Dramatic shifts in the talent landscape have forced recruiters to become more innovative and agile.
The demand for talent is greater than the supply, and talent shortages are at a 10-year high. By 2030, it’s predicted more than 85 million jobs could go unfilled because there aren’t enough skilled people to fill them. At the same time, we’re dealing with a Great Resignation boom that’s seen 38 per cent of workers plan to look for a new job in the next 12 months, and a further 39 per cent open to new opportunities.
Against this backdrop, talent teams are getting creative: they’re prioritising candidate experience, employer branding and alternative sourcing channels. It’s no longer enough to sit back and expect candidates to find you: every organisation has to be proactively recruiting if they want to find enough people to fill roles. That means embracing recruitment marketing tactics like targeted careers sites and employer branding content to build robust talent pipelines ahead of hiring demand.
As we head into 2022, companies need to move beyond the pre-pandemic status quo. Here are our top 4 recruitment trends to watch in 2022.
1: High-volume recruitment becomes mainstream
High-volume recruitment requires filling a large number of positions in a short period of time. Traditionally, high-volume recruitment was viewed as being exclusively for hourly, seasonal or graduate recruits. Over the past year, we’ve seen an increase in high-volume recruitment for regular full-time roles.
As organisations scramble to backfill vacant positions, the shortage of qualified candidates has created a need for accelerated recruitment cycles. At the same time, talent teams are lean: PageUp data shows us that on average a recruiter’s workload has increased by 28 per cent since the onset of COVID-19.
As a result, many organisations now face the demands of high-volume recruitment for at least a proportion of roles. Recent research indicates 65 per cent of companies have high-volume recruitment needs today. In 2022 we expect this percentage to increase.
As organisations consider their talent acquisition strategies for the next year, high-volume recruitment must be a priority and the technology solutions they use must be equipped for high-volume hiring. Many traditional ATS systems aren’t designed to perform activities —such as advertising, scheduling and communication —in bulk. In fact, 65 per cent of companies with high-volume recruitment needs are not satisfied with their current ATS and 82 per cent plan to increase their investment in fit-for-purpose technology this year.
2: Employer branding becomes a competitive differentiator
In 2022, the way you present your brand and EVP will have a direct impact on your ability to attract and win talent. Think about where jobseekers may see your employer brand: on your careers site, on your social media channels, via job boards and at careers fairs. Are you putting your best foot forward here? Is your branding consistent, engaging and attractive to potential candidates?
Your employer brand isn’t just the way your organisation looks. It’s also reflected in how you treat your candidates at every stage of the hiring journey – whether they’re successful or not. In 2022, your candidate experience is integral to your employer brand.
Leading organisations create targeted EVPs to appeal to hard to fill talent segments. They do this by creating dedicated pages on their careers site to show off specific aspects of their culture and employer brand that would appeal to their target talent segments. Some organisations have LGBTQI+ dedicated pages, others have Women in STEM and Veterans pages.
Instead of promoting one blanket EVP, the best organisations craft a unique EVP that speaks to diverse groups of talent. Take leading employment services organisation APM as an example. APM undertook research to understand the needs and wants of their target audiences, then crafted unique messaging and specific pages that spoke to each of these EVP elements. They managed to appeal to jobseekers across 10 different brands, while still delivering a consistent careers site experience.
3: Inclusive practices drive uptake of DE&I
Diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I) practices have become a central focus for HR teams in today’s competitive talent landscape. More than 75 per cent of jobseekers state diversity is an important factor for them when evaluating companies and job offers. And 39 per cent of candidates reject a role or do not proceed with a job application due to a perceived lack of inclusiveness within the organisation.
Your branding and EVP directly affects your ability to attract diverse talent. So how can you ensure your DE&I strategy shines through in your employer branding, messaging and recruitment process in an authentic way?
Did you know that the human brain can process visuals at a rate of 60,000 times faster than words? The look and feel of your organisation’s branding and online presence sticks in a candidate’s memory long after they’ve visited your careers site. What impression are they taking away? Today’s candidate wants to see and hear stories from people that they can relate to. Showcasing “people like me” stories on career sites helps candidates visualise themselves working at your organisation.
In 2022 we expect to see an acceleration in the uptake of technology and processes in support of organisations‘ DE&I strategy:
- text analysis to reduce bias in job ads
- application forms with inclusive titles, pronouns and gender options
- pay-equity analysis
- diversity reporting
- anonymised screening
- skills matching
- unconscious bias training
- competency-based interviews
- diverse sourcing channels
- inclusive (accessible) onboarding.
4: Appeal to the new generation of workers
A strong and relevant social media presence is no longer optional — it’s essential. Gen Z will research your employer brand using social media more than any other generation. Beyond LinkedIn, Gen Z research employers via Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and TikTok. In fact, TikTok recently launched TikTok Careers as a way to close in on the Gen Z hiring market. The platform has proven a hit for its #careeradvice videos: short, informative content pieces where recruiters give jobseekers interview tips and resume advice. Now, organisations like Chipotle and Target that often need to hire high volumes of entry-level Gen Z staff are finding candidates through TikTok’s video resumes.
Forward-thinking businesses are already recognising the benefits of appealing to Gen Z job seekers. Understanding what drives, motivates and inspires Gen Z candidates is key to a successful recruiting strategy in 2022.
This article originally appeared on PageUp as 9 Recruitment trends for 2022 and was republished here with permission.
Marion Robinson is responsible for spearheading global growth for PageUp in all its forms. She provides strategic direction across PageUp’s client advocacy, partner alliance, marketing and brand-building programs, ensuring total alignment between them so as to deliver on the PageUp growth strategy. Leveraging a wealth of experience in client management roles across a range of industries including Banking, Human Resources and IT, Marion understands the daily people challenges of clients first-hand.