The job market has become increasingly competitive in recent years. Canada’s booming economy has produced the lowest unemployment rates in more than a decade. Juxtaposed against the rising number of Baby Boomers retiring from high-skilled supply chain and procurement roles, it’s clear the battle for talent is tighter than ever.

The hiring process is an intricate dance, one that’s often as unique from company to company. Hiring managers and candidates alike carefully screen their opportunities based on an ever-shifting series of priorities and circumstances.

A large number of passive candidates and plentiful job openings allow invested candidates to lead the chase, while hiring managers have to work hard to ensure they select the right employees to move their company into the future. Luckily, emerging trends indicate both parties are in sync when it comes to the outcomes they want from the hiring process.

A smoother onboarding process:

Onboarding can be expensive. Up to 20 percent of turnover happens within the first 50 days of employment. And, because standardised onboarding processes can result in a 54 percent productivity increase among new hires, it’s clear hiring managers can’t afford to let anything slip through the cracks.

To standardise onboarding across national and global enterprise-scale organisations, many hiring managers have turned to human capital management software to unify their efforts and automate lower level tasks.

Freeing up time currently spent filing paperwork or manually tracking applicant engagement allows hiring managers and other human resources professionals to focus on acclimating new hires to the company culture and providing them with valuable mentorships. An expedited and hands-on training process can help eliminate bottlenecks causing employee churn. It’s a win-win for both parties.

Optimised job listings and skills:

Arthur C. Clarke, the brilliant futurist and author of 2001: A Space Odyssey, once wrote, “I’m a scientific expert; that means I know nothing about absolutely everything.” There’s always debate over whether it’s better to be a generalist or a specialist. Generalists can apply to a broader spectrum of jobs across a variety of similar industries. However, as supply chain roles shift and technology aptitude becomes more of a baseline, more roles will become increasingly specialised. Skills such as technical fluency, big data analytics and organisational logistics will become even more desirable as automation transforms the way our industry operates.

Millennial candidates want positions that not only match the evolving technical skills touted as tomorrow’s must-haves, but that also incorporate unique soft skills such as innovation, creativity and communication. Machine-to-human interfacing helps organisations understand what vast streams of data really mean, which allows talented analysts to extrapolate key insights to move the business forward. Millennials’ stated career preferences perfectly align with what hiring managers are looking for in their future logistics employees.

Cohesive branding:

An employer’s brand matters just as much in the hiring process as its prospective candidates’ personal brands. Millennial candidates, in particular, will correlate a company’s social presence with the type of workplace culture they’re likely to encounter.

As first impressions go, it’s not totally inaccurate. Think about it; if employees aren’t comfortable advocating for their company’s brand, or there’s no way to tell what it’s like behind the scenes, how can a candidate know if their values align with a prospective employer’s?

The same goes for hiring managers. Pre-screening should always account for a candidate’s social presence. It’s not necessary to be active on every social platform, and very few jobs need influencers. However, one of the best ways to uncover toxic personality traits is to screen the social media feeds of prospective candidates to avoid making a potential hiring mistake.

Bilateral communication:

Two-way communication improves the hiring process and the culture of the workplace. Candidates and employees should feel empowered to give feedback on the hiring process, such as what worked well and what they wanted but didn’t see, as well as any barriers to retention in the workplace. Hiring managers should also be able to provide honest insights to candidates, especially if they weren’t selected for a position. Receiving constructive criticism is a valuable interpersonal skill that should be present on both sides of the fence.

Technology is helping bridge the divide between candidates and recruiters. If both sides can truly align their objectives, it could usher in a golden age in supply chain recruiting. From software to social media, new mediums are fast becoming standardised parts of the hiring process.