Recruiting and Hiring: 15 Years of Change

Brighter Strategies is celebrating its 15-year history with a blog series exploring changes in the field of organizational development and human resources consulting. We kicked off this series looking at the broad changes that have taken place in the nonprofit sector including business prioritization, sales and marketing evolutions, and people-centered transformations. Next, we are turning to recruiting and hiring. Here are three major changes that have taken place in talent acquisition since Brighter Strategies was born. 

Technology changes 

Technology is the number one factor for significant and widespread change in recruiting and hiring since 2008. For some it may be difficult to remember the arduous process job seekers and hiring managers followed before tools like video interviews and interview scheduling software were available. Today, recruiting and hiring can happen entirely online. A candidate might never meet someone from the organization in-person Here are some of the most significant tech changes that have ensued in the past decade and a half.  

The rise of social media

Before HR used LinkedIn for recruiting and hiring, job listing sites, company websites, and even newspapers or trade magazines were the primary channels to get candidates’ attention. Today, thanks to LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, an organization’s reach for vetting and sourcing candidates is much wider.  

Remote interviews

In addition to advances in technology, the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the use of remote tools for all workforce practices typically completed face-to-face, including talent acquisition. Pre-COVID, HR might interview a candidate via Skype only if they were hiring for a remote position. Within the past three years, virtual hiring for any role is now a normal process. 

Mobile recruitment.

Mobile technology has permeated every aspect of our lives, from how we communicate, bank, date, and shop to how we seek and apply for employment. Last year job search apps like Indeed, ZipRecruiter, and Glassdoor hit new monthly highs for daily active users.  

Legal changes 

Several significant changes in the laws that surround recruiting and hiring have transformed the talent acquisition experience for job providers and seekers during the past 15 years. The below legal considerations affect how a hiring manager can apply background check results, what an organization can include on their job applications, and how companies can and can’t use social media for hiring.  

• Ban the Box. Within the past decade many employers have adopted “ban the box,” a movement by the nonprofit All of Us or None that urges organizations to consider a candidate’s qualifications first without the stigma of a conviction or arrest record. Not only have employers begun more widespread hiring of the formerly incarcerated, but this movement has supported changes in policies that discriminate against these individuals.  

• Fair Chance to Compete for Jobs Act of 2019. This law prohibits most federal agencies and contractors from requesting information on a job applicant’s arrest and conviction record until they conditionally offer the job to the applicant. Many states amended their criminal background check laws accordingly, such as New York via its Fair Chance Act. 
• Social media and its legal limits. Social media has added a whole new layer of legal considerations when used for recruitment. According to the EEOC, an organization cannot discriminate against a candidate based on protected characteristics such as age, sex, religion, or disabilities, many of which a social media profile may reveal. Legal best practices include using social media as an extension of a resume (not in place of it) and waiting to review an online profile until after meeting a candidate. 

Cultural and social changes 

The two preceding change categories set the stage for major cultural and social shifts in recruitment and hiring. In the past 15 years the power balance has swung from the job provider to the job seeker. This switch has manifested in several ways, including an emphasis on diversity, the candidate experience, and flexible work. 

Embracing diversity

Much progress has been made when it comes to appreciating, supporting, and promoting diversity in all aspects of recruiting and hiring. Technology empowers employers to source more diverse candidates. Legal advancements have opened the door for historically marginalized and underrepresented people to have a fairer chance at employment. And a widespread cultural awakening via the social justice movement of 2020 has shifted the collective narrative around diversity, equity, inclusion, belonging, and access in the workplace.  

Elevating the candidate

In 2018 CareerBuilder reported that job seekers are now in the driver’s seat. The recruiting and hiring process today focuses on the candidate experience. Interviews are as much about a prospective employee making sure the organization is a good fit for them as an employer making a sound hiring decision. Additionally, an employer’s brand has never been more important because employees join and leave organizations in large part based on their reputation and practices. 

Allowing flexible arrangements

Fifteen years ago, hiring mostly focused on filling full-time, in-person roles. Today the talent acquisition landscape itself is diverse, and employers are much more flexible (some less because they want to be, and more because they have to be to attract and retain talent). The gig economy opened job possibilities in the form of part-time roles, project-based work, and contracted employment. 

Recruiting and hiring has changed dramatically in the recent past. We think many of these changes are incredibly positive. With new trends on the horizon such as the use of chatbots for candidate screening and virtual reality for interviewing, we at Brighter Strategies continue to grow our capacity for change as the world around us evolves.  

We believe your people are your most valuable asset. We would love to partner with you to improve your human resources management strategy. Contact us today to learn more.