Let’s RallyFwd for Change on May 5

The unprecedented challenges and uncertainty that we’ve all been living through since last year have also presented us with a tremendous opportunity for positive change. Even though we weren’t ready for it, we were pushed into digital transformation of HR and recruiting, and there’s no going back.

Now, we must decide what changes we want to keep and how we will move forward. We have a chance to shift our thinking from old paradigms of talent acquisition and management to help build our organization with diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging at every level, to create digital-first candidate and employee experiences, and to embrace new technologies to modernize our approach for greater efficiency and effectiveness.

As employees return to work, as offices and storefronts open up and as hiring ramps up again, I see 5 major areas of ongoing change that will continue to impact our strategy in the year ahead:

Digital transformation
The economy
Our society
The role of Recruitment Marketing
Recruitment Marketing technology

What are these major changes and what do they mean for you? These are the questions we’ll answer at our next RallyFwd Virtual Conference on May 5, 2021! The conference is themed (appropriately!) “RallyFwd for Change”. Leading practitioners and industry mentors will inspire you to build your strategy, find your voice and take action to lead change in 2021 and beyond. Register for free to attend RallyFwd for Change on May 5, 2021!

Let’s take a look at each of the 5 areas of change we’ll be covering during RallyFwd so that you can prepare to lead your organization and take your career to new heights.

1. Digital transformation

HR and TA have been notoriously slow in undergoing digital transformation and regrettably underfunded compared to other business functions. However, in 2020 when many organization’s moved to a digital-first environment, it forced HR and TA teams to speed up their digital transformation faster than expected. For example, many TA teams had to create a completely virtual recruitment process almost overnight!

And even though we all look forward to being in-person once again, recruiting won’t go back to the way things were before. Candidates won’t let us! Hiring managers won’t let us! What’s needed now is to ensure that the technology you implemented “temporarily” and the quick changes you made to your recruiting operational model are ready to support your business needs long term. At RallyFwd, we’ll help you assess where you are today and where you need to go, to make these important decisions.

2. The economy

While last year, COVID sent the economy crashing and unemployment rates reached record highs, economists today are bullish on how quickly the economy will recover. In fact, Goldman Sachs predicts an 8% increase in GDP and forecasts that the unemployment rate will drastically drop to 4% by the end of the year. That means we need to get ready to recruit in what could be the most competitive labor market we’ve seen in a long time.

This will surely increase recruitment advertising costs and will require us to embrace new approaches to Recruitment Marketing, like digital marketing, content marketing, social media marketing and programmatic job advertising. RallyFwd speakers will share their bold plans to compete for talent in the upcoming hiring market.

3. Our society

Last summer, the death of George Floyd sparked global protests and drew increased attention to the Black Lives Matter movement and calls for social justice. Organizations were finally (and rightfully) pushed to take action beyond releasing a message from their CEO or putting an EEO statement on their website.

Today, inequities can no longer be ignored. Employers are being held accountable for their DEI practices and demonstrating real results — and the people in our community have a critical role to play in that! At RallyFwd, you’ll hear from leading practitioners who are building DEI into every level of their organization and what actions you can take to do the same.

Rally note: If you’re interested in learning more about actions you can take at your organization to move your organization forward, check out our blog with Shavonne Thomas, 7 Actions Employers Must Take Now For Racial Equality.

4. The role of Recruitment Marketing

When the pandemic hit last year, many Recruitment Marketing practitioners were worried about the future of their role, particularly if hiring slowed down or stopped completely at their organizations. While some people did regrettably lose their jobs, many pivoted their focus towards improving the candidate experience, increasing employee engagement and helping their companies to communicate with empathy and transparency during the pandemic. It showed the unique position and skill set of Recruitment Marketing and employer brand professionals, to look at the company through an internal and external lens at the same time.

The great news is that Recruitment Marketing is flourishing — almost every day I see new jobs being posted — yay!

What’s ahead for our community and your career? I believe that recruitment marketers will play a more strategic role and have a larger impact on the employee lifecycle beyond recruitment. At RallyFwd, we’ll help you chart your career path and make a lasting impact at your organization.

5. Recruitment Marketing technology

The talent acquisition and Recruitment Marketing tech landscape is growing quickly. George LaRocque reported that HR tech investment surged to $5 billion in 2020, the second-highest amount of growth capital to flood into the market in the last decade.

As TA and Recruitment Marketing technology matures and becomes more specialized, it’s critical that we know what’s out there. While no one could have predicted the crisis of 2020, imagine how things could have been different for your company if you already knew what technology could do to help. Staying informed of new tech trends and tools is critical as we continue to move forward as a discipline. At RallyFwd, we’ll feature a technology showcase with demos of some of the latest tech available.

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Change can be a scary thing and often you’re pushed into it whether you’re ready or not. The aim of our RallyFwd Virtual Conference on May 5, 2021, is to help you drive positive change at your organization.

We’re currently working on the speaker agenda, with several expert speakers already announced, including:

Chloe Ryan, Vice President, RPO & Talent Acquisition, EG Workforce Solutions
Bill Malcolm, Director, Talent Acquisition, Travel + Leisure Co.
Annie Lin, Vice President, People, Lever
Chris Fitzner, Recruitment Marketing Strategist, Appian

In addition to these dynamic and expert speakers, you’ll also have a unique opportunity to connect with your peers through real-time discussion, Q&A and virtual networking during and after the online event.

RallyFwd is the highest-rated virtual conference for Recruitment Marketing, employer branding and candidate experience. 99% of past participants have said they would attend again and 99% would recommend a friend!