by Chloe Palmer — Originally published in the August 2016 issue of ISSA—Talent acquisition is a top priority for employers in 2015. LinkedIn’s 2015 Global Recruiting Trends projected that employers will need to create larger budgets and prepare to hire in larger volumes over the next year.
For example, 49 percent of 450 financial professionals surveyed in November expected their companies to increase hiring in 2015 according to the Association for Financial Professionals Business Outlook.
As employers plan to hire more employees, they should be mindful of the following trends and consider the suggested tips.
1. Focus on retention.
The Conference Board, a New York-based research group, discovered 52.3 percent of 1,673 Americans surveyed last year are unhappy at work. Unhappy workers typically leave their jobs to explore new opportunities in an improved economy—especially the best ones.
Last year, 73 percent of some 600 U.S. employees surveyed were satisfied with their co-worker relationships (6 percent less than in 2012), according to the Society for Human Resource Management’s Employee Job Satisfaction and Engagement report. Just 70 percent of employees said they were satisfied with their relationships with their supervisor (a 5 percent drop from 2012).
And in a survey of 1,039 millennials by Elance-oDesk released in October, nearly 80 percent of respondents said they would like to quit their regular job to work for themselves. With these statistics in mind, employers should find new ways to recruit—and retain—talent. Tip: To boost retention and recruitment, identify top performers who could potentially leave and find out how to keep these employees fulfilled. For example, employers should identify why some individuals might want to work independently and use this data to improve their workplace. Meanwhile, employers should forecast potential turnover rates to be prepared.
2. Offer competitive wages.
Research released by Michigan State University in October revealed that 37 percent of 5,700 employers surveyed said they plan to increase salaries of entry-level workers 3 percent to 5 percent in 2015. Compensation ranked as most important job satisfaction factor for U.S. employees, according to the Society for Human Resource Management report last year.
Tip: Research how much competing employers pay their employees. Use this information to create a budget to pay employees fairly for their skills and dedication.
3. Develop a compelling employer brand.
Employer branding can help with recruiting efforts. 56 percent of 4,125 global talent leaders in 31 countries surveyed for LinkedIn’s 2015 Global Recruiting Trends said they believe cultivating their employer brand is a top priority.
Tip: Create a compelling employer brand by designing a career website for job seekers outlining your company’s values, culture, accomplishments, and benefits. Employers can enhance their company’s image on social-media platforms, such as LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook and engage with prospective employees online.
4. Plan for generational shifts.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 3.4 million people will turn 65 in 2015. Meanwhile, according to the Social Security Administration, 9 out of 10 individuals who are age 65 and older receive Social Security benefits. It’s quite possible a lot of these individuals will choose to retire next year. And some 2.8 million people received new Social Security benefits in 2013, 2.7 million in 2012, and 2.6 million in 2011. So it seems that the number of people retiring each year is on the rise.
For example, the Social Security Administration expects 33 percent of its own workforce, including 48 percent of its supervisors, to be eligible to retire in 2015.
Tip: As more baby boomers retire and millennials enter leadership roles, employers will need to find ways to transfer valuable skills to younger staffers. In addition, human resource departments will need to develop strategies to train and motivate millennials.
5. Prepare for freelancers in the workforce.
According to a study of more than 5,000 American freelancers released last year by the Freelancers Union and Elance-oDesk, 34 percent of the U.S. workforce—or 53 million people—now work as freelancers. This is a significant rise from the tally in 2004 of the contingent wor kforce by the federal General Accountability Office, which found about 42.6 million American workers were freelancers.
Tip: Freelance, or contract, employees can fill talent shortages within an organization. When hiring freelancers, create a flexible work environment and don’t expect each person to agree to full-time contracts. Develop guidelines for hiring freelancers and how they’ll be managed.
6. Solidify a mobile recruitment strategy.
In Jobvite’s Social Recruiting Survey released last year, nearly 70 percent of 1,855 recruiters surveyed said they expected more competitive hiring over the next 12 months. And 73 percent of the recruiters surveyed said they plan to invest more in mobile recruiting to address this trend.
Tip: Create a mobile career site that lets job seekers apply for jobs directly from a mobile device. Hiring managers will probably want to use mobile recruitment so that they can post jobs on the go and create postings that can be easily shared on social media and readily answered.
Chloe Palmer is with Zero Fee Recruiter, an employee recruiter that focuses on passive candidates to reach candidates that are not actively looking for job opportunities. For more information, visit www.zerofeerecruiter.com.