Recruitment 2.0

Political upheaval, stock market uncertainty and a petition for a second referendum are just some of the consequences of last week’s Brexit vote. But for the majority of employers, life continues as normal - for the time being at least. As the dust attempts to settle, what can HR do to manage this interim period and strengthen talent acquisition strategies?

The UK woke up this morning to the news that the Leave campaign achieved victory in the EU referendum, securing 52% of the vote to Remain campaign’s 48%. Negotiating the terms of Brexit may take up to two years and while it is still difficult to predict how the transition will affect UK businesses, here are some of the issues HR needs to consider:-

The big news of the week, the thing that has everyone in HR and Recruitment debating and discussing, is of course the news announced in LinkedIn’s blog that Microsoft has officially acquired LinkedIn. If you are among the recruiters for which LinkedIn is your go-to place for new talent, connections and industry information, you’ll be wondering what this means for you and the way you do your job. Will things change for the better? For the worse?

Finally there’s some positive news for UK employers and HR - a new survey from The Future Of Work found that 60% of UK employees love their job. Happy employees are more motivated and more creative at work - and the key to this newfound affection for their jobs is it seems, technology.

The gig economy is here to stay. The Wall Street Journal revealed that 90% of contingent workers never return to full-time work. By 2020, it is forecast to be worth £2 billion to the UK market and over $60 billion globally.

New evidence has recently emerged of the extent of bias in hiring. A report in the Harvard Business Review found that a single female candidate in a talent pool has no chance of securing a job offer, but her chances rise if she competes against other women. Bias in recruitment comes as no surprise to a jobs market that is grappling with issues over the pay gap. The question is, how can HR overcome or 'interrupt' that bias to improve diversity in hiring and attract the best available talent?

 For UK CEOs, technology is key to business success according to PwC’s 19th Annual CEO Survey. Despite this, the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) found that UK employers remain wary, ranking the UK 14th globally for its level of adoption of digital technology.

The growth in big data and fintech is driving an unprecedented demand for tech talent. Morgan McKinley predict that the number of digital technology businesses will reach 45,000 in London alone and employers are under pressure to hire the people they need before their competitors.

The UK’s Banking and Finance sector is in the midst of turbulent times. Increasing automation, the skills shortage and disruptive technology are forcing a review of the traditional business model and impacting its hiring success.  Just last week brought news of nearly 2m predicted job cuts due to the growth of fintech companies.

With over three months still to go, the debate over the effect Brexit might have on HR and the jobs market is being strongly contested. In this article, we look at some of the principal issues and arguments presented by each side including:-