The year 2020 was a roller coaster ride with the pandemic hitting businesses across the world. Most companies braced themselves to the new challenges thrown across due to the lockdowns and social distancing norms. Businesses saw major shifts in the way they operate. Work from home or remote working which was considered only an option has become the norm across the globe.
Like all the other areas of operation, recruitment also is looking at some radical changes in the coming future. We have put together a list of the recruitment trends that 2021 will see.
1) Use of Technology in Hiring
While companies have always used virtual hiring for candidates selectively, pandemic forced them to create end to end virtual hiring & assessment processes. 2021 will see a mix of virtual and on-site recruitment strategies as companies realise the cost & time saving benefits that they bring. Organisations will work towards defining their virtual recruitment strategies with the help of latest technology and at the same time try to add the much-needed human touch to it.
More and more companies are now also making use of AI powered pre-selection software that assist with making data driven hiring decisions. These software use predictive analytics to help select candidates who fit the role and are most likely to succeed.
Companies can now save time & cost by embracing technology for the initial hiring processes like candidate selection, interviews, etc and add the in-person elements at the on-boarding stages. Although, the executive and senior management positions will require a different approach with more in-person meetings and personal interactions.
2) Hire vs Build & Contract
With the lockdown forced upon by the pandemic, a lot of businesses took a financial hit leading to either a freeze or a reduction in the hiring budgets. Companies are now actively looking at internal mobility to fill up positions. This brings focus on Learning & Development to help up-skill the existing workforce. Companies will create extensive L&D programmes for the employees keeping in mind the current skills & future requirements. Companies will look for employees that can take up project based, cross functional roles.
Another shift will be towards contracting or borrowing talent. A Gartner survey reveals that 32% of organisations are replacing full-time employees with contract workers intending to save costs.
The biggest advantage to borrowing talent is that organisations can get specialised talent ready to onboard. Going forward the ratio of full time employees to contract or freelance employees will grow and hence the companies will need strategies to ensure that both are equally connected, engaged & motivated towards achieving the company goals.
Contract or freelance resources which were earlier restricted to the entry level jobs will now move to senior and executive level roles too. TaaS (Talent as a Service) helps in fast delivery of on-demand, high-skilled workers that the companies can access through a cloud-based platform. Theflexiport.com is India’s first TaaS platform for senior and middle management agile workforce.
3) Diversity
Many companies are today pledging support to the Movement against racism and adopting diversity in their hiring practices. Organisations are developing Diversity & Inclusion strategies to include candidates from all race, gender, culture, age, etc. And because of Remote working, a global talent pool is now easily accessible to the companies.
“If you haven’t hired a team of people who are of colour, female, and/or LGBT to actively turn over every stone, to scope out every nook and cranny, to pop out of every bush, to find every qualified underrepresented founder in this country, you’re going to miss out on a lot of money when the rest of the investment world gets it.”
– Arlan Hamilton, cofounder & CEO, Backstage Capital
4) Employer Brand Image
Post pandemic, companies will need to showcase how sensitive and empathetic they are, when it comes to the employee safety and wellbeing, if they want to attract top talent. Flexible work hours to safe & hygienic work environment to medical benefits & health insurance – these are some of the perks the job seekers will look for. The companies that can offer all this to the employees and are also able to create an employer brand image of one, that treats its employees well, will attract the right talent and retain them too. The HR managers will keep into account the above and design Employer Branding Strategy in quest to attract top talent.
With more and more employees returning to office, HR managers will have to not only ensure safe work environment but also ensure emotional and psychological wellbeing of the workforce. With the worse of the pandemic behind us, we are already seeing a rise in hiring across industries. Employers across the globe along with the Hiring managers will have to redesign hiring and on-boarding strategies for smoother transition into the new normal.
