2016 coming to a close and the New Year beckons. Meanwhile, LinkedIn has released its recruitment trends for 2017. The Small and Mid-Sized Business Recruiting Trends 2017, is based on responses from over 2,600 corporate talent acquisition leaders. The answers came from SMEs in 35 different countries. All the survey respondents were at a manager level or higher. Read on to find out what the report revealed.

Key Recruitment Trends for 2017

Below are the key recruitment trends the industry can expect to see this year:

1- Recruiters will be busier than ever and there will be a focus on quality hiring

If you thought 2016 was active in terms of recruitment, then 2017 looks set to be even busier. According to the report, recruiters will have their work cut out in the coming year. 2017 expects to see a 57% increase in hiring among SMEs.

Furthermore, SMEs will take steps to measure the success of new employees. They expect to achieve this by focusing on the length of time new employees stay at the company. Also, by measuring the satisfaction of their hiring manager, and how long it takes to fill a role.

The role of recruitment professionals is finding a great fit for the role — Employee retention is vital for all-size companies, but especially small companies. At Adria Solutions, we can help companies source top candidates faster and more efficient and improve retention rates.

2- Boosting employment diversity

The LinkedIn report also found there will be a focus on boosting diversity in workforces. By automating the screening process, SMEs can eliminate human bias and reduce time to hire.

3- Executive talent recruitment

Another finding of the report is that tighter relationships are expected between talent leaders and company executives. LinkedIn also anticipates that closer relations between talent leaders and executives should give SMEs a “competitive edge over their larger competitors.”

4- Employer branding budgets will rise

The report found SME’s spend 70% of their budget on recruitment agencies, jobs boards and recruitment tools. One key trend identified by the survey is the urge to shift the primary focus of this investment to employer branding.

5- A greater focus on company culture and career growth

77% of the leaders surveyed in the LinkedIn study acknowledged the importance of employer branding in talent attraction. It also acknowledged that the most significant aspects of an employer that candidates want to know about is company culture, career growth prospects and company challenges.

The report made it clear that businesses will be focusing on finding quality candidates this year. Additionally, more than half of SMEs forecasting their hiring volumes will increase. It, therefore, seems that professional recruiters will be in even higher demand in 2017.

If you need any advice on recruitment trends for 2017, why not get in touch? We’re experts in finding the right talent for your businesses, first time round.