The 3 Most Important Talent Acquisition Trends of 2018 — So Far

New cars, new shoes, new haircuts — it’s hard to deny we human beings love new things. Even at work, we’re always on the lookout for the next new development that may change the industry forever.

Recruiting is no different: Our conversations, strategies, and tactics are all influenced by the latest trends in the field.

What’s shaking talent acquisition up today? Here are the three biggest trends of 2018 so far:

1. Diversity, Inclusion, and Retention Recruiting

The first and arguably most important trend is the focus on diversity recruiting, with an emphasis on employee retention.

Presenting your company as diverse and inclusive isn’t enough. You have to put your money where your mouth is and truly make employees feel welcome at your business. If you don’t pair your diversity and inclusion initiatives with a company-wide employee retention plan, are you really trying to keep your workforce diverse?

Diversity plays an integral role in employee retention. In fact, 78 percent of workers say  it is important that all people are treated equally at work, regardless of gender, sexual orientation, race, or religion. Diversity and inclusion efforts can only be effective when combined with retention. You can’t just hire diverse candidates — you have to ensure each candidate feels like a part of your business, no matter their background

Technology Trend to Help: Prescriptive Analytics

Data is everything in today’s candidate-driven job market. It helps recruiters map candidate traits and skills and track key recruiting metrics like acceptance rates and retention. More importantly, data helps you understand the causes of employee turnover so your company can identify what needs to change to keep more talent on board.

Predictive talent analytics is already being used to find candidates who match the profiles of existing top performers, but it can be taken a step further to help recruiters identify which potential high-performers are likely to stick around longest if hired. This is where “predictive analytics” become “prescriptive analytics,” as the data now does more than predict: It also recommends which candidates a recruiter should hire.

Adding diversity analytics to the mix can help businesses shape their diversity and inclusion efforts to attract even larger candidate pools. From a diversity perspective, prescriptive analytics fits into retention efforts because it gives you insight into the diversity and inclusion efforts your candidates and current employees care about.

2. Recruitment Marketing Aimed at Passive Candidates

The US unemployment rate is hovering  just below 4 percent. While this is great news for many, it also means active candidate pools aren’t as large — leaving recruiters with fewer options.

As a result, recruiters are now turning more attention to passive candidates — those candidates who are not actively looking for new opportunities but open to their options. Luckily, there are plenty of passive candidates out there: According to Indeed, 71 percent of people are either actively looking for work or open to a new job, with 58 percent of workers looking at jobs at least every month and 44 percent subscribing to job alerts.

That said, passive candidates can be more difficult to reach than active candidates, simply because they’re not checking the job boards with frequency. Attracting passive candidates is all about meeting them where they are and getting your job in front of them at the right time.

Technology Trend to Help: Text Message Recruiting

Text messages allow for quick, consistent communication, which makes it easier to connect directly with passive candidates. Text messages are also more engaging than email, with 97 percent of texts being opened, compared to 20 percent of emails.

Job seekers across generations like receiving text messages about job opportunities, with 68 percent of millennials, 73 percent of Gen. X-ers, and 75 percent of baby boomers all saying they’d like to receive recruitment text messages. Texting can also boost your reputation with talent, as 53 percent of candidates trust companies more if they reach out quickly.

Text recruiting simplifies the process for passive candidates because it eliminates communication hassles and cuts right to the chase. Passive candidates are not taking time to fill out applications and surf job boards — they want the opportunities brought to them. Text recruiting does exactly that.

3. Revamped Recruiting Skills

Job descriptions aren’t just evolving for candidates — they’re changing for recruiters, too!

As data becomes increasingly important to recruiting, talent acquisition professionals will need quantitative data analysis, big data processing, and AI/machine learning management skills to keep up with competitors and attract the best talent faster.

Some of the most in-demand skills for today’s recruiters include:

1. Communication skills
2. Marketing and sales skills
3. Relationship-building skills
4. Multitasking skills
5. Time-management skills
6. IT and social media skills

To succeed in today’s talent market, recruiters need to be marketers, communicators, and tech-savvy. Dynamic individuals with multifaceted skill sets are quickly replacing dynamic teams made up of many differently skilled individuals. More and more recruiters will be expected to complete tasks that used to require entire teams, using advanced technology to accomplish more with less.

Recruiters now need a blend of technology management and people skills to thrive, and the face of recruiting will continue to change as more technological advances arrive. While not every trend is itself technological, all trends are caused by industry innovation, and technology is far and away the most powerful mover and shaker in recruiting today.

A version of this article originally appeared on the Oleeo blog.

Jeanette Maister is managing director of the Americas for Oleeo.