2018 has seen a lot of changes and trends in the world of talent acquisition. Many of these trends will shape the recruitment methods that companies will use in 2019 to fuel their hiring efforts.

Is your recruitment strategy ready for the new year? Although these trends require organizational changes, the results will speak for themselves during your future talent searches. Let’s look at some of the biggest challenges affecting talent acquisition.

1. Implementing Artificial Intelligence

Artificial Intelligence is making waves across industries. The possibilities for automation and efficiency are extremely attractive to many companies. When it comes to talent acquisition, AI is helping streamline the process by improving candidate screening, writing job descriptions, and more.

AI can help improve the experience for your customers, offering 24/7 support through automated chatbots. Simply using AI also brands your company as innovative and modern. For many employees and customers, a focus on innovation is very important. Staying on top of the AI trend will help you attract new customers as well as retain existing ones.

However, AI is not always an easy tool to implement. There are many considerations your company must face before using AI. Although it can vastly simplify data processing, you must make sure your data is well organized and structured for it to be of any use. Your company will also need to make sure you have the right talent on board to manage these new tools. Experience with automation and AI is quickly becoming a highly sought-after skill set.

2. Candidate Relocation

Digital hiring tools are making it easier to widen your search for talent outside of your local area. This creates a new challenge though, as employees are much less willing to relocate for a job as they used to be. Even if you can reach candidates across the globe, your company still must motivate them to leave. There are a few factors preventing candidates from relocating.

First, and most simple, most people are naturally resistant to change. Large changes like relocating are a tough sell even if the compensation is competitive. That brings us to the next challenge, relocating is expensive, for the candidate and the company. Couple that with the cost of living and housing prices and many candidates may pass up a great position in favor of staying put.

Make sure your company’s relocation packages are thorough enough and updated frequently. Personalizing these offerings for each qualified candidate goes a long way to entice them to relocate.

3. Tight Labor Market

Record unemployment is making every hiring manager’s job very difficult. There is an extremely limited pool of candidates for whom many companies are competing. Many companies are looking inward to attract top talent to their organization. So how do you attract talent from a small number of candidates?

Making sure your employer brand is modern, strong, and well represented goes a long way for both active and passive candidates. If a candidate finds your company online, they should be able to easily learn all there is to know about your culture, mission, and values.

It’s not only about attracting candidates. Much of the small pool is caused by a skills gap. Put simply, there are not enough trained candidates to fill the open positions. Many employers are investing in education programs or implementing stronger training to create their own talent pipeline.

4. Agile Organizations

I don’t need to tell you that business moves faster than ever today. The requirements for innovation and development are strict and changing frequently. The traditional methods and company structures are not equipped to tackle digital innovation. Companies are turning to agile structures to foster collaboration and drive efficient innovation

Agile isn’t simply about keeping up, it has many benefits to both your organization and the individual employees. The efficiency gained will obviously save you time and money, but it also enables both scalability and growth. On top of that, the autonomy your employees gain empower them to succeed and improve their overall experience.

With these benefits as well as the demand for digital innovation, it’s no wonder that many companies are adopting agile structures to equip them for the challenges ahead.

Learn how our team can help you face these challenges and stay ahead of the curve in 2019.

Matthew J. Schwartz is the Founder, President and CEO of MJS Executive Search with nearly two decades of experience in retained executive search. Matt’s expertise lies in bringing together key executives that exhibit passion and creativity with leading organizations in a wide range of functional areas such as Marketing, Sales, Digital, Interactive and more. From Digital and Social media to Machine Learning and AI, Matt is passionate about cutting edge technologies and is dedicated using his knowledge to help his clients remain or become leaders in their realm.

Founded in 2003, MJS Executive Search has established itself as a top retained executive search firm that identifies and places unique, hard to find executives in highly specialized roles.

If you are interested in learning more about our Transformational Talent™ solutions, contact MJS Executive Search today to learn more about how we can help your organization.