TRU London 2010: What is the future of recruitment?
The recession has created opportunities for HR and recruitment professionals to raise the standards of their recruitment activities and embrace social recruiting, yet the majority have failed to act on these opportunities. But Generation Y and post-election cuts in public spending will force significant change in recruitment activity. These were just some of the predictions to emerge from a lively debate at the TRU London 2010 “unconference” (external website) last week, which asked a simple question: “Where is recruitment going?”
Recruitment consultant Andy Headworth (external website) argued that employers and recruiters have singularly failed to capitalise on the huge opportunities that social media offer them. He said that recession-linked cost pressures have driven some employers and recruiters to experiment with the cost-effective, direct hiring opportunities offered by social media. But he believes that the next six-to-12 months will see a “return to type”, which he characterises as “a big disappointment.” This will involve a resurgence in ‘tried and trusted’ recruitment solutions, such as the use of agencies.
Keith Robinson (external website) of careersiteadvisor.com also felt that change in recruitment activities would be incremental at best. He observed that 80% of recruitment activity tends to involve filling posts at SMEs. He argues that these organisations “haven’t been fundamentally rewired” by the recession. Consequently they continue to rely on traditional recruitment agencies – which he describes as “effectively high street retailers” - rather than more innovative, cost-effective solutions. .
Robinson does, however, see significant change on the horizon for the recruitment marketplace. He expects to see increased convergence between recruitment agencies and job boards, despite the long-established opposition between the two. But Robinson believes that the single biggest force for change in recruitment will be the public spending cutbacks that will inevitably follow the 2010 general election. He noted the very significant amount of business that third-party recruiters currently rely on from public sector hiring activity. He warned that these will inevitably fall victim to planned efficiency savings. Robinson said: “This is going to happen. This is going to be reality.”
The panel were in agreement that Generation Y will drive significant change in recruitment: they are already plugged in to social media, and will consequently spearhead an explosion in its workplace use as they come to dominate the labour market. Robinson observed that he already knows of students calling on the experience of consultants to help build their “personal brand” across social media. Peter Gold (external website), managing director of recruitment consultancy Hire Strategies, meanwhile argued that the rise of social recruitment over the coming decade could result in “the death of the CV”.
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