Top Strategic Tech Trends for 2013

What’s coming up from a tech perspective? If you’re a recruitment manager/director, read on to see how the 2013 tech trends could affect you.

Well, Gartner have done it again; they’ve come up with some research on where the tech market is taking us. There’s some interesting stuff in their report – and a lot of it will affect the recruitment market.

Louise Triance from UKRecruiter has invited me to speak at her end of year conference today to talk about technology trends for 2013, so I thought I’d blog about it too.

Mobile

Looks like (surprise, surprise) mobile devices are on the up, and the stats are pretty compelling:

In 2013, mobile devices will pass PCs to be most common Web access tools. By 2015, over 80% of handsets in mature markets will be smart phones.

This used to be called “scatter cushion computing” – the idea being that we have more devices that cushions in our living rooms. Now it’s more about “multi-device” (smart phones, tablets, notepads, laptops etc…)

What does this mean for recruitment? Well for one it means that a significant amount of traffic to your web will be via a device (not a PC / Laptop) thus you need to cater for these users. Silly things like getting rid of (0) in phone numbers should already have been tackled (see previous blog), although iPhone’s dial assist helps with that.

Another major consideration is the format of your web and the overall content. Really ask yourself can you really read and interact with your website using your smart phone – and be honest, have you even tried? I give you permission to grab a muffin and spend 5 mins on your smart phone surfing your site and see what the experience really is.

Also consider how easy you make it for candidates to apply for roles. Consider that they may not have an up to date CV, but their LinkedIn profile is pretty good. Do you have plans to allow them to apply using their LinkedIn profile (Apply Via LinkedIn), for example? This will really help you attract passive candidates too.

Traditional recruitment systems have been slow to capitalise on the “app” and mobile, but it is generally thought that the next 3 years will be a butt-kicking exercise for recruitment software and many of the more forward-thinking providers will be selling apps for you to use to access your data on the fly. (Some already do…)

Personal Cloud

Cloud will be center of digital lives, for apps, content and preferences. Sync across devices. Services become more important; devices become less important.

Yes, that pesky Cloud – just won’t go away – and now it’s personal? We are moving to a “service” based tech world where you can use what you need from any device. We’ve always had it (Hotmail, Tripadvisor, Google) but now we are storing our music, photos, data in the cloud.

You’ll be seeing more and more service-based software in recruitment which will allow you to be more fluid, flexible and give your IT Departments less work to do (theoretically!) I’ve always been one for suggesting that IT bods need to be more strategic and less trouble shooting – interesting times ahead for IT Departments.

Hybrid IT and Cloud Computing

Changes role of IT. IT departments must play more roles in coordinating IT related activities.

Enough said! Less doing/fixing, more strategy and planning please.

BIG Data

Concept of single corporate data warehouse is dead. Multiple systems need to be tied together.

Big Data: So many definitions… Really, it’s all about not just using the data you (think you) have in your own systems. It’s about joining up everything you have access to and using it strategically. For example, looking at your CRM, comparing with the data on LinkedIn and other social networks and having more intelligent data to run your business with. CRM / ATS is going social (whether you like it or not) and let’s face it, LinkedIn is probably a damn sight more up to date that your CRM. There are systems online RIGHT NOW that will link your data to the www – magnificent!

Actionable Analytics

Cloud, packaged analytics and big data accelerates in 2013, 2014. Can now perform analytics and simulation on every action taken in business. Mobile devices will have access to the data, supporting business decision making.

This was the main theme at HRTechEurope this year – it was all about social and analytics. Nearly every presenter either mentioned this or focussed on it.

Time-consuming box ticking spreadsheet reports take more time to gather than you have time to analyse. These need dumping in favour of cloud-based analytics products which give you the data and a cuppa so you can sit down and plan what do about it. We all love data, but we have got too embroiled in the gathering bit and don’t spend nearly enough time taking action – or worse the data is inconclusive and we may as well have not bothered – thus the whiteboard and pen is still prevailing in some firms. (Oh the shame!)

Well… soap box is back in the cupboard. Lots happening in tech next year – what plans have you got?

We work with Agency, Corporate Recruiters and HR teams to help them with their social media, web and technology strategies (lead gen, candidate sourcing, marketing, business process and recruitment). If you are looking to develop your strategy, please get in touch.

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Lisa Jones is a Director at Barclay Jones, a Consultancy working with agency recruiters, corporate recruiters and B2Bs advising them on the most effective use of technology, web and social media to improve their business processes, recruitment and bottom line.