In a rather marvellous article (Recruitment 5.0: The Future of Recruiting — the Final Chapter ), published recently, Matthew Jeffrey and Amy McKee of Autodesk lay out their vision of the future (see here if you’re interested). It’s a good read, but you may want to get a cup of tea before you begin.
Their article is the latest in a series that charts the evolutionary journey of recruitment as it’s moved from a process primarily about building relationships (1.0), through a developing over-reliance on technology (2.0), which pushed the candidate away and then back again (3.0 & 4.0). The future, they argue,will see employers able to re-forge their relationships with the people they need by understanding their needs in detail, tailoring the way they interact with them accordingly.
One of the main points here is that there’s now the technology and data available to do this – data that’s derived from the information about our preferences, motivations and behaviours, the data that we all leave behind us as we go about our social media led lives. Of course there are those people who’ll argue that not everyone has a social footprint – but then you’re reading our blog, and we know you are, so there! But don’t worry; this is not as ‘big brother’ as it sounds. The fact that we leave this data trail behind us is good news.
Good news for the employers that embrace this changing environment. They’ll build communities of engaged, talented people that they can approach when the right role becomes vacant, reducing the time and cost of each hire to their business. They’ll be able to communicate the human nature of their brand through the relationships they build – hiring more of the right people based on fact and understanding. In effect they’ll become talent spotters and talent managers rather than advertisers or recruiters.
Good news for us all as job seekers too. Our world is more social and more mobile; we want and demand information when and where we want it, and if employers can cut through the clutter because they understand us better, we’ll be getting what we want too. It’ll be easier to spot the employers that suit us and make informed decisions about our careers. A real win-win situation.
We’re big fans of Matthew and his work, and hope that you have a chance to read his article. It ties in with our thinking and the way we work to uncover our client’s unique human brand, building conversations and relationships that benefit us all.
So, have a read, and if you’d like to begin a conversation you’ll know where to come.
Tonic thinking 