Revolutionising Recruitment: A Glimpse into the Future of Talent Acquisition

The world of recruitment is undergoing drastic transformations in order to survive and organisations need to adapt to the evolving dynamics of the job market, keep up with technology and embrace innovative strategies.

With the shifting workforce dynamics, and the ever-evolving business landscape, the way organisations attract, assess, and onboard talent is changing drastically. In this article, we will explore the key trends that are set to reshape recruitment practices in the coming years in Malta.

What are job seekers after?

This year, Misco issued a report titled “Insights into Job Seeker Dynamics 2024”. This is a yearly report that enables companies to understand what job seekers are after whilst gaining knowledge of job seeking trends in the current market. This knowledge helps companies remain competitive in an evolving market and make strategic HR decisions for the future of the company.

A consistent result we see year on year is that the majority of candidates change jobs between the third and fifth year of their employment (28%) followed by 26% who change employment every 6 to 10 years and 13% of employees who change jobs every 1 to 2 years. These results show the importance of keeping employees interested in their role and responsibilities, especially in these critical years in order to reduce turnover as much as possible.

Whereas salary is the first thing people look out for when searching for a job, it is the experience that the company provides them with that keeps employees from moving to another company. This includes working conditions, employer brand, flexibility, empowerment, development and growth opportunities among other areas.

To create a positive working experience and environment, companies need to encourage more collaboration between HR professionals, Recruiters, Hiring Managers and other relevant departments to ensure a more holistic and efficient recruitment process. Whilst maintaining a data-driven approach, companies need to understand the evolving trends in HR and create an employment experience that matches the expectations of both the candidate and the business.

With the changing expectations of both the candidates and the business, having an agile and flexible recruitment strategy that can quickly adapt to the changing market conditions is a must. This may refer to the flexibility in adjusting recruitment processes to meet the specific needs of different roles, candidates or situations. For example, this may simply refer to the timing an interview might need to take place in, to rapidly move candidates through the interview process. Recruitment strategies need to be fine-tuned and refined along the way to improve results and stay competitive.

Rather than searching for people when someone leaves the company or when the team is overburdened, companies are realising that they need to create talent pipelines before the actual vacancy arises. With the current market, employers need to start searching for skills that they expect to need for the business in the future. As Johnny C. Taylor Jr., President and CEO of SHRM said, “The key to talent acquisition isn’t filling a role quickly; it’s finding the best talent for the role.” This proactive approach to recruitment is key for long-term success.

HR as a function needs to become more strategic and in order to do so we first need to understand the needs and challenges of the company. As Steve Jobs once said: “If you define the problem correctly, you almost have the solution.” Another important aspect is to keep collecting continuous data that will help you analyse trends throughout the months and years and make decisions based on this data. This data can also help us refine our strategies, personalise the candidate experience further and optimize the overall recruitment lifecycle.

The future of recruitment is being shaped by dynamic shifts in both job seeker expectations and business needs. For organisations to stay ahead they need to be agile, data-driven and proactive in their approach to talent acquisition. By understanding job seekers’ motivations such as company culture, flexibility and growth opportunities, businesses can create an employment experience that not only attracts top talent but retains them for the long haul.