SHRM notes how the pandemic has brought about an “unprecedented [labour] market characterized by record-level turnover and job openings, increased stress, and significantly changed candidate expectations”. How recruiters choose to respond to this market will determine hiring success for this year and beyond.
While priorities for recruiters might change throughout the year, there are some specific strategies that can ensure success.
Here are some of the top priorities for recruiters in 2022.
Increase recruiting budgets
Many recruiters and their organizations will prioritize increasing the recruiting budget in 2022. This will mean being able to post on more job boards, sponsor social media posts, and create hiring ads to draw in more talent. Undercover Recruiter writes that, according to a recent report, 40% of recruiters surveyed said that their recruiting budgets have increased “while an impressive 64% of recruiters reported that they expect budgets to increase over the next 6-12 months”.
Learn to write better/more concise job descriptions
HR professionals know how critical the job description is in recruiting top talent. It’s like a first impression and as they say, you only get one shot at it. Job descriptions should introduce job candidates to your organization and give a clear idea of company culture and what the role entails.
Outsource more jobs
Many organizations will be looking to outsource jobs wherever possible. This may mean adopting a work-from-anywhere model that allows organizations to hire employees from across the globe. Work-from-anywhere can be advantageous because it allows companies to save on costs associated with physical workspaces: office equipment, supplies, building fees, etc, and potentially save on wages too if their employees are working from lower cost-of-living areas.
Hire/promote more internally
One of the top priorities for recruiters and managers alike is looking for ways to fill vacant positions internally. While both external and internal hiring have their advantages, hiring or promoting from within can save organizations a great deal of time and money on onboarding. Not only that, but as a LinkedIn article puts it, by “providing [current] employees better opportunities to grow in their career you build trust and enhance employee engagement”.
Increase diversity and inclusion
Many recruiters will continue to focus on increasing diversity and inclusion in hiring. This means evaluating job postings, the application and hiring process, and your organization as a whole for any blind spots and biases. Inclusivity is essential in workplaces, and as Forbes describes, “diverse teams are also more knowledgeable, perform better and generally have more success” than teams that are less diverse.
Focus on skills-based hiring
Many workplaces have transitioned to hiring for skills, with an emphasis on teachability, rather than focusing on things like formal education or number of years of experience. This means that organizations may perform skill-gap analyses, where they work across departments to determine any weak points and hire—or retrain employees—based on their findings.
