9 Hiring Trends Emerging in 2021
The pandemic has changed many things. It’s made many of us reassess the way we live and want to work.
Working from home (WFH), of course, is the big development in working practices. It has opened up hitherto unforeseen possibilities for many of us – both employees and employers. And it’s absolutely the biggest hiring trend this year. But there are others. Here are the changes in the recruitment field for 2021 that we’ve been discovering at Big Sky Additions:
Companies are now looking for individuals that can work well independently i.e. that don’t require a lot of motivation or supervision. They also want employees who can collaborate with team members via email and other technological means, rather than face-to-face in the office.
Sundar Pichai, the CEO of Alphabet, Google’s parent, is planning on implementing a hybrid work model to give his employees ‘a better experience.’ @sundarpichai says: “No company at our scale has ever created a fully hybrid work force model—though a few are starting to test it—so it will be interesting to try.”
Another ‘biggie’ that logically developed during the pandemic, the ‘wellness’ i.e. both physical and mental health of employees has become a big priority for many companies. And that means trying to reduce stress in the workplace.
A natural progression from employee wellbeing is work/life balance. Yes, the latter has been around for a number of years now, but 2021 in particular is seeing a huge focus on it. Remote working helps with this, of course, but so does turning off work emails at a certain time of day.
Diversity and inclusion have been a huge focus for the past few years and it grows in importance in recruiting circles every year. But it’s more than just representation, these days a diverse and inclusive company culture is where it’s at.
The gig economy is huge these days. And we don’t just mean Uber and Airbnb. Companies will often hire freelancers and contractors for specific jobs and periods i.e. a three-month market research contract, copywriting a website etc.
In a bid to cut back on spending many companies are now outsourcing entire departments, and that includes their HR function. Others are outsourcing particular aspects, i.e. they are looking for ‘customised HR solutions’ where, for instance, it’s only about finding the candidates; the company will still carry out the interviews.
Not only is it here to stay, but social media is developing rapidly, with more companies using it than not. For many young consumers it’s their ‘go to’ medium for news, communications, fashion, food and furniture tips etc. And that means recruiters are too.
Yes, there have already been many great recruitment technologies developed, but there’s always room for improvement. AI automates many of the processes that recruiters can spend hours on, leaving them more time for the important stuff, such as selecting the right clients for an interview.
Virtual and augmented reality isn’t all about gaming or architectural design. No, recruiters are using it to show would-be employees what their future workplace looks like. This is especially useful when recruiting staff from abroad.