#AskLuke - no. 5 – 2018 Workplace and Recruitment Trends

So I am kicking of #AskLuke for 2018 with a bit of cheat, in that I will be writing a response to a question not directed at me specifically, but one that I know will be of huge interest to many people at this time of year:

What workplace and recruitment trends can we expect to see in 2018?

There are already a number of lists emerging predicting trends in these areas and I think all have insights that are useful in forming the basis of expectations for the year ahead. I have aggregated a few below that offer a good supplement to my own thoughts if you fancy some additional reading. Enjoy!

• Staffing Industry Analysts – Workplace Trends Predictions for 2018
• Social Talent Blog – 3 Hot & Recruitment Trends to Follow in 2018 – The Social Talent 2017 Global Recruiting Survey is also a great resource
• Forbes – The 2018 Human Resources Trends To Keep On You Radar
• HR Trend Institute – 8 Major HR Trends for 2018

Righto, let’s get to it then, here are my top 5 trends I think will be significant in the workplace and recruitment in 2018:

1.       The Human Workplace

This is a bit of broad brush stroke, I appreciate, but it is a real passion of mine so had to sit at the top of my list. The Human Workplace is shift away from traditional hierarchical structures and heavily micro managed organisational environments. As a starting point for anyone who wants to explore the human workplace concept, check out Andy Swann’s aptly named ‘The Human Workplace’ – it’s excellent!

For me, the Human Workplace is about facilitating a flexible and collaborative culture that adopts a ‘people first’ approach. This may include elements of each of the below (and more!):

• Flexible Working/Remote Working
• Blurred Functions and Job Titles
• Flatter Structures
• Project Style Working
• Valuing Individual Attributes Over Job Titles
• Purpose Driven Hiring

This is by no means an exhaustive list, in fact by creating a list I suppose I am placing restrictions on what should be a completely free and dynamic concept – but basically if your people are genuinely at the heart of your organisation then you are moving in the right direction.

2.     Purpose Focused Approach

Purpose has been a huge word in the HR and Talent world across 2017 and looks set to be a continued theme in 2018. Whilst it can become another clichéd and ‘fashionable’ buzz word I think having conversations around purpose is of huge value, and I for one am delighted it remains on the agenda.

Since the likes of Simon Sinek have championed the notion of ‘Start(ing) with WHY’ there has been a dramatic change in the way organisations engage with both their customers and their people. What is so positive is that there is a recognition that consumers and employees alike are all ‘human’ and as such are driven by emotion first, reason second. This is profound in that it establishes a precedent for the importance of recognizing the needs and values of the individual. A huge step for organisations.

Organisations who have a clearly defined purpose that they can articulate and share this externally will attract individuals who share that purpose, both as consumers and as potential employees. Organisations who fail to do this run the risk of losing relevance within competitive markets and losing out on talent in equally competitive employer markets.

3.      Growth in Internal TA Functions & Outsourced Recruitment Solutions

Given my position within Hudson RPO I suppose it stands to reason that I would champion outsourced recruitment models, but I try to write these articles as a neutral observer as much as possible… That said, I believe there has been a real shift over the last few years for moving away from reliance on third party agency recruitment models towards investing in strong internal talent acquisition functions. This is a trend I expect to continue.

Building an internal function can happen in a number of ways and incorporate several different solutions that form the overall talent strategy, be that through a fully owned in-house recruitment team who manage all requisitions centrally for all regions or functions, a fully outsourced solution with an integrated single supplier managing all requisitions, OR a hybrid approach with a combination of in-house and outsourced sourcing solutions.

The options are diverse and numerous, but in-house appears to be the growing and most cost effective trend.

4.      Continued Growth in Freelance and Contract Working

The GIG economy has seen considerable growth once again in 2017 and appears set to continue in 2018, this coupled with the increasing trend towards a preference for flexible working I believe will result in an increase in freelance and contracting work across the year.

I think there are benefits to contract working for both employer and employee, particularly in the light of the project style approach to tasks and challenges. The flexible workforce could see employees only paying for resource as needed for project delivery and the contractor benefiting from being able to work on multiple projects simultaneous across multiple organisations.

I believe this style of talent engagement will become more and more common, particularly with the enabling power of technology to facilitate remote working across multiple sites simultaneously.

Tied to this, I think we will see organisations trying to better utilize existing talent by mapping the skills already within the organisation and implementing more efficient internal mobility and shared resource programmes.

5.      ‘Just in Time’ Learning (Continuous Learning)

From an L&D perspective the days of ‘classroom’ based ‘just in case training’ (i.e mandatory training for all that doesn’t distinguish between relevant and non-relevant parties) appear to be numbered with a big jump in 2017 toward ‘just in time’ training.

Just in time training is essentially on-demand learning that puts the ownership back in the hands of the trainee in that they can self-select the relevant training for them to be completed at a time that best suits them (largely, but not exclusively, facilitated by online platforms) – Social Talent is a great example of this, check those guys out if you haven’t already!

This style of learning allows the individual to choose their own learning path and is more reflective of the rate of change experienced within modern organisations. Mandatory annual training is both loathed by most and more often than not, completely out of touch with business needs. Just in time training allows for continuous learning across the year that reflects the day to day needs of employees as individuals as well as part of functional teams.

So there you have it, my top 5 picks for workplace and recruitment trends for 2018 – really keen to hear what other people are thinking will be the most significant trends this year so feel free to comment and share your own thoughts. I may look at aggregating a ‘crowd sourced’ list of top trends for a future post if there is a good enough response, watch this space!

As always I welcome any suggestions/questions for the next #AskLuke via comment, phone, email, message, DM etc OR Twitter: @Luke_OMahoney

Wishing everyone a happy, healthy and productive 2018.

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