1. Niche Tips for Niche Clients
The Future of Recruitement 2014
*5 strategic trends in talent
acquisition
Accelir Corp Study

2. Talent acquisition has seen great growth in both scope and maturity over the last decade.
Once - a small segment of human resources or/ and an entry point for new HR
professionals seeking to become generalists, the field today has evolved into a standalone business function in many organizations - partnering with Human Resources, as well
as other functions and lines of business, as an equal.
Today organizations must be able to hire talented people - quickly - to achieve any
strategic goal… With 63 % of organizations expecting economic improvements to enable
more hiring. The top three recruiting challenges cited are finding good candidates, filling
positions quickly and engaging hiring managers.
This report identifies the top five trends that you can embrace in your recruitment
process and culture to align with recruitment organizations considered to be best in
class.
Each trend was identified based on quantitative and qualitative research completed over
the last few months from business leaders, candidates and talent acquisition
professionals.
Accelir Corp Study: http://www.slideshare.net/imsosarah/5-strategic-trends-in-recruiting

3. Trend 1: “Consumerization” of Technology
This trend, which industry watchers call “consumerization,” has been a bit slower to reach talent
acquisition technology than other segments of the IT marketplace, but shifts toward app-based design
and mobile devices are expected to pick up speed over the next couple of years.
Today, still many recruiters and human resource professionals hesitate to abandon their best-in-class
stand-alone solutions that are producing results, instead buying a number of solutions that simply
integrate or interface with their core solution.
This next generation of products - such as recruiting candidate relationship management (CRM) tools,
talent networks, video interviewing, social collaboration and various sourcing technologies - add a
specific depth of functionality and interact with applicant tracking systems in ways that only
background-checking and pre-hire assessment providers did in the past.
 MOBILE Technology - The rapid growth of the tablet market, such as iPad and Kindle Fire, is changing
how we view the mobile workforce and with some analysts anticipating tablets outselling traditional
laptops by the end of the decade - mobile a vital part of any talent acquisition strategy.
Already, some of the start-up HR technology providers are building products for mobile devices first,
and then developing the SaaS look and feel for desktop and laptop users - We expect to see technology
products emerging in the talent acquisition space with functionality that is equally as robust as in the
standard software. Collaboration, accessibility and actionable design are key for recruiters, candidates
and hiring managers.

4. Trend 2: Adoption of Marketing Techniques
There is a fresh awareness of and emphasis on employment branding and the potential of utilizing
everyone and everything to promote an organization. Corporate marketing tools are being used to
approach the recruitment teams main consumers - job candidates, future candidates and anyone who
may refer candidates.
The renewed focus on employment branding is causing organizations of all sizes to take a closer look at
how their organizations are represented as employers.
Employment branding’s importance among job seekers considering your organization is only
going to increase as more companies do it.
 Consumer Marketing Tools - Some of the web focused solutions, SEO (Search Engine Optimization),
pay-per-click advertising, social media, email marketing, micro sites and free online ad placement
are already being utilized by best in class recruiting organizations as they work to fill high-volume
and niche positions.
 Recruitment Marketing Platforms - These solutions focus on exposing your opening to people that
would likely never have seen it on your corporate website or traditional job board.
This generation of recruitment marketing platforms will enable standard job board posts, but it will also
give marketing intelligence, smart social networking distribution and deep access to websites you didn’t
even know your candidates visited!
The end results of using a recruitment-marketing platform are sourcing analytics that can’t be beat
and a single system that works across all channels to funnel candidates and recruits back to one
centralized location

5. Trend 3: Proactive Sourcing
Somehow sourcing quality candidates who have the necessary skills, education and training and who fit in
with the corporate culture seems as though it has never been harder.
The Talent Technology survey identified executive (senior management, not C-level) and skilled positions
(manufacturing, trade, etc) as the most difficult;
Sourcing is an area where recruiters are spending more time than ever. The same survey found that the
average recruiter was spending 15 hours a week (37 % of his or her time) on sourcing.
The days of the post-and wait strategy have ended!
 Deep Web/ Integrated Search - Relatively few integrated search products currently exist in the HR
technology ecosystem, but more are on the horizon.. Even with advancements in user experience, it
takes time for practitioners to learn to manage and source multiple access points properly.
Translating the organisation needs into a sophisticated search of multiple sources can be
overwhelming, leaving valuable resources untouched

6. Linked-in is a great example of something that can fall to the way side
when
recruiters
are
overwhelmed.
In
the
Talent
Technology
Corporation’s survey while a majority of recruiters surveyed have a
presence on Linkedin, roughly 40 % fail to use the site for recruitment
purposes… Not actively sourcing, going out and proactively searching
for candidates that haven’t applied to the company, leave untold
numbers of potential candidates on the table - potentially increasing
both time and cost to hire.
 Talent Networks - Strategic sourcing has long been associated with building talent pipelines or pools
to maintain a network of prospects for positions that may open because of a strategic hire or high
turnover. Lately, the conversation has shifted toward talent communities, also known as talent
networks. These networks allow potential job candidates to opt in or be added by a strategic
recruiting team to specialized groups that match their skill sets or career goals versus relying on a
Recruiter or a Sourcer to opt them in when needed.
Large, global organizations talk frequently about the success they have in filling openings at all levels
after implementing a talent community, but the strategy isn’t just for big companies.
Small to mid market organizations are finding the value in maintaining networks of prospects to tap
when openings arise, often saving money by filling a position with a quality candidate sooner, not letting
a key seat sit open  !

7. Trend 4: Candidate Experience
Organizations recognize the reality that attracting candidates through marketing or networking is where
some of the hard work of talent acquisition begins, not where it ends. Providing a positive experience, active
engagement and “wooing” candidates is becoming a standard - particularly as we look forward to increases
in hiring.
Trend 5: Proving Return on Investment (ROI)
HR professionals in general, and specifically those in talent acquisition, are becoming strategic partners
with business leaders in many organizations. Quantifiable metrics and outcomes are expected to
determine how corporate budgets - of both money and time - should be spent. Every part of the sourcing
or recruiting process should be measurable so that organizations can evaluate returns on investment
(ROI).
Conclusion
Strategic talent acquisition has evolved from simply filling an open position, to partnering
with multiple disciplines across an organization. Today’s strategic talent acquisition role
encompasses branding, marketing, networking, sourcing and business analytics as well as the
traditional interview and selection responsibilities.
By studying the business trends discussed in this paper, organizations of all sizes can gain
insights that will help them to streamline and enhance their current processes, choose the
tools best suited to their needs, and build the best possible talent acquisition teams.

8. Niche solutions to niche problems
Ali El Jishi
Partner & Senior Account Manager
www.nicheitrecruitment.com | ali@nicheitrecruitment.com
Office +971 442 736 32
Mobile +971 529 259 002
London, Dubai, Sao Paulo
Jumeirah Bay X2 Tower, X Cluster, level 3, JLT, Dubai, UAE