05 Upcoming Talent Recruitment Trends in 2023
Last year was eventful in terms of hiring. The tech sector witnessed layoffs and a high attrition rate throughout the year, which has continued into the first quarter of 2023. Making a bad hire or hiring beyond the company's capacity is something everyone should try to avoid, but finding the right talent continues to be a challenge in a volatile business environment with fear of layoffs and hiring freezes, the situation continues. Managers must adopt more effective recruiting practices and explore other avenues to find the talent they need to reach their business goals.
Here are a few hiring trends we anticipate growing in 2023.
01- Flexible and Remote Cultures
After COVID, the way employees want to work has changed. Even after a year since the last lockdown, employees still wish to continue working remotely. We will continue to see this trend. As a result, many companies offer remote and hybrid work structures. In a survey, almost 60% of employees said they are more constructive while working remotely. As a result, managers will need their talent recruitment strategies to be remote-friendly and digital. We will witness more companies digitalizing their hiring, training and onboarding and exits happening digitally.
02- Hiring Contingent Employees
Recent layoffs have proved that organizations are understanding the need for smaller yet robust workforce structures. However, to avoid overwhelming their current employees, they may start relying on the growing freelance and contractual workforce.
Employers now understand the kind of impact the contingent workforce has on employer brands. Not to mention the market insights they can provide.
Adding a contingent workforce saves companies money and time. Managers can leverage contingent workers to meet the organization’s strategic goals. They can also implement robust tools and systems to hire and manage contingent employees.
03- Addressing Candidates Shifting Priorities
With mass layoffs, employers may be regaining the upper hand. But they must not forget the candidates' priorities while hiring. The first question talent acquisition specialists must think about is, what do candidates want?
Apart from primary factors like compensation and upskilling, factors like work-life balance and flexibility are equally important. According to LinkedIn’s Global Talent Trends Report, candidates are increasingly seeking remote work despite organizations scaling back on remote job postings. Between September- October 2022, remote job postings fell to 14% but received 52% of overall applications. Similarly, in India 10% of the total remote jobs received double applications.
People seek flexibility, opportunity, and often remote work.
Further, talent acquisition leaders should promote their companies’ well-being policies when recruiting candidates for jobs and during the interview process. Regardless of the work arrangement, a healthy and collaborative culture matters to all candidates, contract or permanent.
04- Quality of Hire
One of the main reasons for the mass layoffs we’ve seen the past couple of quarters is the bulk hiring which occurred during COVID when the edtech sector was booming. It turned out to be a lesson for talent acquisition specialists to think more long term and more intentionally about how they scale their teams.
In 2023, companies will look for employees who fall more under the generalist category than specialists. Managers will focus more on skills-based talent acquisition, utilizing specialists and experts that are easily onboarded and offboarded, depending on the company’s needs.
05- Revamped Career Sites
Traditional job boards simply do not provide the candidate experience job seekers want. Discerning candidates have high expectations and will research a company’s culture, reviews, and social media accounts. Candidate experience must be automated, swift, transparent, and engaging. Hiring managers that will move creatively and start tapping deep job platforms and talent marketplaces while hiring will be able to establish a competitive advantage while attracting top talent, whether they are contract or permanent.