Between the pandemic and the Great Resignation, there has been a significant shift in recruitment in 2022. The pressure is on recruiters even more so than before. Today’s recruiters are expected to be more innovative, more agile, more productive, more everything with KPIs that dip into other departments. 

Talent shortages are at a 10-year high, but demand for top talent continues to grow. With organizations competing for candidates from withering talent pools, the recruitment industry is changing its tactics. We have identified the top trends that are defining the recruitment industry in 2022 and beyond. 

1. Technology to Lighten Recruiter Workload

Though there are fewer candidates, there aren’t fewer openings. That glaring difference between supply and demand is forcing recruiters to work even harder to bring in qualified talent and fill open positions. The recruiter workload is increasing significantly. 

With the world of work unlikely to balance anytime soon, something needs to be done to take some of the pressure off recruiters. Technology and automation can help to balance out the workload and allow them to focus their attention on the things that matter. 

A recent panel at the SHRM Talent Conference & Expo in Denver pushed the idea of rethinking the recruiter experience. Kristen DesPalmes, Director of Talent Attraction Strategy and Innovation at BAYADA Home Health Care in Denver, stated “There are things machines should do, and there are things recruiters should do.”

With evolving technologies continuing to enter the market, there are plenty of options available to recruitment and HR professionals that can help to lighten the load while increasing efficiency. 

2. Personalized Candidate Experiences

With top talent in short supply, the candidates are more in control than ever before. And, they are exercising that control during the recruitment process and beyond. Nearly half of today’s candidates would turn down an offer if they had a bad experience during the hiring process, with 38% more likely to accept if they were satisfied with their experience. 

What’s worse, 64% of candidates who have a negative candidate experience will share that experience with others, while 27% of those would actively dissuade others from applying. One bad candidate experience can trickle down and start impacting the brand. 

On the other hand, a positive experience can produce results. IBM found that 62% of applicants who were satisfied with their experience were more than twice as likely to recommend the hiring organization—regardless of whether or not they received a job offer.

There is a trend across industries towards a consumer-like experience regardless of how or why someone is interacting with your brand. It might help to consider candidates as customers in this sense. Poor experiences lose customers, great experiences bring in more customers.

You can treat candidates like customers with a personalized candidate experience. Candidates don’t just want the omnichannel experience, they want to follow a journey that is tailored to their preferences and needs the same as they would as a consumer. That means sending them updates and job listings that suit their background and their desired position, matching the benefits to the candidate’s preferences, communicating with them through their preferred channels, and keeping them engaged.

HR and recruitment technologies can help you gather and analyze data to make this process even easier, but don’t forget the human element. 

3. Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Initiatives

DE&I has been a trend in HR and recruiting for some time now, but it is becoming a central focus in 2022 and beyond. Where it interested candidates before, it is now becoming a deciding factor for candidates—and current employees. 

A recent survey found 76% of candidates cite diversity as an important factor when evaluating positions and offers. Another survey found 39% of candidates would actually reject a role or abandon the application process if there was a perceived lack of inclusiveness. 

DE&I initiatives play a role in retaining employees as well. Deloitte’s inclusion pulse survey found that 72% of employees would leave, or consider leaving, a company for a more inclusive company. 

How will this play a role in recruiting? Recruiters will need to ensure that DE&I initiatives are being included in the employee value proposition (EVP) and that the EVP is being properly communicated to potential candidates. 

4. Proactive Recruiting with Recruitment Marketing

Competition for talent is even more fierce in 2022. There is a predicted 85 million jobs, or $8.5 trillion talent shortage, expected by 2030. With as many as 43% of candidates dropping off in the application phase, recruiters are under pressure to continuously bring in candidates—viable candidates. 

Due to this need, recruiters are employing more marketing tactics in their recruitment strategies. Targeted microsites and landing pages, employee-generated content, personalized candidate communications, and more are not part of the recruiter toolbox. Some organizations are even including marketing KPIs for their recruiters. 

Today’s competitive talent landscape means organizations can no longer be reactive in their hiring process. Recruitment needs to be proactive—and targeted. Recruitment marketing can help fill pipelines and create dynamic talent pools filled with ready-now candidates that are able to be placed faster. 

5. More Focus on Soft Skills

It is no longer about the hard skills—well, not just the hard skills. SHRM found that 97% of employers are valuing soft skills as much or more than hard skills in 2022. Hard skills are still an important factor as they are necessary to complete the work efficiently and correctly, but employers are becoming more aware that these skills are teachable.  

On the SHRM Expo panel, Kristen DesPalmes recommended hiring for the organization, not the individual role. She believes that companies should worry about hiring competent candidates with specific soft skills and training them to fit the company’s needs. They called it “screening in” vs the traditional screening out. 

It will result in employees that are more in tune with not only the way the company does things but the company culture as a whole. 

6. Less Focus on Location

Remote and hybrid work is still an important factor for many job seekers. Top-grossing recruitment agencies will operate in multiple countries, hiring talent that is the right fit for the role, not talent that is geographically closest. 

Today’s labor market is hypercompetitive and talent shortages continue to cause problems for recruiters. Location-dependent hiring is no longer an option for many. There are simply too many roles to fill and not enough experienced talent. 

Opening up to a global talent pool can significantly increase opportunities and fill open positions faster—and with better candidates. This may lead to an increase in the need for EOR and AOR services for many organizations as the need for global compliance in regard to payroll administration, benefits administration, and employee classification grows. 

Stay on Top of Recruitment Trends

Take the necessary steps to combat the supply and demand issue recruiters are facing today. Full-time, part-time, contingent workers, or independent contractors, onsite or remote, People2.0 can help alleviate administrative burdens so you can better serve your clients while staying on top of today’s recruitment trends. Contact us today.