2021 is almost about to be over. While we’re still processing and adjusting to what the year threw at us, we’ve to gear ourselves towards welcoming the New Year. Even when 2021 made us feel like a turbulent year from the professional standpoint, several trends will continue for the upcoming year. The professional landscape will witness new changes and the recruiting industry trends 2022 will be no exception either.Recruiting industry trends 2022 are extensions and add-ons from the previous years
If you’re a part of this industry, it will be worthwhile taking a look into what lies in store. The findings for this year also came out in 2020, and quite naturally, several matches occurred. That makes it more than likely that industry pros will rely upon the trends for the next year, how the industry will shape up furthermore, what are the top challenges and priorities and what would be the best measures for consolidating the future of recruitment and staffing.What are the most common sectors hiring now?
The pandemic has already thrown a lot of challenges for the recruitment and staffing industry. But since life is gradually making a comeback to normal, since 2021, employment in a few industries has picked up pace. For example, it’s projected that sectors that faced a bigger blow in hiring will now come out of the crisis and start the hiring process. Also, those sectors that weren’t directly affected are likely to hire, considering economic certainty prevailing now. Going by major job portal listings, healthcare, and technology sectors will be hiring the most worldwide. Also, hospitality and leisure witnessed terrific losses, almost losing half of the workforce last year. But thankfully, about 73% of the losses are recovered. Followed by these, customer service, transport, logistics, and sales and marketing will also see a surge in the recruitment process, thanks to modern virtual recruiting technologies.What are the top skills for the present workforce?
With business leaders mostly focusing on quick digital transformation, there seems to be no doubt over the fact that digital skills will be the top priority across almost every sector. And thanks to COVID 19, virtual recruiting technologies have increased drastically. As a result, most HR leaders are pressurized to function with CIOs, CEOs, and CFOs in a pattern that would make them rethink how skills can be harnessed likewise, to serve the business models right. To be specific, digital skills are now basic to every job requirement. For example, in most countries across the globe, several analytics software companies proved how digital skills are imperative for a larger percentage of jobs. Mere proficiency in MS Office or Excel or enterprise management software like Oracle or SAP is crucial for every role. Now few other jobs are present that require the application of advanced digital skills. The most in-demand jobs of 2021 or as per findings from LinkedIn and the future of jobs are those that depend completely upon digital prowess - like data analytics, software development, and digital marketing. Few others include cloud computing, project management, problem-solving and so on. However, the real challenge is hiring talent that would be able to do justice to these needs.
Recruitment professionals are hence required to analyze and assess all such hiring trends to address such skills’ needs. To grasp these modern trends, rethinking the traditional approaches will prove better for the organization’s capacity to stay competitive in the next few years.
Trend 1: Rise of proactive recruitingAs a recruiter, it will always pay off to have authentic connections with candidates. Not only will they be able to place such candidates in proper roles, but the network opens up furthermore. This is a way how recruits opt for ‘Proactive Recruiting’, whereby recruiters will look for and classify candidates before a certain position is open. By creating pools or segments of candidates when certain positions open imply that proactive recruiters will start making placements quick, even before the competition gets tough.Trend 2: Efficient social recruitingEmploying social media in recruiting and staffing will still play a vital role in every search category, even when you choose to outsource HR professionals for the same. Close to 91% of employers depend upon social media platforms to get through the hiring process, but there are ways to make their strategies more effective than ever. For instance, infusing newer and non-traditional social platforms like TikTok, or experimenting with multiple formats, or conducting market research on an everyday basis can help improve the existing strategies to upgrade social media recruitment.
Trend 3: ‘Diversity’ and ’inclusivity hiring’ are must-haves nowEmployees are now increasingly aware of all such social issues that affect communities around them. Naturally, they would align themselves to companies having clear and transparent ‘diversity, equity & inclusivity’ policies and commitment. These factors are not merely ‘feel-good initiatives’, but determine innovation, increased productivity, and higher revenue growth. Combining technology like artificial intelligence and blind resumes can also prove useful to minimize unconscious bias in the process of hiring. As a result of prioritizing DEI within several organizations, there is an increased demand for D&I executive or leadership roles as well, like ‘Head of Diversity and Inclusion’, ‘Chief Diversity Officer’, ‘Vice President of Diversity & Inclusion’ and more. As per the findings from LinkedIn, job listings have increased manifold since last year, with an increase of almost 2.6 times in these roles!
Trend 4: Emphasis upon employer brandingA recognizable employer brand is getting more relevant by each year. While the concept of ‘employee brand’ isn’t something new, but agencies have to compete for their way through, to stay at the top of trends and maintain their significance. For businesses having a very strong employer brand, chances of attracting up to 50%-60% qualified candidates are more. Besides this, employer branding is also likely to reduce the cost-per-hire by 50%. Candidates are warier now about who should be their employer, and take flexible work options or work-life balance and company culture as potent factors, which govern their choice of selection. Going by findings, about 75% of candidates consider a company’s employer brand before they choose to apply.
The list is certainly not an exhaustive one. And these trends will only give in to many more in the next few days and months.
ConclusionRegardless of the type of industry you are in, change cannot be disregarded. And now that the pandemic is here, this is natural. But an understanding of the current trends will put prospective recruiters and job applicants to stay a step ahead of most others. As an employer, you can outsource HR professionals or take the online route, or combine both effectively.