Are You Slowing Your Company Growth Down By Ignoring These Hiring Trends?

2018 is set to be the year of rapid growth. We recently conducted a survey of fast-growing companies and found that 77 percent plan on increasing their company size by 25 percent. This is no easy feat, but they’re making it work.

One thing that stood out as important to the hiring professionals of these organizations were the latest trends. In fact, 62 percent said it’s very important for a fast-growing company to follow hiring trends and use modern hiring tools. Additionally, 44 percent said they try a new hiring or recruiting tool several times a year.

If your company is ramping up for fast growth, then you need to start preparing now. Here are the tools and resources rapidly-growing companies are using:

1. Candidate skills screening tech

You invest hours and resources when vetting a candidate. But it all goes to waste when the person turns out to be a bad fit. This is why many rapidly-growing organizations are taking human error out of the equation.

In our survey, 67 percent of companies said they used skills tests when screening. Fifty-six percent said they used personality assessments. This makes these two screens the most popular for rapidly-growing companies. These types of assessments identify the right characteristics in seconds, while it takes a human hours of interviewing.

When choosing this tech, identify what qualities you’re looking for in candidates. For instance, if communication skills are important, don’t choose a skills assessment test that only has multiple choice questions. This will help you find tools that objectively assess job seekers.

2. Video interviewing software

Thanks to advancements in communication technology, video interviews have become popular screening tools. With Skype or Google Hangouts, companies were able to talk with and see candidates they were considering.

But now, rapidly-growing companies are realizing there’s an even better option.

In our survey, 31 percent of respondents said they were planning on incorporating a  video interviewing platform into their hiring process. This software, specifically designed for vetting candidates, makes it easier to evaluate candidates and collaborate with your team.

Instead of reserving huge chunks of your time for scheduling and watching interviews, use one-way video interviews. In just a few minutes, you can watch candidates’ responses and decide if they should move on to the next step. This will leave more time to focus on other aspects of company growth.

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3. Social media

You’d think that using social media for hiring would be old news by now. But with how quickly the platforms evolve, there’s always something new.

In fact, in our survey, 44 percent of rapidly-growing companies said they were planning to focus on social media in 2018. It was the number one resource being added to talent acquisition strategies.

The key to using social media when hiring is to know which platforms your ideal candidates use. Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram — these all have different demographics. Check with current employees to see on which social media sites they have profiles. This will help you to decide where to focus your efforts.

4. Chatbots

While many companies already use chatbots for their customer service, few have considered how the technology can help with talent acquisition. Chatbots provide an opportunity for potential employees and organizations to get to know each other before entering into the hiring process.

A chatbot on your career site can be programmed to give potential candidates the information they need. By getting more in-depth knowledge of the company, talent can self-select whether or not the organization is right for them.

At the same time, chatbots can find and record data to help you screen for potential candidates. Chatbots can ask visitors about their professional experience. If they have certain skills that your company is looking for, the chatbot can collect contact information. Then a member of your hiring team can reach out to discuss what opportunities there are at the company.