In the literature, there are many elements showing that recruitment, as commonly conceived, began after the Industrial Revolution in the 18th century. However, we could go back a little further, for example, to prehistory and the necessity of humans to survive, to feed themselves, to protect themselves, and thus the need to unite to be stronger. It was very difficult to survive alone, to gather the right things, and later to hunt without tools, and then to construct these tools to be more efficient. Therefore, recruiting was necessary to create a group, and to achieve this, convincing was required, albeit in a rather rudimentary and natural way, due to physiological reasons but still convincing. Of course, there was no formal process per se, as each person had to persuade the other to become their ally in gathering, hunting, or crafting weapons. It was necessary to know why, who, and how to recruit in order to make the right choices.
With globalization and the proliferation of different types of companies, such as small businesses, medium-sized enterprises, large corporations, multinational corporations, startups, and even self-employment, talents have options and decide their destination and career path. Just a few years ago, companies approached recruitment with a strategy of publishing job offers and leaving the outcome to chance. Nowadays, we have headhunters, independent recruitment agencies, and consultants. The focus is on attracting, developing, and training talents, and simply offering a turnkey permanent contract (CDI) is no longer sufficient.
Recruiters used to be generalists, regardless of the type of position, the specific requirements, seniority, or urgency. The same people handled everything. However, when it comes to finding very specific individuals with well-defined skills, there can be no approximation or improvisation. To attract and convince someone, regardless of the field of activity, it is essential to speak the same language, have the same vocabulary, and, moreover, have expertise in the field. This is because the technicality of professions is increasingly significant.
But being an expert is not enough; it is also important for the company to offer challenges that can be met and an attractive environment. With social media platforms (LinkedIn, various job websites, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc.), candidates are inundated with job opportunities. Like a child lost in the aisles of a candy store, the 2.0 candidate is equally amazed and lost. Recruiters are therefore specializing in specific domains but must also be highly creative. Offering an improved candidate experience has become a standard today when it comes to attracting talents. The best recruiters create and manage a pool of internal and external candidates. They work in collaboration with schools and training institutes to recruit the most promising young graduates.
Companies are implementing new ways of recruiting: gamification, simulated scenarios, group assessments, stress tests, co-evaluation, and more. Standing out from the competition in terms of the recruitment process has become more important than the content itself, although few candidates are fooled. The proposed project remains the central element in the decision-making process.
According to a study by Dell and the Institute for the Future, 85% of the professions in 2030 do not exist yet. Whether from the perspective of the hiring company or job seekers, we reach a rather comical level of complexity. The company doesn't know whom they are searching for, and the job seekers are unaware that they are being sought after. This is where skills and workforce planning becomes fundamental. The development and sustainability of a company are strongly linked to the implementation of a coherent SWP policy. And to do so, it is not merely a matter of execution but of strategy that must first be discussed and decided upon. Why? Simply because a SWP strategy cannot be improvised and requires a financial investment commensurate with its business ambitions. Anticipation involves having a precise understanding of past actions and visibility of the stakeholders within the company. The objective is to stay ahead, not fall behind competitors, and have the right resources in the future. To achieve this, a change of reference is necessary: we are no longer talking about searching for talents or professionals in a specific field, but about skills. It will be necessary to identify, evaluate, develop, and plan for this management. Let's focus on the first step: identification. What are the desired skills, and where can they be found? This first aspect alone is a daunting mission. Indeed, what types of skills do you need? You probably want to have an understanding of both the so-called "technical" know-how and the experiences of your employees. An employee who skydives or volunteers as a firefighter gains experience that can be transferable today or useful for the "jobs of tomorrow." The candidates' resumes, which hopefully have been digitized upon their hiring, can potentially serve as the first entry points for human resources to begin mapping skills. The second entry points are social networks if employees have chosen to have an online profile and keep it updated. Few employees will proactively communicate their skills internally. These skills are completely unknown assets for the company, yet they are so crucial for the future. It is therefore essential to establish a discovery process. Once again, you can easily imagine the magnitude of the task.
Technology will support, simplify, accelerate and historicize the recruitment process, but it will not recruit for you. The development of a recruitment strategy and its execution depends solely on the company and its employees. Technology will never be a magic wand. Nevertheless, in a totally connected world, where the amount of data and information is increasing at an exponential rate, it is important to be able to capture it, integrate it, and make it intelligible in order to extract a competitive advantage for development. In the context of recruitment, for example, just the approval and follow-up workflows alone are consuming in terms of resources and time. Multinationals and even startups can have up to seven interviews to find the right person for each hire. Once the candidate is recruited, the work does not stop there. In view of the increasing number of resignations before the end of the trial period, it is important to have an on-boarding and integration process that is commensurate with the investment made in recruitment. In addition, there are the legal obligations related to hiring: the single declaration, registration with the pension funds, registration with the occupational medicine service, keeping a single personnel register, registering with the labor inspectorate and drawing up the payroll.
Having the right technological tools at their disposal allows the most advanced companies to focus on innovation, strategy and to have a predictive management of their human resources.
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