The year 2022 has been a roller coaster ride for the HR & Recruitment teams in almost all organisations. It would be interesting to see what this new year holds for all of us.
At Multi Recruit we work closely with small, medium and large size, well-funded global recruitment teams who are part of GIC’s , GCCs’ & COE’s. This strong association has given us an advantage to get insights from our clients about their hiring processes and in depth knowledge on what the year 2023 is going to look like for Recruitment & HR teams.
So lets get to know the Recruitment & HR trends to look for in 2023
• Global markets will have great Talent shortage
The Great Resignation isn’t slowing down in the US, anticipating a continued talent shortage. Labour markets globally remain incredibly volatile. In 2021, for instance, 48 million people quit their jobs in the U.S. – easily breaking records for annual resignations and since then things haven’t slowed down. According to CNN, resignations have jumped in the U.K., Australia, and France, as well. Additionally, Willis Towers Watson’s 2022 Global Benefits Attitudes survey states, nearly half of all current employees (44 per cent) are now job seekers – a third of those are actively job hunting.
In India, a TOI Article states that there will be a slow but steady recovery in recruitment across sectors. Hiring in industries such as IT, ITES, Real Estate, Retail, Technology, and BFSI is already on an upward trajectory despite a slow-growing economy & high inflation. Talent will be in demand in education and healthcare too.
• Remote Working & Work Flexibility in high demand
Candidates still want remote work, but say it is getting harder to find relevant work.
As per our internal reports at Multi recruit, we found that Jobseekers prefers WFH, however finding it challenging to get one. On the other hand, our clients anticipate to getting started with WFO and have strong resistance to WFH, affecting the growth plans for 2023.
The top 3 reasons cited by job seekers to our recruiter as the biggest benefits they see with remote work include:
- • Lesser leakage of time, owing to commutation.
- • Economically viable option compared to WFO.
- • Better sense of work Life balance.
- • Flexibility in working style and achievements.
• Remote interviewing will be at its peak
Despite many of our clients reopening their offices last year in India, remote work is much bigger than it was before the pandemic. Similarly, remote interviewing has become a necessity for hiring during the pandemic & will remain relevant as businesses continue to include it in their business strategy.
Our clients are using video conference platforms such as ZOOM, SKYPE, TEAMS, WEBEX which are a common tool in every employee’s system.
Video Interviewing tools such as VProPle and our Proprietary tool DIGI HYRE facilitate collaborative hiring & make it easier for various teams such as HR’s, Delivery Managers & Senior Management to participate in the interview & selection process from anywhere in the world.
• Gen Z enters the workforce
Generation Z is soon to be the most populous & diverse generation in history. One third of the world’s population are Gen Z and by 2025 they would constitute 25% of the global workforce.
Few of Gen Z traits would be:
- • They would prioritize flexible work options
- • They would look for organisations with shared values & interests
- • They would always look for a higher pay
- • They seek organisations with increased support for mental health.
Gen Z talent would not only know what they want but are more likely to seek out new opportunities to get it as they are highly social, tech savvy and have early advantage over technology.
• Higher emphasis on Candidate / Employees experience, Branding & EVP (Employee Value Proposition)
Multiple leading TA HEAD’s and HR Managers stated that while hiring “quality talent” becomes more challenging, Recruiters & HR departments all over the world are increasingly focusing on building a great candidate experience. This is owing to the direct & tangible benefits it brings to the table. Moreover, “Quality Talent” have choices at their disposal and if the organisations are unable to attract the candidates to a desirable organisation to work at, they are unlikely to consider further.
Our research also states, the candidates get into substantial validations and research about employers before and after applying for any job role. Google reviews and Glassdoor reviews are primary tools candidates hover through before considering any opportunities, making Employer Branding even more crucial aspect in Recruitment Process.
A senior HR head also stated that an EVP ( Employee Value Proposition ) is equally important as it communicates to a candidate, what they’ll get in return for working with a company. A potential candidate & existing employees need to know WHO, WHAT, WHEN & WHY about the opportunity and organization. In simple words EVP is the balance of the rewards and benefits that are received by employees in return for their performance at the workplace.
• Job boards & Recruitment consultants will still remain a key source of talent pool
Most of HR’s & Recruitment Team have been using job boards since decades & though there are many AI tools & Alternative Source of Talent pools in the Recruitment Industry, the dependence on job boards & Recruitment Consultants will still remain same.
In 2023, organizations would increase their dependency on job boards with a significant number of them using it for “most” or “all of their hiring. Pandemic-related layoffs and lockdowns had jobseekers calling the shots and re-gaining leverage. Recruitment Consultants specializing in certain technologies or domain expertise are always demand and will continue to meet the need of sourcing talent.
• Transformation of Recruiters into Transformational leaders
The year 2023 would be the year of Transformation Leadership for HR & Recruitment Teams. Transformational leadership refers to a profoundly people-oriented management style with the principal objective of maximizing the company’s success & ensuring the best interests of both, employee & employer. Transformational leadership style is deeply rooted into the efforts to understand and uplift the individual. Recruiters engaged in this approach may abandon a few traditional restrictions on candidate screenings.
Transformational leadership does not just inform how individuals & teams are managed. It revolutionizes various hiring practices which includes the use of transformational strategies to expand candidate pools beyond historic parameters. Transformational approaches to hiring also enable the cultivation of diverse, dynamic teams in which each team member is valued & treated indispensable.
• Competitive Compensation & Benefits
Most of the Organisations that we work with plan to continue enhancing their Compensation & Benefits offerings in 2023 to improve talent attraction & retention.
While this is not something new, but most firms have been doing in 2022, A “virtual care” will take a centre stage again to help reduce costs & expand access, but with a different focus. Comprehensive health benefit plans will also play a bigger role in 2023.
Employees would be concerned more than ever with lifestyle of the company they work for; monetary benefits alone won’t attract or help them sustain. Many employers are surveying their employees on benefits preferences to find what works best for their people, culture, and business.
• Increasing Employee Retention Efforts & Recognition Programs
ERE’s & ERPs are on top of the mind for many organizations as high turnover, across all industries, continues to disrupt the workplace in 2023.
The things to improve the ERE & ERP would be to:
- • Making faster & smarter hiring decisions
- • Value Employees for their efforts
- • Enhancing the onboarding process
- • Providing competitive Pay & Benefits
- • Provide opportunities for growth & development
- • Provide recognition where it’s due to the employees
- • Offer work flexibility
- • Create a valuable company culture
- • Promote collaboration & effective teamwork
- • Have a two-way feedback process
• Upskilling and Reskilling, Learning Opportunities & Career Development
2023 is the year when 90% of the corporates that we work with globally would look at Upskilling or Reskilling their workforce. Employees want to see their organizations “Walk the Walk” by implementing DEI strategies to make the impactful change. The pandemic has also made the skills gap even wider especially in professions that rely more heavily on technology.
Couple of strategies in 2023 for employee career development would be:
- • Divide learning into bite-sized subjects for the tough skills
- • Personalized coaching & mentoring would be in high demand
- • Peer-to-peer (P2P) learning would be inculcated
- • Companies will opt for Certified Quality programs
• Diversity, Equality & Inclusion would be increased in 2023
2023 is the year for DEI, companies would look at larger talent pools due to the shortage & situation of 2022. Employees are likely to not leave a company where they feel a sense of empathy & belonging. Inclusion contributes to cultivating that feeling by ensuring everyone feels acknowledged, accepted, and welcomed.
A few simple changes that can be implemented from the DEI trends for 2023 would be :
- • Hr departments would encourage employees to reconsider using the non-gender-neutral catch-all greeting such as “Hey, guys.” Or “Hey Team”.
- • Adding pronoun fields to employee profiles in the employee directory.
- • Making conscious efforts to add multi-ethnic holidays and allowing teams or employees to celebrate those ethic holidays.
• Higher focus on people Analytics in HR & Recruitment
The future of people analytics strategies is no longer a question. In fact, modern data analysis methods have become a crucial part of HR & Recruitment—and that’s not just because it’s helpful for companies but to have a better understanding of their employees’ needs & motivations.
We have been crunching a lot of data at Multi Recruit and our MIS & HR team has given clients an insight into work patterns and how organisations can leverage those strengths and make the most of their work life.
In 2023, By using big data analysis, management in organizations will be able to predict employee behaviours. There would be high emphasis on accurate data predictions & better decisions about hiring and firing employees.
• Emphasis on Soft Skills & Skill-Based hiring
There would be higher emphasis on soft skills and skill-based hiring in 2023.
Aspects such as:
- • Communication
- • Collaboration
- • Critical Thinking
- • Interpersonal Skills
- • Proactivity
Would be the new soft skills that organizations are looking for in 2023.
A term first used by the National Bureau of Economic Research in 2020 called as STAR (Skilled Through Alternative Routes) has been used by a lot of organizations globally. STARs have skills acquired through regional Colleges, workforce training, bootcamps, certificate programs or on-the-job learning, but are often overlooked by employers and are blocked by general degree requirements.
Multi Recruit works with a lot of Tech companies for their hiring needs. Based on inputs from our clients and their hiring patterns we have found that the Top Tech kills to be hired in 2023 are:
- • Cloud Computing
- • Artificial Intelligence
- • Cybersecurity
- • Data Science
- • Data Analytics
- • Devops
- • ML
- • Product Development
The year 2021 & 2022 was faced with disruptions that led us to positive changes in the way we work; and today, we are ready to transition into unexplored possibilities. With 2023 becoming a starting point of reinventing & repositioning strategies for organizations, placing HR & Recruitment at the epicentre of workplace transformation.
2023 is the time HR & Recruitment to not just “Carpe Diem” but “Carpe Annum”.