Recruitment industry focus: what key trends will emerge in the next year?

As part of its annual recruitment review, here The Drum is exploring the changes in the recruitment industry.

The Drum caught up with a number of recruitment agencies to discuss the challenges facing recruitment and how it will change in the next year. What key trends can we expect to emerge?Gareth Wright, director, The Little Black Book AgencyIf the rate of vacancies and demand for candidates continues to rise, employers can expect to encounter difficulty in finding the right people quickly. As a result, the role of the recruitment agency will become even more important, in order to secure the right talent for these businesses to progress. The use of social media will increase and recruiters will need to diversify the way they attract candidates. Marketing yourself as a desirable employer will be crucial to attracting the right talent, as the competition for the best candidates continues to rise. Ann Downs, managing director, Green Shoots RecruitmentIt’s difficult to predict the future, it’s always changing, but it appears more clients are happy with a personal bespoke recruitment service, to work with a recruiter, who understands their requirements and business and can provide quality candidates who match their vacancies. Martin Anderson, managing director, Carrot RecruitmentI’m not sure we’ll see anything significant other than an upward trend in the employment of recruitment consultancies, particularly the good ones who specialise. Social Media will continue to evolve and some clever tools might emerge. Possibly a continuing shift towards flexible working arrangements and contract roles will be seen as employers seek to minimise risks and maintain lean and profitable businesses.Farooq Mohammed, Digital GurusSocial media is playing more of a prominent part, but a key emergence is clients who spend heavily on recruitment building in house teams. Saving substantial amounts, by not paying per placement, rather a fixed salary they inevitably save, but there will always be a need for recruitment agencies.Mark Manton, managing director, Soap RecruitmentOne common theme that is consistent across all levels of recruitment, no matter what the role or sector, is the need to drive down recruitment costs without sacrificing quality of candidates. That is one of the drivers as to why employers have taken to social media recruitment so enthusiastically.Technology will continue to revolutionise the recruitment sector just as it has the insurance, travel and music industries. Expect to see an increase in recruitment activity via mobile channels such as smartphones and tablets through apps, messaging and mobile content as the whole recruitment experience becomes much more immersive, personal and engaging. Employers will be looking beyond a candidates CV to explore more interactive ways to select potential candidates, whether this be through online videos, interactive testing and even augmented reality. Augmented reality has already been successfully used by some forward-thinking employers during initial interview stages to assess a candidates approach to problem-solving.Traditional recruitment methods will be further enhanced by new technologies that assist in developing successful search strategies across a plethora of media platforms such as blogs and social networking sites. However, the ultimate success-test is the quality of the candidate shortlist and this is an area where thorough candidate identification, interview and formal evaluation process is of critical importance.Sponsored by:CV image via Shutterstock