---
title: Top Recruiting Trends for 2016
description: Attracting, recruiting and retaining talent is one of the top challenges organizations face. Here are some of the top recruiting trends for 2016.
image: https://blog.sparksgroupinc.com/hubfs/Blogs%20and%20Landing%20Pages/Top%20Recruiting%20Trends%20for%202016-01.png
---

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# Top Recruiting Trends for 2016

![Top Recruiting Trends for 2016-01.png](https://blog.sparksgroupinc.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Blogs%20and%20Landing%20Pages/Top%20Recruiting%20Trends%20for%202016-01.png?width=771&height=376&name=Top%20Recruiting%20Trends%20for%202016-01.png)

Attracting, recruiting and retaining talent is one of the top challenges most organizations currently face in the ongoing "War for Talent". In February 2016 the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) released their list of the top recruiting trends for 2016. Here were their findings:

### Employer Branding Will Continue to be a Focus for Companies

Strengthening their employment brand is a key factor for organizations succeeding in the war for talent. Due to the rise of social media and review sites like Glassdoor, companies have become a great deal more transparent. In order to attract key talent companies must now rely heavily on employee engagement and "word of mouth", and less on advertising and internal reputation. HBR.com recommends these methods for evaluating and maintaining your employment brand:

1. Conduct surveys (both internally and externally) to evaluate your employment brand awareness and reputation
2. Engage in social media, telling great stories that highlight your organization's strengths and address perceived weaknesses
3. Ensure that all areas of your organization understand your employment brand and the role that they share in maintaining this, both internally and externally

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### Analytics Will Become Even More Important 

The use of data for the purpose of improving hiring and retention will continue to grow in 2016. In addition to traditional metrics (e.g., time-to-hire, sourcing channel, cost-of-hire, acceptance ratios, and diversity ratios) companies are using data to explore competitor talent pools, measure return on investment, and more.

### Communication With Candidates Will be Improved 

Organizations need to evaluate every phase of the candidate experience, from the online application experience, to the interview, to the offer. Many modern candidates expect (and rightfully deserve) frequent status updates during this stressful period.

Too often candidates are left wondering "why?" they weren't granted an interview or given an offer. Actionable feedback for non-selected candidates, resources for job search/interviewing strategies, and/or communication about other relevant open opportunities can help bridge this gap.

To learn more about the latest staffing and recruiting trends [contact](https://sparksgroupinc.com/contact-us/) Sparks Group, the Washington, DC's leading provider of administrative, professional, technical and creative talent.

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[Employment Branding](https://blog.sparksgroupinc.com/client/topic/employment-branding), [Hiring Trends](https://blog.sparksgroupinc.com/client/topic/hiring-trends)  June 15, 2016 [Sparks Group Team](https://blog.sparksgroupinc.com/client/author/sparks-group-team)

### Written by [Sparks Group Team](https://blog.sparksgroupinc.com/client/author/sparks-group-team)

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