Recruitment Trends for 2023: Latest Predictions We Should Be Thinking About

Over the last couple of years, the labor market experienced quite a turmoil that completely changed how we think about recruitment and approach new hires. These tectonic changes are, to no small extent a result of the fact that the outbreak of COVID-19 took a strong bite out of the available labor pool and, in the case of the United States, left 10 million job positions open with only 6 million unemployed workers to fill them in.

Similar trends can be observed in all other developed economies.

Of course, with the available workers so scarce the recruitment practices had to undergo a quick overhaul and adapt to this new situation setting into motion an entire slew of recent trends the companies now need to leverage to get the hires they need.

Let us take a quick look at some of the most notable mentions.

Greater focus on positive candidate experience

Up until recently, the companies looking for employees had the opportunity to wait for the candidates to come knocking and their doors and then see how well the people that have shown fit into their plans. These days, when the available workers are so scarce, businesses in need of hires must put a much greater focus on the needs of the candidates and take active steps to present themselves as desirable employers. Some of the ways to do that are to be completely transparent, preset the company’s values and benefits, respect candidates’ time, and approach interviews in a personalized and respectful manner.

Offering flexible employment models

Of course, this will greatly depend on the vacant positions you are trying to fill in. But, if you have any room to offer your future employees a flexible work schedule or even the option of remote work be sure to do so. As of recently, job candidates have started considering better work-life balance as one of their top personal priorities. As a result, 80% of active businesses now anticipate remote work to become the new norm in the labor market. It is in your best interest to try to stay ahead of the curve and build these models directly into the core of your company. The sooner you start the transition the better.

Developing employer branding

This trend pretty much falls in the same line with the way businesses are trying to build their public persona when interacting with their future clients. Well, keeping in mind the current state of the labor market, the same level of attention should be given to this side of branding as well. Therefore, companies appealing to future job candidates should go beyond the call of duty and use every public outlet and marketing channel they have to create an image of an employer people should actually take into consideration. Such efforts are always made more focused with a couple of clear branding goals and relevant KPIs.

Looking for a third-party help

As we can see from the prior discussions, the labor market has, lately, become very competitive. With things as they are the companies that don’t have the benefit of top-tier HR teams, developed candidate databases, and a healthy dose of leverage in their own native industries have very little chance of competing with their more developed peers.

The solution to this issue presents itself in the form of professional third-party help. So if you are, for instance, running a real estate agency, you can look for an agency with more clout and experience in recruiting for real estate jobs and get this issue easily fixed.

If you’re not looking to hire as much externally, then you may instead want to focus on the development of your existing employees. For example, introducing your legal team to Wegman Partners might be just what some staff need to improve upon their efforts within their own roles.

Gradual transition to contingent workforce

If you are unfamiliar with the term, contingent workforce describes the teams who are hired on a fixed-term or temporary contract basis to provide specific services or address the solution to specific issues the companies in question may be facing at the moment. The rise of this trend is really not that big of a surprise. The present-day business landscape is very fast-paced and requires quick reactions to remain competitive. Developing in-house infrastructure and engaging in long-term work relationships whenever such obstacles arise is not viable. Contingent teams provide a much leaner and nimbler fix to the problem.

Diversity becoming a powerful recruitment force

The ideas of workplace diversity and inclusiveness have been present for decades now. But, it looks like they are finally picking up enough steam to transition from welcome practice to a new requirement. This trend, of course, works to the benefit of all parties involved in the process. Namely, the companies who were hesitant to enforce more consistent gender policies, leverage hires from neglected social, and ethnic groups, or employ people with disabilities were missing prospective talents that required little effort to fit the team. Erasing these imaginary borders may present a solution to the ongoing labor crisis.

Wider use of recruitment marketing strategies

In one of the previous sections, we have briefly mentioned that the companies that want to get the best possible hires need to use their available marketing channels. As time goes by, this trend will only be more relevant until the job postings get eh same treatment as ongoing marketing campaigns. This shift will cover the strategies like SEO, content marketing, social media engagement, and all other methods that are usually deeply rooted in a B2C playing field. Still, building a strong social following and turning a brand into a valuable source of knowledge will inevitably lure in a couple of prospective job candidates as well.

Soft skills are becoming a top hiring parameter

Last but not least, we would like to point out that the problems we can currently observe in terms of hiring won’t be solved anytime soon. With things as they are, the businesses that want to remain nimble, mobile, and able to answer to all current challenges should not look for candidates with specific skillsets but rather the ones who are capable of easily mastering new skills and techniques and keeping the pace with the current market necessities. The eventual skill gaps will be filled by employees through onboarding and comprehensive training. Be that as it may, soft skills will become a priority.

We hope these couple of mentions gave you a general idea about the general direction where hiring new employees in 2023 and beyond. As we can see, the labor market currently finds itself in quite an awry, and recruitment strategies are forced to evolve to keep pace with these new circumstances. The companies aware of these developments will be in a position to stay ahead of the curve and always get the hires they need. The trends we covered above should definitely get you off to a good start.