2019 Talent Acquisition Trends of Choice

People are a major contributing factor to any company’s success, and employers are always looking at how to engage talented employees to give their business more of an edge. It is no doubt that more researches have confirmed that today’s job market is 90% candidate-driven, which means that as an employer, you don’t choose talent – talent chooses you.

Taking in account LinkedIn’s 2019 Global Talent Trends report, top hiring trends of the year focuses on the transition of the employer-employee power dynamic, giving way to a more transparent, trusting and reciprocal relationship through four new trends: soft skills, work flexibility, anti-harassment practices, and pay transparency.

Combining the four trends considered to be most important to the future of hiring and HR, here’s what to do:

Invest in Employees Who Gel with Your Company Culture

91% Soft skills: 92% of those surveyed said that soft skills in the workplace matter “as much or more than” hard skills. These include the ability to communicate, teamwork and problem solving, 80% say soft skills are critical to company success, as soft skills are more future-proofed than technical skills, which advance rapidly.

Offer Prospective Employees the Perks that Matter to Them

72% Work Flexibility: Employers who offer flexibility in the interview process may be off to a good start. Once considered a perk, flexible hours are fast becoming a standard expectation among job seekers. LinkedIn has seen a 78% increase in job posts mentioning flexibility in the past two years. This trend in talent acquisition includes flexible working hours as well as the ability to work remotely from co-working spaces or hot desks.

Build a Healthy and Happy Company Culture

71% Safety and happiness: Job seekers are looking for places where wellbeing, communication and diversity are valued. There has been a 71% year-on-year increase in the amount of workplace harassment content shared on LinkedIn, and candidates are increasingly seeking out workplaces with policies in place to prevent and combat harassment and actively protect their rights.

Encourage Transparency and Communication

53% Pay Transparency: Pay has always been a confidential topic, but more candidates are looking for transparency around remuneration. More employers are starting to proactively share salary information. 27% of those surveyed say they share ranges with employees and candidates early on in the hiring process, and another 22% say they’re likely to start doing this in the next five years.

These trends are shaping the workplace of the future into a more agile, flexible and inclusive one. Companies such as  Akamai, NASA, and Github are placing a consistently strong focus on better flexibility and remote work style options, as well as diversity, inclusion, wellbeing and more progressive values.