The past few years have accelerated the evolution of the workplace. The job market has gotten much more competitive, with Zoom interviews becoming the new normal. As a result, it’s easier for candidates to apply and interview for more positions than in the past. With a low 3.5% unemployment rate and hiring remaining strong, companies need to shift their focus to new recruitment trends.
As we move towards 2023, how are you preparing to succeed in hiring today’s best talent? Incorporate the following top hiring trends to improve your recruitment strategy.
First impressions matter not only in our personal lives but our professional lives. Candidates no longer go into interviews, only asking, “Do they like me?” They now enter interviews with the thought, “Do I like this company?” Companies must prepare for candidates to interview them, as well. Where questions at the end of interviews used to be few and far between, interviewees now come ready with their inquiring minds.
Companies must do more to attract and impress candidates during all stages, not only the actual interviews but also email and phone communications, along with other preparations.
Recruiters are the face of their company. To attract the best talent, they must improve the candidates’ experiences. Some tips for recruiters that better the hiring process are:
Long gone are the days when branding was only about marketing – such as the company logo, brand messaging, and customer perception. Today, employer branding is a necessity for building brand awareness in recruitment. The way companies recruit candidates and retain employees has changed thanks to technological advancement, social media, and career review sites such as Glassdoor.
Without a strong employer brand, companies miss out on top candidates. So, what exactly is employer branding? Employer branding is how you communicate the entirety of the employment experience – including an employer’s reputation as a place to work, their employee value proposition, and additional reasons for their popularity among current employees.
Overall, it is a way to attract a new workforce while also communicating with current employees. 83% of employers say that employer branding plays a significant role in their ability to hire talent. Additionally, employer branding can positively contribute to a candidate’s interview experience.
Here are steps for implementing a successful employer brand strategy:
While employer branding is new to many companies, it’s not something that can be skipped out on. It can often be the make or break of whether a top candidate applies for your role or accepts a job offer.
Post-pandemic, the hybrid work model has become more normal than the traditional office model. When state lockdowns first occurred, most assumed they would return to the office full-time. But as those lockdowns continued to get extended, employees became more accustomed to working from home. With that said, workers lacked the social aspect they once got from the office. Thus, hybrid work became the go-to option to offer employees.
Companies that ignore the popularity of hybrid work will find themselves struggling not only to hire top talent but get applications from top talent. During their job search, many candidates filter out jobs that require them to be in the office full-time. Without offering hybrid work, you’re starting at a disadvantage.
Hybrid work is a flexible work model that supports a blend of in-office, remote, and on-the-go workers. It offers employees the autonomy to work in a mixed environment that promotes productivity. With that said, there are multiple types of hybrid models.
The four most common hybrid work models are:
83% of workers prefer hybrid work. Offering a hybrid model benefits companies in terms of recruitment and retention, which helps boost employee productivity and support healthy company culture.
Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I) should be top of mind for talent acquisition leaders. But unfortunately, more than 50% of employees feel their employer isn’t doing enough to promote diversity.
To better understand what DE&I means, let’s break down the three pillars:
Our population is – as a whole – by definition, diverse. Diverse teams better align with the demographics of the people companies serve. The overall goal of diverse and inclusive practices is to build a workforce that reflects the available labor market, with all talent groups equally represented and not excluding anyone because of what makes them different.
Companies without a DE&I strategy lack innovation and fresh perspectives for their business. In fact, companies with ethnically or gender-diverse leadership teams are more likely to outperform others by 25-36%.
Here are some actions organizations can take to create a more diverse and inclusive sourcing strategy:
The bottom line is, building a DE&I hiring strategy opens your talent pool tremendously and creates a more welcoming workplace. The best DE&I plans include company-wide goals, ensuring diversity in specific functions and seniority roles. If not already, DE&I should become the heart of each company’s recruitment strategy.
Core values help lead candidates to the right company. However, many companies’ values are vague and generic. Making your values clear helps build relationships with candidates from the start and attracts workers more likely to stay.
Think of company values as the true north of your brand compass. Regardless of your company’s direction, they remain fixed, steady, and true. A company’s core values should reflect its daily culture, employee experiences, and overall policies.
Values set an organization’s identity, laying the foundation for what the company cares about most. It provides a common purpose for all employees to understand and aim towards. These values help candidates recognize what will be expected of them if hired.
So, how can businesses communicate their company values during the hiring process?
Not only are company values important for hiring, but they are also crucial for retention. Therefore, when interviewing candidates, companies must scout and hire candidates who best align with their values.
To appeal to candidates in today’s job market, companies can’t be afraid to make changes. The trends outlined above will help companies adjust to the newly evolved workplace. But they are more than trends; they are necessary if you want to attract and retain top talent.
As we move towards Q1, businesses must develop a concrete action plan that improves their recruiting process. Companies hire the most in January and February, when the candidate pool will be at its best. So, get a head start as we get closer to the new year.
