Keep an eye on your best employees this year – they might just be eyeing up their next opportunity. According to a recent Glassdoor survey, nearly 35 percent of hiring decision makers expect more employees to quit over the span of 2018 than they did in 2017.

According to the National Center for The Middle Market, “In the third quarter of 2017, middle market companies continue to report strong growth, confidence, and optimism. At 7.0%, year-over-year revenue growth remains steady and the 6.4% growth in employment is well above the historical average. While confidence in the U.S. economy is down slightly from the first quarter of the year, global and local economic confidence remain near peak levels.”  

We wanted to investigate what the current state of the middle market means in terms of hiring and recruiting, and what the business drivers are affecting talent acquisition. To find out, we recently interviewed talent acquisition expert, Pam Verhoff, president of Advanced RPO, a recruitment process outsourcing company based in Chicago, IL.  Here is an edited excerpt of this interview.  

The conference scene for talent acquisition professionals is very active in 2018. With over two dozen sourcing and recruiting conferences with different focus areas ranging from social media recruiting, to nonprofit talent acquisition, to executive forums expanding the nation’s top destinations, there is no shortage of options to choose from.

Many or most managers are incapable of distinguishing between performance and potential when it comes to hiring talent. Predictions about future success are abysmal. False positives are common. Could unconscious bias rooted in our brain be standing in the way of making the best hiring decisions? What are the best predictors of leadership and learning agility?

We’ve recently spoken with renowned speaker and published author, Kim E. Ruyle, about the topic. Kim reviewed research and provided a framework to accurately identify high potential talent, accelerate their development, and retain these critical employees.

Besides potential talent, our #RPOAWeekly covers workplace culture and the equilibrium between technology and human interactions in recruiting.

The U.S. labor market added 222,000 new jobs in June, the average hourly earnings increased slightly by $0.04, employment cost index increased by 0.1% and unemployment rate stood at 4.4%. Recent economic news releases by the Bureau of Labor Statistics offer no clear signs of huge changes in the situation of the labor market. As a results, employers can expect to continue to hire in a tight labor market, and will need to adapt their hiring strategy with the current conditions.

It is undeniable that technology is changing the face of the recruiting world. What is the latest recruiting gadget? What will bring you the top talent you need and what doesn’t? And what are the common mistakes HR professionals make in analyzing big data? Our roundup of articles for this week’s #RPOAWeekly covers media, technology, and some lessons learned from the U.S. military in transforming their approach to talent. 

The role of a CHRO is one the most important C-level positions according to a recent article from Harvard Business Review, yet keeping up with the trends and best practices in the talent world can be daunting. In this #RPOAWeekly, we present some of the latest articles to keep you informed on hiring challenges, recruiting trends, and success stories.

Employers competed to recruit top talent and hired more employees last month according to April jobs report. In this week’s RPOA Weekly we present a roundup of reports and analysis of the current job market to give you an understanding of the recruiting and hiring environment employers currently work with.  

What do recruiting experts think of applicant tracking systems (ATS), recruiting for cultural fit or the health care industry? We recently asked top RPO leaders about their perspective on these topics. In this special RPOA Weekly, we present a recap of their insights.  

Your company culture determines the quality of your employee engagement, your client relationships, even your recruiting success – so why has it been ignored for so long? Thankfully, the company culture is coming into its own, with increased attention from HR and leadership alike focused on ways to improve their culture and the attendant benefits. This week’s RPOA Weekly focuses on identifying and improving your company culture, with articles on improving your culture with RPO, current culture trends, how your culture can keep pace with your growth.