January highlights for talent acquisition leaders

Hi there,

What a start to the new year. It’s only been 3 weeks into 2024, and I’m already seeing a ton of predictions and discussion around changes in the economy, technologies, and general employment. I’ve put together the most relevant macro headlines and then some pertaining to hourly and high volume recruitment—let’s get started.

🗞️ Headlines 

• Sluggish start in Canadian economy expected as the CFIB predicts a 0.5% growth in Q1 2024. Q4 2023 ended at -0.2% growth. Positively, Canadian HR teams are projected to see 18,200 new job openings with 20,900 new job seekers expected.

• Bank of Canada (BOC) holds key interest rate at 5% as economists hope it is a sign that the central bank will pivot to rate cuts. BOC acknowledged it will depend on how inflation responds in the coming months but they did not rule out continued rate hikes.

• New study shows AI is still too expensive to replace humans. Massachusetts Institute of Technology found that upfront costs to develop, deploy, and maintain AI systems will mean it is not economical to replace humans in certain jobs. As a result… expect a gradual AI job displacement.

• ERE Media is hosting a session in February on generative AI and its impact on job applications (not sponsored by Mindfield). I think it will be a great discussion on 1) ethical implications 2) how candidates are using it to game the system and 3) how to accept AI as the new normal in the hiring process.

✅ TA Tips 

Hourly and High Volume (HHV) Recruitment Is Not Going Away  

According to HR.com’s State of HHV report, demand for hourly workers remains high against a shrinking workforce.

So how can TA teams compete for quality candidates? I recently shared a few learnings from enterprise organizations who are starting to figure out how to best recruit quality hourly workers. Here are the key points:

• Diversify your process, policies, and practices

With the Great Resignation, no single recruitment strategy or tactic will work unless the rest of the puzzle (employment branding, recruiter experience, candidate experience, onboarding, competitive wages) makes sense. This means creatively balancing your HR tech stack with the rest of your policies and recruiting process.

• There is no longer a one-size-fits-all solution; continued optimization is king

Unfortunately, with constantly changing candidate behaviour, we must continue to optimize the entire recruitment process. This could mean decreasing applicant ghosting by offering virtual interviews or reducing the number of assessments needed. Pick a key metric to improve, then tackle it bit by bit.

• Don’t overlook onboarding—make improvements now

This one is my favourite because of how simple it can be. We spend thousands of dollars and hundreds of hours trying to fill positions and often forget about onboarding. A recent study showed even a simple welcome text to hourly workers can boost morale and the candidate’s willingness to boost their relationship with their employer.. By 92%! Moral of the story? Look into your onboarding processes as soon as possible.

That’s it for now—hope this gave you a good recap of 2024 so far and some tips to think about in hourly recruitment. Good luck the rest of the month and heading into February and we’ll see you in the next edition of The Hourly Minute. Feel free to connect with me on Linkedin!