Early careers whitepaper investigates emerging recruitment trends

New whitepaper says businesses need to balance digital technology with the human touch to attract talent and prevent negative impacts on company culture and diversity.

Relocate Editorial

30 January 2020

Global talent acquisition and management firm, Alexander Mann Solutions (AMS), has released a new white paper that investigates how trends in digitalisation, STEM and diversity & inclusion impact school and college leavers across the world.In ‘Early careers recruitment: What are the opportunities from digitalisation, STEM and Diversity & Inclusion?’, AMS’s new head of emerging talent growth, Jane Clark, addresses questions such as: is digitalisation killing off the human or personal touch in recruitment? How much of a real problem is the STEM talent shortage globally? And what does diversity & inclusion actually mean to the new generation of graduates?

A focus on digitalisation

Businesses need to ensure they are appropriately utilising digital technologies and balancing this with the human touch in talent attraction strategies to prevent potential negative impacts on company culture and diversity, according to the findings cited in AMS’s whitepaper.Despite candidates now expecting a streamlined recruitment process enhanced through digitalisation, 78 per cent in the 16-34 age bracket prefer face-to-face or telephone interaction with a member of staff. Only 3 per cent didn’t consider talking to someone as being important.

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The paper also outlines that, while many businesses are successfully using the likes of gamification to engage with fresh candidates, the system can nurture bias if the right balance isn’t struckLiz Wessel, co-founder and CEO of the US online recruitment portal WayUp, says, “Something like 55 per cent of candidates that were applying were women. But only 40 per cent of candidates who were completing and passing the gamification were women. Gamification can be great when it’s deployed properly. But many of the instances that we actually hear about will often either favour certain demographic groups, or hurt the company’s overall hiring initiatives.”

Using tech to attract talent

Commenting on the report, Jane Clark, AMS global head of emerging talent consulting, adds, “This report seeks to help employers understand the role that technology can and should play in talent attraction and engagement strategies, particularly in relation to emerging talent. While it’s great that digitalisation is now being leveraged to streamline the recruitment process and engage fresh talent, the right balance between technology and human interaction still must be struck.“As much as the new Gen Z wave of graduates appreciate a faster and sleeker recruitment process, they also want to interact and meet in person. While bots have a critical role to play in talent acquisition process of today and in the future, like all job applicants, Gen Z prospects still values the interactions of a real person in the hiring process.“Utilising digitalisation well is instrumental in hiring and retaining top talent, and by utilising the opportunities this can present to engage with emerging talent at an early stage in their career, businesses can ensure that they are accessing highly skilled individuals. However, any digital transformation exercise must reinforce and work alongside the company culture.”