Smarter World
It’s no longer a bold statement to say that the Internet of Things (IoT) is changing the world. What was once a simple and understated phrase is now a reality. IDC forecasts that the IoT market is predicted to reach 41.6 billion connected devices by 2025.
Today we live, breath and embrace a smarter world. From smart phones, smart cars, smart homes, smart meters and the recent edition of smart cities. It’s clear to see that the world is operating smarter.
The ‘thing’ in the Internet of Things is described as a physical device that can be connected to the internet. These devices contain sensors that manage and emit data across the IoT platform. Developers can control the sensors and how data is collected, stored and shared. Add in a mix of tech, algorithms and creativity and the possibilities are literally endless.
If IoT refers to the ‘things’ then digitisation refers to the transformation of processes enabled by the things, for example sensors collect information about the environment conditions in a building and a digitised process turns on the heat, air conditioning, lights to keep the rooms comfortable.
It’s easy to understand how this may work in manufacturing for e.g. sensors can be placed inside machinery and barcodes. Manufacturers can manage operating efficiencies and product workflows from production to sale through to delivery.
But how can the Internet of Things influence people driven industries such as recruitment? How can operating in a smarter world benefit an industry that manages the transient ebbs and flows of people?
Recruitment History
In the dark era the steps for finding a job were relatively simple: vacancy, job advert, application screening, interviews, negotiation and offer. This process was adopted when recruitment agencies were formed and the CV was born around the 1950s.
Technology failed to make much impact on the industry until the 1990s when the fax was adopted as the new way to submit CVs. Job boards entered the market in the mid 90’s igniting a war between big players fighting for the no.1 jobs board spot. This took focus away from candidates.
At the turn of the century the biggest changes were set to take effect with the introduction of email and online applications followed by the most significant change to date, the launch of LinkedIn. Everything has now changed with the CV remaining as the one constant element with only it’s method of submission affecting the process.
At this time recruitment agencies were very much in charge seeing the candidate as a pawn in the middle of the job placement and being paid by clients. This client driven process paved a way for smaller, more niche companies termed as recruitment consultancies to make their entrance.
Changes to recruitment
With recruitment agencies no longer monopolising the market, recruitment consultancies utilised data gathering technologies to source top talent outside of set locations. This project centred approach transformed job seekers into well vetted candidates and tailored job roles into placements.
Leaving recruitment agencies to adopt different technologies and processes to keep up. Whilst the industry was busy competing, candidates welcomed the power shift and broke away from traditional models looking for a more streamlined approach towards managing their own careers.
Today resources move quickly, they no longer want to blind apply for roles and are interested in taking charge of their careers applying only for positions that can enhance their CV. Neither are they swayed by salary packages and instead are focusing on other factors.
It is therefore no longer feasible to dump the recruitment process into one pool. Industry sectors are instead moving away from a collaborative approach and instead using specialised technologies to align with resource requirements and behaviour.
Testing, Inspection and Certification (TIC) Market
In the TIC market inspector resources remain mostly independent. According to the Global Energy Talent Index (GETI) report (2019), resources are now focusing on three key areas:
Career Progression – a role is no longer considered in isolation. Learning and adopting new skills that can lead to greater career advancement is preferred.
Flexibility – being chained to a desk is considered very much old school. Resources want to be able to move, work abroad and not within hourly constraints.
Culture – with the IoT forcing industry sectors to change, resources want to be part of this dynamic shift. Focusing on working within industries and sectors that are embracing this new technology.
Companies now have the opportunity to utilise the Internet of Things to attract resources directly to their brand and once hired can transform how they manage their work. Automation is the key to ensuring that previously mundane tasks are removed from the day to day, freeing resources to focus on more important areas such as their skills and their career.
Conclusion
The Internet of Things is here and is not going away. With wireless companies rolling out 5G in 2019, networks will become faster allowing for more devices to be connected and so enabling processes to be digitised.
Recruiters that adopt and embrace this new way of working will certainly shape the industry and define how resources are recruited. Using smart devices to develop applications to manage resource connectivity, developers can create workable environments to retrieve data and create a smarter recruiting world.
At VERITAS we are very much in the heart of this smarter world. With industry working knowledge we not only understand the market, what resources want but why they need it. With this in mind we have developed an app that enables resources to take full control of where and how they work.