Why are we talking about Recruitment and Selection (R&S)?

Historically, industrial revolutions have shaped our socio-economic direction and growth. The First was in the 1780s, which brought the development of production techniques by harnessing water and steam power, the Second in 1870s which were powered by electricity and mass production techniques, the Third started at the end of the 1960s bringing advancement in computing technology, and the Fourth is what we are already in; it has brought Physical to Digital & Digital to Physical Technological Advancements. People were staffed during those times and shall be required in IR 4.0 as well. At the same time, we can’t ignore the fact that skill-sets have evolved gradually at every juncture. Employers and Employees had no choice but to adapt to the change. Few chose to move early into the shift whereas, few were forced to accept it. Eventually, we grew together As One. This surfaces the need for the workforce to up-skill themselves, and a shift in the way organizations would run R&S now.

Skills which are being looked for and shall grow in complexity over time.

With the advent of IR 4.0, it is clear that a major shift has already started to seep in how people commute, communicate, buy things, pay, and work. Artificial Intelligence, IoT, Data Science, 3D Printing, Robotics, Nanotechnology are the major drivers for which companies need manpower which can work in sync with this technological advancement at the same time bring values which are still dependent on Human Intelligence.

In the year 2016, World Economic Forum had published Global Skills Shortage statistics along with human skills which would be sort after. Two major Asian countries are facing the biggest skills shortage – Japan where 81% of firms (with 10 or more employees) have difficulty finding qualified employees, and in India, it is 64%.

Skills which humans need and what companies are looking for has evolved within a very short span of time.

Considering the disruption which every industry is going through, the competition for talent is going to be fierce. Not just finding effective ways of securing a talent pipeline will be a priority for virtually every industry but hiring talent which partners in the growth will be equally pertinent. Even at present, most of these roles across industries and countries are already perceived as hard to recruit. The situation is expected to worsen significantly over next few years. This challenge could be a brilliant opportunity for Staffing Industry to grow fast by helping their clients to grow faster.

Staffing 4.0 
Global Staffing organizations have already started evolving to provide fast and relevant solutions to their clients. The emergence of recruitment chatbots to support initial candidate engagement, has been one of the major advancements. Numerous products have entered into the market place; Mya, Job Pal, Karen, Talla, Stanley and Xor.

Companies such as CitySail provide digitized interviews that provides sophisticated ‘micro-expression’ analysis to determine personality matching. Growth of so-called ‘Just-in-Time’ staffing firms are also making significant difference in their client’s growth, the most successful example of which is Swiss firm, Coople. Such services definitely have business value however its adoption by SMEs will be in question for some more time. The moot question here now is; what can the SMEs do to recruit talent which will partner with them in transformation and help them grow amidst Industrial Revolution 4.0?

The top 10 skills listed by WEF clearly signifies the need to identify them in the candidates. Recruitment and Selection of Talent could now have a mix of three approaches at different degree of priority.

Weightage could be given more on Psychometric Test and Business Simulation, whereas, Interview could be seen as an opportunity to discuss over the testimonials on two KPIs i.e. Service Orientation and Negotiation. The other factor which can be understood through an interview is EI of the candidate. This calls out for precise identification, customization, and implementation of tools to support Psychometric Test and Business Simulation. The R&S process might take a little longer to close but this shall increase degree of confidence on the talent after selection is done. Other numerous processes will still be relevant in playing vital role for talent development and retention.

Want to know about Cypax can be of assistance?

Contact

info@cypax.in
+91 7330 991124
www.cypax.in

Forward notes: