The last two years have been tough on recruiters. The pandemic destroyed talent acquisition teams, piled new demands on others, and brought about massive change as recruitment shifted online across several industries.
The knowledge that recruitment agencies have gained over the past two years will help shape the talent acquisition trends set out in 2022.
In this article, we’ll be covering some of the changes in recruitment that are here to stay.
Virtual hiring is the new normal
Before COVID-19, face-to-face interviews were largely the norm across recruitment to the extent that recruiters would prefer to reschedule an interview rather than conduct it online. In LinkedIn’s 2021 The Future of Talent Report, over 70% of the respondents agreed that a hiring process which combines in-person and virtual processes will become the standard due to time and cost savings.
Online job interviews not only allow for a quick and effective hiring process but also help organisations improve diversity hiring by reaching through geographic barriers, Ryan Healy (co-founder of Brazen) told SHRM. Recruiters must be able to leverage technology to communicate with jobseekers during the recruitment process to adapt with a constantly changing world.
An emphasis on internal hiring
According to LinkedIn’s report, internal mobility has increased 20% since the start of the pandemic. 66% of respondents expected their learning and development budget to increase or stay the same in 2021.
Some of the benefits to internal mobility are increased engagement, lower costs, and a shorter hiring process, but the biggest benefit of all may actually be employee retention, according to Mark Lobosco, VP of Talent Solutions at LinkedIn. Lobosco states
companies with high internal mobility have employees who stay almost 2x longer than those who don't and companies who have found internal roles for their employees have them 3.5x more engaged than those who haven't.
Recruiters will need to expand their skill sets
Adaptability was voted the No.1 skill to embrace for recruiters in LinkedIn’s report. Given the challenges faced in the last couple of years, this isn’t surprising. From fine-tuning the virtual hiring process to restructuring employer branding, recruiters have had to adapt to change very quickly.
One of the biggest growth factors in recruiters was personal development. Popular topics in which recruiters sought more knowledge were virtual interviewing, staying productive while working from home, talent advisory training, and internal mobility.