The Pink Hour: The New Wave - Building the Workforce of the Future

The future of any company lies with its people. Not only that, but the very culture and values are lived and defined by its people, so investing in the next wave of talent is always important to get right.

Investing in school leavers and early career talent can pay dividends long-term, but how can we tap into the potential of the next generation?

In our second edition of the Pink Hour, we sat down with Clair Bush (CMO at Lumenai), Alexandra Chirica (Founder at Recfindr) and Nathan Keighley (Talent Manager at Scede) to discuss the strategies for hiring the next generation of talent, alluding to key areas such as candidate experience, leveraging AI and embracing DEI.

Here are our top takeaways from the discussion:

Culture is king

With the workplace undergoing a generational transformation and younger talent such as Gen Z and Gen Alpha bringing new expectations, companies must adapt to the mindset of ‘selling’ their job roles to candidates.

Today’s candidates long for a work culture where they can make a tangible difference, but also feel that sense of belonging that goes towards authentic and transparent communication from the top down. This means that hiring managers have the responsibility of conveying this authenticity from the moment a candidate applies for a role, and through every touchpoint of the hiring process. Candidates want to be able to resonate and feel the culture through your job description, interviews, career site and beyond, if they are successful. Much of the younger generation also thrive on both efficiency and simplicity when it comes to the application process, such as one-click applications or interviews that respect their time and accessibility.

In order to promote your company culture from the very first touchpoint, you of course need to perfect your employer brand, which does more heavy lifting than you might realise. Candidates often decide within seconds whether to pursue an application based on your digital presence. Your career site and social media platforms therefore should highlight what makes your company culture stand out. Features such as a live chat can make the candidate experience more interactive and engaging. You may also look towards employee advocacy and encourage your team to share their experiences on platforms like Glassdoor, LinkedIn, or even TikTok to humanise your brand and attract that younger talent.

Adopt innovative recruitment strategies

Evolving with the next generation of talent can sometimes mean adopting recruitment strategies that are outside the box, in order to stand out in a competitive recruitment landscape. Whether this involves embracing multiple platforms and combining traditional tools such as radio and TV, with more modern tools such as social media and virtual reality, it’s key to select platforms that can not only amplify your recruitment campaigns, but also align with your company culture and values.

Many companies have been known to gamify their hiring process such as utilising VR for immersive soft skills testing. For example, this may involve placing candidates in virtual conflict scenarios to evaluate how they handle interpersonal challenges. This approach can resonate with some of the younger candidates to build self-awareness in areas they may lack experience. Another extremely popular method is TikTok. Whilst not everyone’s cup of tea, TikTok allows companies to embrace a more playful approach to brand storytelling. Creating relatable, day-to-day content through your employees can really resonate with the younger generation, who are naturally more digitally adept. 

Inclusion needs to be embedded throughout the hiring process

Inclusion is not just about ticking boxes. It’s a key value that needs to be incorporated from the start to the end of the hiring process, and through to the overall company culture. Ultimately, this ensures new hires are supported and not tokenised, meaning the potential for stronger business outcomes.

It’s very easy to neglect DEI when it comes to applying it to your hiring process, but often even the small gestures go a long way, such as asking candidates about reasonable adjustments at various stages. This can create a safer space for those who may initially hesitate to disclose needs early in the process. Leveraging your recruitment analytics can also help identify gaps in your DEI hiring, enabling companies to refine their outreach and processes to attract underrepresented groups. Often it boils down to a company being honest with itself and realising the reality that they are perhaps not as diverse or inclusive as they would like to be. From here, companies can build and ensure more meaningful follow-through with their hiring processes to fully reflect their company culture and values.

Connect with your candidates through AI

We’re all well aware of the numerous benefits of adopting AI within hiring, but we also forget how digitally savvy the next generation is and in many ways are likely to prefer a more digitally advanced application process. Recruiters therefore need robust methods such as live assessments or conversational AI in order to provide every candidate a positive and authentic experience.

Over-reliance on AI does of course pose certain negatives, such as creating a more impersonal candidate experience, so it’s about generating a balance and knowing when and when not to use AI. The more menial, repetitive tasks such as CV screening can be streamlined using AI especially if you're receiving a high volume of applications, but for interviews and the more personal aspects of the process, it’s still crucial to incorporate that human touch.

Thank you to everyone who joined The Pink Hour! If you'd like to connect with our speakers, you can find their details below:

Clair Bush, CMO at Lumenai

Alexandra Chirica, Founder at Recfindr

Nathan Keighley, Talent Manager at Scede

If you'd like to see what Teamtailor could offer your recruitment, click below!