The talent landscape is everchanging, with emerging technologies, shifting demographics, and evolving workplaces all playing their part. In 2024 ensuring you are taking a proactive approach to talent planning will enable your business to be more resilient when the inevitable bumps in the road appear.

To help you plan for 2024, we wanted to share our top tips on how to get ahead – specifically looking at how to get more from talent mapping, pipelining and insights.

1. Talent Mapping

We’ve seen how a more innovative approach to talent mapping really increases the value for our clients compared to more traditional methods.  This means taking a wider view, meticulously charting the landscape of potential candidates beyond quick-fire online searches, by delving into industry communities, professional networks, and online platforms where hidden gems reside.  Discovering different, high quality talent pools that our client’s competition would potentially miss.  To get more from talent mapping in 2024 expect to see ….

• Sophisticated data analytics to play a starring role, identifying patterns and predicting future talent needs with greater accuracy.
• Hyper-focused mapping exercises to target specific skill sets and emerging roles – looking beyond your immediate sector – to ensure a ready pool of talent when critical positions arise.
• Rigorous research digging beneath the surface of potential candidates – assessing company structures, geographic scope, routes to market – to more reliably assess suitability.

2. Talent Pipelining

In 2024, we believe clients that put Strategic Talent Pipelining centre stage will see real value in their long-term succession planning.  Building and maintaining a solid slate of candidates for senior roles that don’t currently exist sets up businesses better for success with future hiring needs – by having a ready-made pool of very strong, well-fitting and engaged talent to hire from when the time arrives.    We are passionate about supporting our clients closely on these critical assignments.  Not only in the upfront identification of the best talent, but throughout the process – building excitement, promoting the employer business and brand and by keeping candidates engaged over what can be an extensive period.  However, from our experience the clients that will see the biggest benefits from Strategic Talent Pipelining will also invest in the programme, by: 

• Encouraging internal TA and Recruiting teams to invest time directly with preferred prospective candidates.  These interactions add additional value beyond our efforts, ensuring candidates feel even more connected with their potential future employers
• Looping hiring managers and senior leaders into the process – encouraging them to set aside specific time in their diaries to network and build relationships with key individuals.
• Leveraging social media and other opportunities to engage, such as events, when relevant to create a constant dialogue, fostering a sense of belonging even before they officially join the organisation.

3. Talent Insights

We’re predicting the need for talent insights to see an uprise in 2024 – as companies look to take a firmer hold of their business objectives and to optimise the areas they have full control of, helping to offset pressures from external market factors.  Attracting the right talent is only half the battle, TA leaders should prioritise talent insights in 2024, delving beyond CVs and interviews to really understand the potential, motivations, and aspirations of their workforce. Engaging with key industry stakeholders, competitor organisations and potential candidates to learn how to create better resourcing strategies, how to better address skills shortages and how to create the optimal organisational culture and structures.  Talent Insights can take many forms, however we expect to see a rise in the following areas in 2024:

• Deeper review of D&I initiatives, with a push to much better understand the culture and conditions needed to attract more diverse talent, especially at leadership levels.
• Moves to optimise organisational structures – to ensure the best set up to meet business goals, taking inspiration from other successful businesses.
• Widening of talent pools to address skills shortages, with businesses seeking insights such as how to better engage outside of their sectors, how to connect better with potential new talent, how their company brand perceptions are working for and against them.

Embracing these talent trends in 2024 will better empower businesses to navigate the ever-changing external landscape with more confidence. By proactively mapping the talent landscape, building robust strategic pipelines, and unlocking valuable insights, companies can better discover, attract, engage and retain a workforce that drives success in the years to come.

How We Can Help…

At Henley Research we are dedicated to closely partnering with our clients to provide a comprehensive and personalised service.  Our proactive, strategic approach enables our clients to keep a step ahead with their talent planning and the rigour we apply ensures no stone is left unturned in discovering the best people for your business.

To find out more please get in touch.

Thanks to advances in technology and ongoing economic and social changes, hiring trends are always changing. Knowing the hiring trends for the future will better equip you to identify the best talent for the job and create an inclusive workplace. As 2024 approaches, what hiring trends can we expect in the new year?

Current Hiring Trends

Most of the current hiring trends involve increased automation and the use of AI. Automation has changed the recruiting process, resulting in more efficient methods of collecting and sorting applications. Automation has also made it easier to track candidate progress and analysis, freeing up recruitment teams to focus on outreach and relationship building. AI has been leveraged for gathering data, selecting CVs, and designing job postings. In addition, diversity and inclusivity initiatives have been on the rise, improving workplace cultures and creating a fairer recruitment process. Remote working has also become more popular as a way to create more flexible and widespread job opportunities.

Predictions for 2024

Working with the latest technology will be essential for recruitment teams in 2024. Automation and AI will continue to become increasingly advanced and more integrated into the recruitment process.

In 2024, we can expect an increased focus on diversity and inclusivity initiatives, and more opportunities for remote work.

Additionally, employers may be able to better measure soft skills, such as communication and collaboration, to better assess job applicants.

Finally, freelance and contractor roles will become more popular as traditional long-term employment contracts become less common.

Benefits of Adopting 2024 Hiring Trends

Implementing new technologies and strategies can have a lasting positive impact on the recruitment process and on workplace culture. Automation and AI can increase the efficiency of recruitment, resulting in time and cost savings. Diversity and inclusion initiatives can create a positive team atmosphere and attract talented, diverse candidates. Remote working can open up job opportunities to those in other areas and make recruiting more efficient. As more data is available on job applicants, the ability to measure soft skills could lead to better assessments of job applicants.

At Henley Research, we understand that while technology is everchanging, having expert insight to guide your hiring strategy is as important as ever. With over 25 years experience, we can help you stay ahead of the competition with your hiring strategy to make sure you have the best talent to help your business succeed.

Do you want to make sure you have the best hiring strategy for 2024? Here’s how we can help:

 Talent Mapping: Access talent pools for current and future vacancies

Talent Pipelining: Reduce costs and timescales whilst increasing the chances of securing the most talented people

Insights & Talent Intelligence: Gain information and insights to inform your talent acquisition strategy

Executive Research: Secure the best candidates for executive roles

Would you like to get ahead of your 2024 hiring strategy? Get in touch

Henley MD Mark Senior explains why a research-based approach to executive search is often the most yielding in terms of results and insight

Why should companies be investing in Talent Pipelining?

Talent Pipelining involves making contact with and establishing dialogue with prospective employees. This might be part of a Succession Planning strategy which may also include internal candidates.

Here are  just a few of the reasons why Talent Pipelining is the smart way to recruit at senior level:

Reduced time-to-hire: By establishing relationships with potential candidates in advance, organisations can significantly reduce the time it takes to fill a job opening. This saves time in sourcing, screening, and interviewing new candidates.

Access to high-quality candidates: Talent pipelining allows organisations to attract and engage with top-tier candidates who may not be actively looking for new opportunities.

 Cost savings: Traditional recruitment methods can be expensive. By investing in Talent Pipelining, companies can significantly reduce their overall recruitment costs.

Better cultural fit: By engaging with candidates at an early stage, organisations can evaluate their compatibility and alignment with the company’s goals and values, and reduce the risk of making a bad hiring decision.

Continuous talent supply: Rather than scrambling to find suitable candidates when a position becomes vacant, companies can rely on their talent pipelines to yield qualified and committed candidates quickly and cost-effectively.

If you would like to discuss your talent pipelining needs, please get in touch.

Talent research is so much more than executive search or recruitment.

By accessing, analysing and acting on the data, companies can gain competitive advantage and improve not only their recruitment but also their retention levels. Here are a few ways talent research can help a business:

Gain a Better Understanding of the Talent Market: Professional talent research helps businesses make informed decisions about recruitment and retention by uncovering trends in skills, experience and compensation.

Improved Recruitment: Identify the most effective communication strategies and develop your employer brand proposition to reach the best candidates.

Improved Employee Retention: Professional talent research can identify what motivates employees and what factors contribute to retention., allowing the development of effective retention strategies and improvement of employee engagement and satisfaction.

Without data you risk being exposed: talent research delivers a potent combination of quantitative and qualitative data.

Better Workforce Planning: Talent research can help a business plan for the future by identifying skills and experience required for future roles and developing strategies to ensure the workforce has the necessary skills and experience.

How We Can Help

Henley Research International delivers talent research that is vital to improving recruitment and retention. To find out more, please get in touch.