The ever-changing recruitment industry is looking bright for 2019 with increased expectations and a future of high AI implementation.

Bullhorn connected with over 2,000 industry professionals worldwide to gather their thoughts and expectations for the year ahead and these are the predicted trends for 2019.

Optimistic Expectations

2019 is looking to be an optimistic year in recruitment with high expectations from industry professionals. Revenue, budgets, investment and placement expectations have all risen in comparison to 2018. 79% of recruitment professionals are expecting revenue to increase in 2019, with 23% expecting the rise to be 25+%. There is also an expected increase in temp placements of 63% and more than half (57%) of industry professionals plan to spend more on tech.

Candidates and Tech, 2019’s Top Priorities

In 2019 there are two top focus points for a successful year, candidates and technology.

61% of respondents listed candidate sourcing as their top priority, and engaging candidates coming in second at 36%.

Recruitment is a candidate driven market, the candidates keep agencies running and therefore ensuring their experiences are positive, is of utmost  importance for the future of the business.

72% of candidates who had a negative experience shared their experience online or in-person, deterring future candidates from applying. Therefore ensuring candidates have a positive experience deems them more likely to accept offers, refer others and reapply in the future.

With tech automation improving operations and reducing workload, 31% of recruiters will be embracing and prioritising their digital transformation while another 30% intend to prioritise  brand development and enhancing their marketing strategies.

With the rise of job seekers finding jobs on social, video interviewing and, automated and streamlined back office technology you can save time and money in 2019.

Challenges for 2019

There will always be challenges to overcome and in 2019, 73% of industry professionals see talent shortages as the top challenge for recruitment agencies in 2019. With the lowering rate of higher education, students graduating on time, the aging population and job mobility, talent shortages are inevitable in the recruitment industry and seem to be on a constant increase. Talent shortages within the industry is debatably a make or break amongst recruitment professionals with 34% saying the low employment number will have a negative effect on achieving revenue goals while 27% believe it in fact to be positive.

Another 38% of recruiter cite their top challenge as getting employers to increase candidate pay rates. This effectively leads to the high turnover numbers that 27% of recruiters are struggling with.

With 80% of respondents likely to see digital transformations within the next year, a top operational challenge will be embracing this change; 49% of recruiters citing this as their top challenge. Pricing pressure follows closely behind as another top pressure at 44%.

Reskilling and AI, the solution for 2019

Reskilling and AI are on the rise for 2019 with 55% of recruitment professionals believing  it will have a positive impact on candidates and clients.

As talent shortages are predicted to be the largest challenge for 2019, there could be a solution that shifts the views of the recruitment industry.

Reskilling: turning outdated skills into well needed services that are in demand.

74% of recruiters cite reskilling as an effective way to overcome talent shortages in 2019.

Reskilling is needed with not only employees but also processes, 50% of respondents believe AI would have a positive impact on candidates with only 18% saying it will be negative. AI can bring efficiency and help employees develop within their job and career.

There are many exciting opportunities for the recruitment industry and plenty of room to get ahead and learn as respondents say their understanding of AI is just 5/10. With video interviews, social media recruitment and automated back office software, having an understanding of AI is crucial to success.

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