2015 Recruiting Trends in the Netherlands

By: Together Abroad 03-11-2015 10:13 AM
Categories: ** HR Trends in Recruitment,

The year 2015 has brought a new zeal to talent acquisition worldwide as companies are recruiting more now than they have in the last four years. According to LinkedIn’s Global Recruiting Trends 2015, this increase in volume is also met with an overall decrease in HR budgets, leading efficient recruiters to do more with less. To make matters more difficult, competition and compensation continue to be obstacles for landing top talent. Advancements in social media, digital marketing and big data analytics, however, are enabling recruiters to arm themselves with information and craft targeted messages that reach a range of online professional and social networks.
Traditionally a progressive nation, the Netherlands is seeing some interesting and dynamic changes in response to these global trends. We explore these below:

  1. Competition from other employers
    Battling with competing firms for top talent is a major challenge for recruiters in the Netherlands. Of the 4,125 global talent leaders surveyed in over 31 countries, Dutch talent leaders were the 2nd highest to name competition as their company's biggest obstacles to attracting top talent. If recruiters want to attract top talent in the Netherlands, it will not come easy, as there will be a number of competitors all offering different incentives to ultimately convince the best candidates to join their team. Other leading trends, however, give insight into some tools employers use to manage their competition.
  2. Sourcing from social professional networks
    One of the strongest global trends in 2015 recruiting comes from the growing numbers of hires that are acquired from online sources. The Netherlands ranked highest for social professional networks with 76% of recruiters using them to draw in likely candidates. Fifty percent of the Dutch talent leaders surveyed also mentioned that online job boards were a significant source of white collar professional candidates placed in their organization. Third party staffing firms, however, were only significant to about 38% of talent acquisition leaders. 
  3. Recruiting becoming more like marketing
    Much like how companies work to nurture and maintain their brand with customers, employers today are using branding strategies to ensure they stay top of mind to candidates and attract the best talent on the market. Fifty-six percent of the global talent leaders surveyed said they believe cultivating their employer brand is a chief priority and the Netherlands is named a top country for this trend. Employers work to enhance their employer brand by outlining their values, culture, accomplishments and benefits on either a company website or social media platforms like LinkedIn and Facebook.
  4. Passive talent less sought after
    Dutch recruiters are mostly passé when it comes to going after passive talent. Passive talent are those prospective candidates that may be open to speaking to a recruiter, but are otherwise completely satisfied in their current employment situation and don’t particularly want to move. This year, recruiters in the Netherlands were among the least to reach out to passive talent, with only 48% aggressively pursuing them (compared to 83% in China and 72% in the U.S.).
  5. Recruiting young professionals
    While most global companies actively recruit young professionals, the Netherlands ranks among the lowest, with less than three quarters (71%) of recruiters targeting this group. Young professionals are defined as anyone who is 0-3 years out of school, so this group is likely to have less work experience than other groups. Lack of work experience and a gap in worker knowledge could account for the relatively low number of Dutch recruiters who target this younger talent cohort. However, as more baby boomers become eligible for retirement it will be important to train the incoming millennial staff while transferring key job roles tasks to them in both time and financially efficient ways.
  6. Talent analytics play increasing role in recruiting
    More global recruiting efforts today are performed using talent analytics, but only a quarter of those talent leaders surveyed believe they are using this data in an efficient wayMoreover, a mere 12% of recruiting decision makers in the Netherlands said they feel they are using talent analytics very well in their roles. These numbers signal an emerging trend in recruiting and data analytics that can be cultivated to target and acquire top talent more effectively, but it will take employers investing more time and resources into their own talent analytics for this tool to be fully optimized for strategic workforce planning.
    Employers today are using more technological and strategic ways to stay ahead of the talent acquisition curve and attract top candidates to their companies. Trends in 2015 show that while competition among employers can negatively impact recruiting efforts, strategies that use effective employer branding as well as professional networks and social media can help maintain a competitive edge. As more millennials enter a workforce that consists of less baby boomers, employers will need to plan smartly for generational shifts that will affect all job roles from the executive to entry levels.
3524 views
No reactions
Print
Mail a friend
This article is restricted. You have to be logged in to be able to add further reactions.

For an expat moving to the Netherlands, getting the right direction is very important. It's important that one knows which steps and direction to take. Linda is an exceptionally talent counselor, her advice has helped me land a job within a week of coming to the Netherlands. I am grateful for her mentoring and look forward to a great working relationship in the future.

Dr. Hrishiraj S | Clinical Research & Affairs Manager

Together Abroad provided expert advice on personal branding including developing a top-notch, market-aware CV, highly tailored job applications, and approach strategies with potential employers in the Netherlands. Furthermore, I found them be highly knowledgeable in key related fields such as recruitment strategy, immigration law, contracts, labor agreements, and (un)employment benefits. I would recommend Together Abroad to anyone who needs professional help with transitioning to a new career.

A. Aboufirass | Structural Engeer

Linda is a big mind. She thinks about things that the rest normally overlook. The insight she has about the dutch job market can only be achieved through years of experience and persistence.

Her business savvy is complemented by her mastery of understanding the client's needs and requirements. For my career I could say, she was the “Mary Poppins”, who guided me through thick and thin and helped me to land a career in the Netherlands

S. Bhattacharjee | FP&A Manager

If you are going to enlist the services of a "Career Coach" look no further. The only person you want in your corner is Linda van Orsouw. As an expat, you absolutely want to work with a highly skilled and knowledgeable professional who knows their way around the Dutch career/employment/job market. Linda assisted me in writing and positioning my CV, helped me organize and prioritize my list of opportunities, coached me through mock interviews and was there when I got offered a senior position only 2 months later. When asked I will only refer to Linda and "Togetherabroad".

Mr. C. Joubert
Lead Workplace Strategy Consultant 

 

New item