With the “Great Resignation” in the post-pandemic era, organisations are now facing the challenge of finding talents to fill these vacant positions. According to business management consulting corporation Greenhouse, 88% of surveyed hiring managers highlighted that they are experiencing increased pressures in the current job market. At the same time, a study conducted by Korn Ferry predicted that there will be a global human shortage of over 86 million people to vacant jobs by 2030 simply because there are insufficient skilled people to fill them.
Against this background, talent acquisition teams need to be “creative” when it comes to finding the right talent. Employers today are prioritising candidate experience and employer branding, and capitalising on alternative sources of recruitment.
Here are the top 5 hiring trends in 2022 to inspire and equip employers with new methods to attract and hire suitable talents for your organisation.
Leverage internal mobility and alumni network
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, organisations either look for new talents through graduate recruitment programmes or traditional methods of recruitment. During 2020, as countries went into lockdown, organisations were forced to redeploy resources quickly in order to survive. That is when organisations realised that internal mobility could actually work.
At the same time, many businesses had to freeze or even reduce headcount in order to minimise costs. This created a pool of ex-employees or alumni waiting to be re-hired once organisations have the capacity to do so.
With competition at an all-time high, internal mobility and alumni network are proving to be an invaluable source of talent pool as they are already aligned in terms of workplace culture and job fit. Recruiters today are capitalising on the knowledge that ex-employees can be brought back onboard and existing employees can be retrained to take on new roles. After all, giving employees internal development opportunities shows that your organisation is invested in their career development while rehiring ex-employee allows your organisation to retain valuable talent.
Use your employer branding as a competitive edge
With the increase in demand for suitable candidates to fill vacant positions, talents today are “pickier” when it comes to deciding which organisation to work for. Candidates today want to associate themselves with a brand that is respected and well-known in their industry. In 2022, employers are starting to recognise the importance and criticality of improving and maintaining their employer brand.
Leading organisations invest a lot of time and energy in creating a compelling employee value proposition (EVP) to potential candidates. They do so by creating dedicated pages and unique messaging on their career sites to showcase specific aspects of their culture and employer brand that would appeal to their target talents. For example, some organisations have Women in Tech and alumni network pages or showcase employees’ “voices” on their career sites. The best organisations create a holistic EVP that appeals to diverse groups of talent, enabling them to appeal to jobseekers across various brands while maintaining a consistent candidate experience.
Virtual hiring becomes a norm
The recruitment process will continue to be more hands-off and leverage virtual modes during the first few rounds of hiring. This means using online software to source, identify and shortlist potential candidates. Automation helps organisations to sift through large pools of candidates and shortlist the best ones for interviewing. Some organisations even use applicant tracking systems and chatbots to streamline the hiring process.
With hybrid work arrangements becoming a norm and hiring managers looking at hiring talents beyond geographical borders, the use of virtual meeting platforms such as Google Meet and Zoom are on the rise. Despite the ease in hiring candidates online, it is still the human touch that decides whether the candidate gets the job or not.
Jobseekers expect hybrid work arrangements
With the competitive labour market and given that the pandemic has proven that employees are equally productive at their jobs remotely as they are working in office, job seekers today are expecting hybrid work arrangements to stay. Based on GitLab’s latest Remote Work Report which surveyed over 3,900 people across six continents, it found that 34% of employees would look for a new remote role if remote working is not available at their current organisation. While that does not mean zero face-time in office, it simply means that employers today are more flexible in how they address work schedules.
This flexibility broadens the talent pool for employers as well as jobseekers. On one hand, hybrid working helps to differentiate brands and offers a more attractive workplace for potential candidates. At the same time, this means that employers can also expand their talent pool beyond local borders. Job seekers, on the other hand, look for organisations with a clear and transparent hybrid work model in place. They are less interested in the choice of communication platforms (Zoom, Google Meet or Teams, for example) but rather, the availability of collaboration tools and meeting software that is supported by the organisation and its employees.
Appeal to the new generation of workers
With Millennials making up the majority of the workforce today, Gen Z are entering in droves. While both generations are often viewed to have similar ethics, Gen Z is seen to have the upper hand. An article by Business Insider highlighted that Millennials are “afraid” of Gen Zers, who are assertive and demanding a better work-life balance. Given that this generation grew up surrounded by fast-moving technology, the likes of Facebook and Snapchat, outdated recruiting technology is a major turn-off for Gen Z. In fact, research by Yello revealed that 54% of surveyed Gen Z will not submit a job application if the organisation’s recruiting methods are outdated. Expectations are high with Gen Z, with them prioritising innovation and streamlined tech solutions throughout the entire hiring process. Forward-thinking businesses will need to understand what drives, motives and inspire Gen Z in order to attract and retain this new group of workers.
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