D&I will strengthen your employer brand and company culture while increasing your appeal to younger employees who will shape the future of work. More than four out of five Gen Z candidates consider this an important factor when choosing an employer, and you'll gain more employee referrals.

You can take various steps to diversify your workforce and recruitment processes. For instance, you could consider:

• tailoring and rethinking your job descriptions and job postings to make them more inclusive
• introducing blind resume screening
• engaging with leadership and getting executive support for your D&I activities

Finally, working with a dedicated HR solutions partner is another positive action that will enable you to collect data on what today's job market candidates want and conduct a detailed, impartial analysis of your talent acquisition team's methods and how they can be improved.

3. health and wellbeing

The massive scale and impact of the past couple of years have made it more important than ever for all employers to look after their workforce to retain top talent. That means going beyond simply offering fair pay and safe working conditions and thinking about how you can provide meaningful help and support for your employees.

According to a recent Benefits Canada Healthcare survey, 73% of benefits members agree — 22% strongly — that their workplace environment supports mental wellness. This has been a significant jump over the years and should continue as a talent acquisition priority.

There are added benefits of businesses redesigning work around wellbeing' and expanding their focus 'from programs adjacent to work to designing wellbeing into the work itself. Microsoft Japan has trialled new health and wellness policies with their teams. These include limiting meetings to 30 minutes and reducing the working week from five days to four.

Putting health and well-being at the heart of your HR and workforce strategies will boost your talent acquisition efforts by developing a stronger employer brand and a clear commitment to looking after your employees.

It's important to think about practical measures you can introduce to improve workforce health and wellbeing and help your people look after themselves.

This might include:

• offering wellness-related benefits or schemes (such as discount gym memberships)
• encouraging people in largely sedentary roles to take regular movement breaks
• supplying healthy food and snacks in the workplace
• incentivizing taking public transit, walking, or cycling to work

4. building resilience and adaptability

In times of uncertainty, one crucial lesson that all companies can learn is the significance of resilience. By placing emphasis on adaptability in terms of talent and capabilities within your workforce, as well as core processes and workflows, you can enhance the resilience of your organization.

Gartner has highlighted transitioning from designing for efficiency to designing for resilience as one of the most important "future of work trends." It noted that companies could become more responsive and resilient by providing "varied, adaptive and flexible" jobs that enable employees to "acquire cross-functional knowledge and training."

Ingrid Laman, vice president of research and advisory at Gartner, said: "Diversity leaders will need to be involved in role design and creation of flexible work systems to ensure that employees of all backgrounds and needs are considered when the organization designs new workflows."

5. flexibility and remote practices

Flexible and remote working has increased for several years. However, past events have made these concepts more important than ever for hiring managers.

According to Forbes, 98% of workers want to work remote at least some of the time. In contrast, only 12.7% of full-time employees work from home, while 28.2% work a hybrid model.

From a talent acquisition perspective, demonstrating your commitment to flexible and remote working can help you attract in-demand candidates who are looking for a level of freedom and control over how they work.

It will also strengthen your employer brand concerning work/life balance. According to our latest Employer Brand Research, this is the second most important reason for candidates to choose a particular company to work for, behind salary and benefits.

For instance, steps you could take to promote flexibility and make remote working a feasible option for your staff include:

• gaining management buy-in by highlighting the benefits and making the business case for flexible and remote working
• looking into different types of flexible work arrangements that suit your employees (such as compressed work weeks or job sharing)
• providing the technology, software and technical support people need to do their jobs effectively from home
• making sure remote workers still have opportunities to engage with their colleagues, take part in collaborative sessions and get face-to-face time with their managers.

As recruitment and the world of work continue to evolve, and new challenges and opportunities arise for your business, you'll need an effective talent acquisition strategy if you want to succeed and thrive.