Recruitment 2.0

The traditional 9 to 5 job is disappearing. A new report from McKinsey Global Institute[1] highlights the continued growth of the gig economy and the changing nature of work. Independent work: Choice, necessity, and the gig economy, found that 162 million people in the US and Europe now take on freelance or independent work – representing roughly 30% of the working population.  

For some weeks now the focus has been on the referendum fallout in the jobs market with much talk about slowing down or cutting back on hiring but are things really that bad? Not according to the latest statistics.

Less than one in five UK CEOs are happy with their organisation’s talent management strategy, according to a new report from Corporate Research Forum (CRF) entitled Rethinking Talent Management. For UK businesses to effectively prepare for a potential change to the UK’s talent pool this has to change.

Away from the fall out of the referendum vote, a second Euro exit occurred this week – that of England from the Euro 2016 finals. The team’s premature exit came at the hands of Iceland, a nation with a population of less than 330,000, roughly the same as Leicester. What has that got to do with HR? As with Leicester City, we can draw some lessons from England’s defeat.

Data driven recruitment is a given for successful talent management but for the most part, UK employers remain wary of fully embracing it. While HR recognises the potential of big data and people analytics, concerns over a lack of understanding or in-house expertise are often the biggest barriers to getting started in this key area.

Last week saw the release of the CIPD’s Employee Outlook Spring 2016 which found that job satisfaction in the UK is at its lowest level for over two years, with nearly a quarter of employees looking for a new job.

One in three people no longer trust their employer according to Edelman’s 2016 Trust Barometer. It’s unsurprising in the same week that saw the following headlines:-

The growing furore over the gender pay gap in the UK has identified a fundamental issue affecting the skills shortage. HR is at risk of making it difficult or, at times, impossible to attract the talent it needs to meet business objectives.

A growing number of businesses are following the lead of global brands. such as Google, Accenture and Deloitte, by abandoning the performance review in favour of more regular feedback. Problems arise when HR ceases to have contact of any kind with its staff, which is the very real experience of UK workers.

Big data and the Internet of Things (IoT) is expected to add £322 billion to the UK economy by 2020 but just under half of UK businesses are not using any form of data analytics. Employers with the ability to gather and analyse data accurately are better equipped to implement creative talent acquisition and retention strategies, yet HR remains seemingly paralysed or fearful of moving forward with technology.