The way in which a company finds and recruits new candidates for roles looks radically different now when compared to five years ago, with the COVID-19 pandemic accelerating the transformation of what was already an increasingly digital and multi-channel process.
With that in mind, we’re going to look at what we think are going to be some of the most important hiring trends, and what companies should be doing to stay on top of their recruitment game.
Employer Branding – Convincing To Candidates Choose You Over Competitors
As the market becomes more competitive, positioning yourself as an attractive and welcoming employer can make a huge difference when it comes to attracting the best candidates. As the information available to a candidate has become more significant, and easier to find, candidates are able to get a feel for exactly what a company is like before they even begin the application process.
If they don’t like what they see online, or if the information isn’t available in the same ease and presentation as other companies, you may be missing out on candidates you will never even be aware of!
Companies with a positive and pronounced brand as an employer will receive more applications, increasing the chances of finding the best candidate. They will also be more likely to receive the right applications, as candidates who are a fit with the company's values and needs will be able to identify that with ease.
When it comes to the bottom line, this doesn’t just help with getting the right people on your team, it also makes recruiting more efficient, and less expensive.
This serves to reinforce just how important your online presence and digital branding is, as it not only affects how you’re perceived by customers, but also by people who will be looking to work with and for you.
Support Employee Mental Health and Wellbeing
In recent times, there’s been a shift to a more open and compassionate approach when it comes to the mental health of workers, and it’s something every employer needs to be aware of and making an effort to think about going forward.
Creating a supportive and accommodating environment for your current employees will have the added benefit of making you more appealing to prospective candidates.
In practice, there are a number of steps you can take, including:
Health benefits
Paid time off
Pastoral care
Promoting from within
Team building
Having these sorts of structures in place, as well as being an employer who listens and maintains an open channel of communication with its employees, will help signal to prospective candidates that it will be a positive place to work.
It also means it’s important to clearly communicate these things as a part of your branding, as well as during the interview process, so that prospective candidates are aware of it.
Utilise Upskilling
Upskilling isn’t just a buzzword, it’s also one of the most powerful trends in recruiting right now, and it’s something that will be a fundamental point of emphasis for any organisation going forward.
At its core, upskilling will allow you to address skill gaps in your workforce, reduce costs by reducing your reliance on constantly new workers, and improve your employee retention rates. Across technology, engineering, logistics, and a wide range of other sectors, many companies are now facing a skills shortage and a lack of qualified candidates.
The best solution to this is to take employees you have, whose personal skills, character, and other soft skills you trust, and help them develop the necessary technical skills to fulfill roles and provide value to your organisation.
Upskilling is also a great way of improving your brand image, by helping you garner a reputation as a company that can provide value to its employees in terms of career growth and progressions.
Whilst upskilling can never be a quick fix, all companies should be taking a long term view when it comes to recruitment, and upskilling helps ensure that you aren’t having to respond to future skills shortages, by putting plans in place today that will secure the future of your company.
Conducting Virtual Interviews
One of the biggest changes to recruitment brought on by the pandemic was the increased prevalence and importance of virtual interviews, as employers had to adapt to creating a remote recruitment process.
This is one of those changes of necessity, that we envision becoming a fixture of the recruitment process well into the future. With the right implementation, a virtual interview can be no different in terms of quality and helping you find the right candidate than an in person interview would be.
They do however require a greater degree of planning, communication, and a learning curve when it comes to experience and evaluation.
One of the biggest benefits of virtual interviews going forward will be that it allows employers to tap into a larger pool of candidates. For some, this will mean recruiting nationally and internationally, but there are a whole host of reasons why even local candidates may not be able to attend an in person interview as easily, so offering virtual interviews is a simple way to ensure you’re reaching as many candidates as possible.
Hiring For Soft Skills
Many companies are continuing to feel the true impact of a skills deficit across many sectors, however one way of working around this is for companies to rethink how they evaluate and prioritise skills.
Whilst it’s true for the hard skills that there are a dearth of qualified candidates, soft skills are something that transcends this. Soft skills are the intangible qualities that don’t fit neatly onto a CV, but are hugely important, such as work ethic, communication, teamwork, problem solving, and much more.
By putting these qualities at the forefront of your recruitment drive, you’ll ensure that even if you aren’t finding candidates who tick every box, you’re getting people who will be able to succeed, even while acquiring the hard skills you would normally require as a prerequisite for the role.
If your company needs help to stay on top of these changes and other areas, get in touch with us and find out how we can help solve your recruitment problems!
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