IT Hiring Challenges [Millennials]

OVERVIEW:

By 2020 millennials will form 50% of the global workforce. What are the challenges IT Staffing firms face concerning millennials and their impact on the current job market?

ANALYSIS:

Some of the current challenges that have been reported by staffing firms are that there are more positions than there is talent. Where 64% of staffing professionals reported that there is a current talent shortage. Hiring managers have also reported that 44% of them missed out on top talent because candidates are seeking higher salaries than they’re able to offer initially. As a result, there has been an increase in companies hiring less experienced workers who are “motivated to learn new skills quickly.”

Another challenge is that 71% of millennials have reported that the internet is their main source of for news and information.  Although, it might sound less of an obstacle, the fact that certain resources found on the internet such as Glassdoor salary estimator tool can provide bloated figures where certain realistic variables are ignored. This could be the candidate's personal measurement of their own skills compared to how the market currently measures the skills they possess, as well as the between their local market versus the state or country as a whole. This creates unrealistic expectations.

In addition, millennial possess different motivators than the previous generations where the workplace benefit valued the lease is healthcare. Whereas 95% reported that work/life balance is extremely important. About 45% of the millennial job market actually would choose workplace flexibility over pay and about 69% believe that office attendance on a daily basis is unnecessary. However, 88% of millennials desire a “positive culture” extremely important to what they consider a “dream job” and 90% want their workplace to be social, collaborative, fun and encouraging.

In 2017, student debt has been reported to be around $1.29 trillion, where millennials and the following generations are seeking alternative methods to educate themselves. Alternative education such as online courses provided by third-parties such as those provided by LinkedIn Learning, Coursera, edX, Udemy, and others. Self-directed learning causes two challenges, one due to the methods being outside the traditionally accepted (Colleges and Universities) and approved criteria some interpersonal as well as hard skills may not have been completely covered in the essence of the markets previous foundation.  The second issue is that candidates educational and training experience can no longer be measured by traditional means. Whereas, some candidates may be well in fact qualified however the placement criteria is outdated.

Recruiters may benefit by designing candidate vetting processes to incorporate certain non-traditional education, how it ranks and implement testing that conforms with the needs of the client's role to be filled.  This will improve the communication of candidate skills between client and talent acquisition specialist as well as provide the candidate with a better understanding of their position in the current landscape. During this process and depending on the testing methods implemented recruiters could possibly quantify the speed of candidates learning, which could also aid in the placement of candidates not quite up to par yet, however, could be with employer upskilling. When teams are appropriately trained, companies save an average of $70,000 annually and receive a 10% increase in productivity.

LAST YEAR'S NUMBERS:

There are currently 6.2 million job openings in America that are unfilled. Companies can't find the right workers, that have the right skills, at the right time, which has slowed growth in the economy. The National Federation of Independent Business reports that 45% of small businesses were unable to find qualified candidates to fill job openings and 60% of all employers have job openings that stay vacant for twelve weeks or longer, which costs them approximately $800,000 annually in lost productivity and advertising fees.

• The United States unemployment rate is 4.1% and is the lowest since 2000.
• About 56% of employers report that they are hiring for business growth
• 13% of employers reported that they are hiring to backfill
• 75% of employers in the Southwest expect to increase hiring
• As many as 44% of candidates are seeking higher salaries than employers are able to offer out the gate.
• Compensation increase is predicted to increase less than 3% across the board.
• 52% of candidates begin conversations around career path and growth during the interview process.
• The top demographic that make up today’s global workforce are millennials.
• Millennials have demonstrated an interest in the benefit of workplace flexibility rather than healthcare.
• 37% of employees work remotely
• 52% of Millennials report that career progression is their top priority
• 87% of Millenials have reported that development is important in a position.
• 98% of recruiters use LinkedIn as a sourcing tool
• 41% of recruiters report that entry-level positions are the most difficult to fill
• 43% of workers have worked remotely for some time.
• 87% of people in the United States are more interested in Gig or NextGen work where they can achieve more workplace flexibility
• Only about 40% of companies promote policies on employee wellness
• 70% of employers report that they plan to invest more in candidate experience in 2018
• On the average of 225 candidates are sourced for a single hire
• One out of every four talent acquisition professionals spend less than 20 hours a week to source for one role at the average of 13 hours