2022 And Beyond: What Lies Ahead For High Volume Hiring

If we rewind the clock two years, our wildest dreams wouldn’t have been able to predict the current state of the world. As we tie a bow on 2021 and look ahead to 2022, we have the opportunity to reflect on one of the most drastically altered parts of our lives: work. 

Amid one of the largest hiring crises in recent history, employers are left scrambling to put the pieces together, fill roles, and keep their businesses afloat. In order to keep operations running and keep workers working, employers have had to shift focus both in terms of how they recruit as well as how they retain. 
 

According to the 2021 Recruiter Nation Report issued by Jobvite, nearly 80% of recruiters reported a pivot in priorities during the past year, with “improving quality of hire” and “agility” ranking as the top two factors for successful recruiting going forward. Surveyed respondents plan to invest more in recruitment technology to automate processes as well as improve both retention rates and diversity hiring efforts.

Keep reading for a look at where high volume recruiting will take us in 2022 and beyond.

A Shift in Priorities

The top priority for surveyed recruiters for the next 12 months is to improve “quality of hire.” Recruiters will concentrate on getting the best applicants rather than the most applicants. 

Recruiters also will focus on staying agile in a constantly changing hiring landscape. Fluctuations in worker availability, qualifications, and demands require TA and HR teams to remain flexible with their recruitment strategies.

Getting new workers through the door and on the ground has been a clear priority for most companies during the past 24 months, but now employers are dedicating more time and resources to retention efforts. Keeping workers trained and on staff helps cut the costs associated with finding new talent later down the road, especially in the case of another labor shortage. Worker longevity also has a direct effect on loyalty and brand ambassadorship—workers who stick around usually have positive sentiments about the workplace and can be resources for referrals.

Investment in Tech to Hire Faster

To stay ahead of competitors, TA teams need technology adept enough to keep pace with capricious high volume hiring trends. Technology that enables automation, speed, and inclusivity will be of the utmost importance for companies that have hundreds of roles to fill.

As a general guideline, recruiters should aim to automate any task they’re performing more than five times per day. This may include the initial contact with candidates, which can be done via automated emails or chatbots, or an automated screening process with knockout questions to qualify candidates based on their answers. Applicants want to get hired as quickly as companies want to hire them, and completing job applications on a mobile device can help both parties achieve this goal. 

Technology also allows recruiters to hire from any location, for any location. A company based in Texas can outfit its factories in other regions of the country by geotargeting job posts, conducting video interviews, and using a secure e-signature platform to get documents signed.

Candidate-focused Culture

For the first time in decades, workers have their pick of the perfect job and don’t have to settle for the first opening they find. This power structure means recruiters need to get creative and strategic with how they hire, with a heavy focus on the candidate’s preferences.

Streamlining processes is the first step to making it as easy and fast as possible for applicants to apply for and secure a job. This is where automation comes back into play. Applicants are more likely to apply for a job when they can submit all their information with the click of a button. 

But candidates still want to feel acknowledged, so keeping a personal touch somewhere in the hiring funnel will go a long way. This may look like nurturing candidates through personalized emails or reaching out to them directly for an instant interview before extending an offer. Candidates are most likely entertaining multiple offers at the same time, so it’s imperative to keep them engaged and in contact.

Engagement doesn’t end once an offer is accepted; recruiters are responsible for ensuring their new hires feel included and appreciated during onboarding and throughout their tenure.

Grabbing the attention of applicants also can be achieved through attractive benefits packages. Priorities have changed in the wake of Covid-19, and more workers consider benefits like healthcare coverage (including mental health) to be non-negotiable. Company values that include diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives and awareness of social issues are no longer “nice-to-haves”—they’re now essential for a company’s success.

Data-driven Recruiting 

If automation is one of the biggest trends driving hiring in 2022, recruiters will likely be raking in more applications compared with their previously manual processes. In order to track and measure success, they’ll need a high-powered data analysis tool to collect both real-time and ongoing insights.

Recruiters will use these data to inform future hiring decisions and make adjustments as their hiring needs change. 

The Future Is Bright

Heading into 2022, recruiters have much to look forward to, but there may still be challenges exclusive to high volume hiring that aren’t as problematic for corporate hiring. As such, recruiters who need to hire high volumes of workers must remain agile, open-minded, and data-centric in order to attract, hire, and retain the best talent. 

Allie Moore is Content Writer and Editor at Fountain. Visit https://get.fountain.com/  Connect Allie Moore