Talent News Round-Up: Boomerang Employees, Skills-Based Hiring, and Intuition
Staying updated on the latest workforce trends is crucial for TA leaders and HR professionals. This week, we delve into three significant developments shaping the talent landscape and get SocialTalent CEO, Johnny Campbell’s first-hand takes on these pieces.
- Our first article is from HR Brew and looks at the importance of boomerang hires as a source of high-quality talent. We’ve made a few boomerang hires ourselves over the last few years and are big fans of the process!
- Next, we explore a LinkedIn article that’s using specific data points to help recruiters improve skills-based hiring.
- And finally, a somewhat controversial piece from Fast Company that’s examining the role of intuition in the recruiting process. Yep, it can be a slightly dangerous word that could lead to bias, but is there weight to their argument?
Join us as we explore these pivotal insights and their implications for the future of work.
1. Boomerang Employees Could be the Secret to Recruiting High-Quality Talent in a Cooling Labor Market
Source: HR Brew
Boomerang employees—those who return to former employers—are increasingly popular as a recruitment strategy in today’s cooling labor market. This trend gained traction after the Great Resignation, with companies benefiting from streamlined hiring processes and lower onboarding costs. Data shows boomerang hires have steadily grown across industries, particularly in healthcare. Many firms are using alumni networks and regular outreach to attract former employees, viewing them as valuable, cost-effective hires who already understand the company’s culture.
Johnny Campbell’s take on this:
“I love Boomerang hiring, we’ve hired at least 2 former employees back in the last year at SocialTalent and it goes way beyond being a simpler or cheaper way of hiring; it says so much to the rest of the business that people who have left want to come back. There’s lots of practical ideas in this article; I especially like Providence’s 6 month touchpoints which continue for 5 years after you leave!“
2. LinkedIn Data Points Out 2 Simple Ways to Improve Skills-Based Hiring
Source: LinkedIn
LinkedIn data reveals two key ways to enhance skills-based hiring: explicitly listing skills in job posts and using skills filters in candidate searches. Job posts that specify skills see a 19% higher view-to-apply rate, but only 13% of recruiter searches include a skills filter. Sectors like communication services and education lead in skills-based searches, while industries such as retail and food services lag behind. Adopting these simple tactics can improve recruitment outcomes and diversify talent pools.
Johnny Campbell’s take on this:
“In my experience, most recruiters focus their attention on job title searches and this data would seem to confirm that. Should you always use Skills searches? That’s a different story. In my humble opinion, a good sourcer or recruiter is able to adapt their search dynamically based on the quality and volume of results they get. Searching is an iterative process but for sure, I’d love to see more people leveraging skills. What’s your take on this?.“
3. How to Use Your Intuition to Hire the Right People
Source: Fast Company
In her book, Jessica Pryce-Jones emphasizes that while bias should be eliminated from recruiting, intuition can play a key role in making better hires. Intuition, especially for experienced interviewers, helps in uncertain situations, allowing recruiters to assess qualities like character, motivation, and compatibility that structured processes may miss. Pryce-Jones advocates blending analytical methods with intuition for more successful outcomes, urging leaders to trust their instincts when making final decisions, particularly in complex roles or high-pressure situations.
Johnny Campbell’s take on this:
“Intuition? My intuition when I saw this headline was “Hold on just a sec, what the heck is this person talking about?”. You should read this and make up your own mind. There are lots of really good points about the role of intuition when something just doesn’t add up but you have to be super careful that you’re not giving people a pass to introduce bias. Coupled with a carefully considered, structured interview process and potentially workplace samples/ tests, there is absolutely a role for intuition. However, using the “could I spend a 6 hour car ride alone with this person” is NOT an appropriate recommendation to use as a hiring criteria.“