Pandemic hit really hard on recruiters. HR services providers found themselves at their wit’s end due to all the major change in work dynamics. The adverse situations created by the COVID-19 last year have made recruiters reinvent their talent acquisition strategies.
As far hiring trends are concerned, there is a steep inclination towards virtual recruiting, remote candidates, and going for internal talent pools. But things don’t stop here, for recruiters are also following woke culture trend that includes diversity, equity and inclusion in professional landscape.
From the HR outsourcing perspective, recruiters have started looking for employees with adaptability and other life skills. Let’s take a look at all these trends in detail now, shall we?
Virtual Hiring will Rise
Virtual hiring is already on a rise as we speak, and this upward trend is here to stay for a long, long time. Similarly, it will be normal to have a hybrid workforce of onsite and remote employees. The primary reason behind this trend is the fact that virtual hiring saves a lot of cost and time.
According to industry experts, many in-person touchpoints of in-person hiring will be replaced by virtual and automated interviews. This will add a layer of safety by creating room for social distancing and also speeds up the hiring timeline.
Virtual hiring also goes beyond the geographic barriers, opening gates to great talent residing overseas. Recruiters of all industries have started focusing on reimagining talent acquisition strategies, and virtual recruiting is a major part of it.
More Focus on Internal Hiring
LinkedIn data has shown an increase of 20 percent in internal mobility since the onset of COVID-19.
Moreover, half of the respondents believe their recruiting budget will decrease. On the other hand, they also claim their L&D (learning and development) budget may increase multifold in near future. Many recruitment experts have suggested that employers will focus on reskilling their existing employees. It’s because they know the medical history of their existing and employees, especially the ones that have been with them for a long period of time. External hiring will be inclined towards contractual or project based jobs.
Internal hiring creates way for many benefits such as shorter hiring process, lower costs, better employee engagement, etc. All these benefits lead to meeting one of the toughest challenges all HR professionals face, employee retention. LinkedIn data has shown that companies that hire internally have employee that stay 41 percent longer.
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in Forefront
DE&I (diversity, equity & inclusion) is one of the top determining factors of today’s candidates. And yet, only about 47% of recruiters find themselves responsible to work on the diversity of the workplace. The trend is taking center stage now, and hiring managers now need to remove arbitrary entry barriers.
Educational requirement is one such arbitrary entry barrier. Other entry barriers are subjective to hiring managers. But in the end, quality of work, ability to learn, and compatibility must be the top parameters that hiring managers must focus on. Diverse and inclusive work environment helps organizations eradicate biasness of many kinds.
Long Term Remote Work will be Preferred
It’s not that we don’t know how beneficial remote work is, but many recruiters are yet to reach the same page. There was a time when remote work involved a lot of benefit revisions, monitoring and other hassles. It took one pandemic for organizations and recruiters realize how beneficial it is for a healthy workforce.
Remote work not only keeps the deadly virus from spreading, it also cuts down the costs of transport. HR managers simply need to streamline work policies in tandem with the remote work.
More Focus on Employee Engagement
Employees are now more aware than ever before about health and wellness. They don’t find burning candles from ends to be a wise step. They also realize their mental, physical and emotional wellbeing has a direct impact on the company’s performance. As a result, they want organizations to be proactive about their employees’ health and wellness. It’s an integral aspect of employee engagement.
As a business owner or an HR manager, it’s your responsibility to ensure all the employees get a good amount of hours to rest. You should also make it point to schedule personal, one-on-one meetings with employees to understand their needs. The key concern every employee faces is whether their organization will support them if they catch the virus. You should be by your employees’ side at all times, that’s what people are expecting from you. It’s a rising trend and many companies are already adapting to it.
HR Outsourcing will Increase
HR outsourcing will eventually become an integral part of every business process. Companies have realized the benefits of outsourcing their HR operations (complete or part of), depending on their requirements. HR outsourcing has proved its efficacy in every aspect. Be it talent acquisition, payroll outsourcing, compliance management, or even offshore hiring, HR outsourcing services are excelling in every HR process.
Conclusion
The COVID-19 pandemic once brought the whole world to a standstill. But that also made businesses look for new, innovative ways to keep things in order. We’ve pretty much covered all the prominent HR services and hiring trends in the post pandemic era. If you can think of more, do share the same with us.
