Five trends in 5 minutes: Toronto Talent Acquisition trends to watch

Working within the Toronto TA landscape requires dizzying adaptation as we see many shifts and turns. Each year feels like it has a new storyline. Companies are in an employer’s market while struggling with niche skills shortages, cost cutting initiatives all while trying to do the tech integration dance with the extra twist of AI. 

Follow me as I explore 5 trends in 5 minutes – a quick summary about important things to think about in navigating today’s TO talent market.

1. Build in agility for next time:

Talent teams are feeling whiplash. With investment dollars down and projects on pause, we see employees prioritizing job stability, and potential retirees staying put as they shore up their savings and investments. This change is a challenge for HR leaders as they have been forced to reduce both their contractor and perm recruitment resources to be aligned with reduced hiring volumes. As for the forward-thinking and visionary TO HR types, they are very much trying to figure out to build agility into their models for next time.

2. Cross industry hiring: 

In areas where are there pockets of steep niche talent shortages, employers are looking more deeply at cross industry hiring. There is a growing trend of hiring individuals with transferable skills from adjacent or even unrelated industries along with increased focus on continuing learning initiatives, and collaboration with educational institutions.

3. Make my tech pain go away:

HR leaders are often paralyzed when choosing technology - from the array of options and the pace that providers add more functionality - it is a hectic landscape. This has led to difficulties and delays in adapting to evolving needs and compliance. Moreover, lack of seamless integration among different tools within tech stacks, manual work arounds, difficult to navigate interfaces, limited customization, poor candidate experience, insufficient reporting and analytics within the tech stack, high costs and limited ROI are becoming overwhelming.  HR leaders are seeking ways to cut through noise and have support with tech roadmaps. 

If you are seeking help to get a handle on AI and TA tech: Another TA Tech consideration for you to peruse: AMS verified is a free service, recommended by Josh Bersin. This tool is supporting many TA leaders globally to optimize their tech stack and in a responsible and compliant way with AI.  Let me know if you would like a demo. 

4. DEI Evolves: 

The landscape of DEI is undergoing an evolution as efforts transform from standalone initiatives to initiatives being embedded into the TA workstream. Toronto-based organizations are recognizing the value of embedding DEI considerations at every stage of the TA journey. For example, it is table stakes now for TA teams in Toronto to ensure job postings do not use biased language. There is also a growing focus on all aspects of intersectionality in hiring practices to provide a more inclusive recruitment environment.

5. Seeking value added partnerships:

In Toronto’s evolving TA landscape, more and more employers are seeking collaborative partners to bring a variety of expertise to the table to support recruiting efforts. Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO) is gaining traction as companies adapt to emerging trends and require more sophisticated sourcing approaches, access to ongoing data insights, and efficient use of high performing TA tech and responsible use of AI.

Connect with me on LinkedIn to have a discussion about TA in Toronto.