Staffing Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow!!

So I was talking with one of my staffing friends and former manager yesterday. we covered allot of staffing related subjects. Allot of what we talked about was how staffing has changed and were it might headed.

In years gone by, say 12-15 years ago, staffing was about the "one night stand", find the candidate to fill the position and move on. Technology back then was limited, there were not allot of ATS systems, the internet was around but not as big. You use to have to use a spread sheet to keep your candidates and openings straight. Allot of things that are automated now, were manual then. Of course you had to use the phone allot more than you do now. Now I do not know about everyone else, but I use to use news and user groups allot. Back then there was no name for it. Now they call it Web 2.0 and Social media. I guess without a name people forgot it was already being done, of course on a smaller level. The biggest influencers on staffing; technology and people. Now I understand I am simplifying things allot and probably leaving some things out, but you get the idea.

Staffing today is much different. Technology has made it easier in some ways, and harder in others. Easier in that you have numerous ATS and HRIS systems to choose from. Allot of things like job postings are automated, Social networking has become big and we have moved from the "one night stand" approach to the "connected" approach in staffing. Your ability to reach a bigger candidate pool has increased with the increase use of the internet, and the advent of mobile devices that can do what most computers can do. The bad is why all these things have occurred to help staffing, guess what everyone else has it too. So competition for the best candidates has gone up, even though the talent pool (due to aging, education, etc...) is going down. Well look, even in today's world, the biggest influencers on staffing are technology, and people. Of course there is more, but you get the idea.

Staffing tomorrow, were exactly will we be 10+ years from now? Obviously technology will have increased even more. I would think video/teleconferencing interviewing will be bigger. Remote working, which is catching on more and more, will become the norm, and virtual work environments will also become the norm. We will move from a "connected" approach to, to the actual "relationship" approach. Hmm technology and people, of course I am sure there will be more, but that is all my crystal ball sees for now.

So what have we learned through these changes form yesterday, to today, to tomorrow? What we have learned is that 2 huge things are going to dictate were staffing goes in the future. Technology, and people, more specifically our interactions with people. Amazing how much things change, yet how much they stay the same.