CareerBuilder released the findings of its annual hiring study, which revealed that 40% of employers plan to hire full-time, permanent employees in 2019, and 47% plan to recruit part-time workers. The war for talent continues on.

50% of human resource managers say they currently have open positions for which they cannot find qualified candidates. But why? There are candidates ready to take on those roles. Across all skills levels, 32% of workers are looking to change jobs in 2019. When asked why they left their last job, employees cited low compensation or a lack of benefits (15%) and poor company culture (10%) as the reason for leaving.

Employment and Hiring Trends to Watch for in 2019:

• Candidates' soft skills are increasingly important when applying to jobs. 92% of employers say soft skills, including interpersonal skills, communication abilities, and critical thinking, will be important in determining whether they will hire candidates. 80% also said that soft skills would be equally or more important than hard skills when hiring candidates, since specific technical skills are necessary for some jobs. The top skills that employers will be hiring for in 2019 are the ability to be team-oriented (51%), attention to detail (49%) and customer service (46%).
  
  

• Opportunities for job seekers are available year-round. 51% percent of hiring managers recruit throughout the calendar year for positions that may open up later on. Of those who continuously recruit, 55% say this reduces their time-to-hire, and 42% claim it reduces cost-per-hire.
  
  

• Companies and job seekers are willing to invest in tech training. 55% percent of employers believe that, on average, 50% or more of all jobs include tech requirements, and 56% have paid for employees to get skills-based training outside the office, so they can move up to a higher-skill job within their organization. However, 66% of employees say their company does not offer educational opportunities or workshops outside of work hours to teach them new skills they could use in their jobs. Of those employees, 73% say they would be somewhat or extremely likely to participate if such opportunities were offered.
  
  

• Convenience and culture may be more important than compensation. Employees cite factors like location (56%), affordable benefits plans (55%), job stability (55%), a good boss (48%), and good work culture (44%) as more important than salary when considering a position.
  
  

• Compensation is on the rise. 29% of employers expect the average increase in salaries for existing employees to be 5% or more in 2019 compared to 2018.  Stay tuned for ASE 2019 Compensation Surveys to see if that will hold true in Michigan.  For free or discounted results, please contact us to participate.

Recruiting Trends to Watch for 2019

• The job seeker experience is paramount: HR managers (36%) cite improved user experiences for candidates, employees, and hiring managers as a top priority for recruitment and HR management going into 2019.
  
  

• Efficiency is critical: HR managers also say helping recruiters to be more efficient in filling roles faster with higher quality candidates (29%) and expediting background checks (24%) are seen as top priorities for recruitment and HR management going into 2019.
  
  

• Streamlined communication: 22% of HR managers believe technology will be most beneficial in helping manage and maintain regular communication with job candidates during the application process.
  
  

• Perfecting the process: Bad hires can negatively affect companies, and the main ways they impacted employers' businesses last year were less productivity (28%), they negatively impacted employee morale (25%), and they drove up costs for recruiting and training other workers (24%). Additionally, employers who have had a bad hire affect their business in the past year estimate the average cost of a bad hire is more than $18,700.

Additional ASE Resources
Talent Development – ASE offers a full array of soft skills training courses.  Please view our upcoming events page to see upcoming classes.

Talent Acquisition – If you need assistance with your recruitment efforts, our Talent Acquisition team can help.  We provide direct and contract hires.  ASE members receive a 10% direct hire placement fee.  For more information, please contact Shannon Reed.

Background Screening Services – Full background checks can help you avoid a bad hire.  ASE offers background checks, drug testing, and reference checking services.  For more information, please contact Susan Chance.

Pre-Employment Assessments - ASE’s pre-employment assessment tools will give your organization additional insights into job candidates, so you can make better-informed selection decisions.  For more information on the types of assessments available, please contact Mike Burns.

Source: CareerBuilder