Top 5 recruitment trends for 2021

Last year was an incredibly challenging year, but 2021 brings some positivity. With improvements in the economy, there is hope that this year will bring a much-needed fresh start. Although impossible to predict the future, there are a few recruitment trends we can see emerging already.

 

1. Defining an employer brand

Your brand isn’t just colours and logos, it can define who you are as an employer. Define your brand by communicating your values and vision. Sharing what you stand for to ensure it resonates with the talent you want to attract.

A strong employer brand has been used to differentiate employers and to attract great talent for a long time. However, in recent years this has been critical with a candidate-driven market.

Even though the market may have shifted slightly due to the pandemic, a strong, trustworthy, and authentic brand will play a crucial part in securing the best candidates. Candidates will be looking for organisations who offer support, flexibility, and the ability to adapt to change.

Those organisations who are proactive in communicating and sharing their employer values and vision, either across social media or at recruitment events, will be at a great advantage.

 

2. Delivering an excellent candidate experience

The candidate experience is showcasing your employer values and vision, where the candidate can see first hand how you support and encourage your employees.

This continues to be important into 2021, as it is an ever-evolving process. Studies show that greater employee satisfaction correlates to greater productivity and employee loyalty. In 2021 this starts at the recruitment stage, which is even earlier in the process than before. It is critical that the candidate experience delivers a positive first impression of your company as first impressions definitely count.

The candidate journey often starts from an online search or a social media campaign. Each point throughout the process should be reflective of your brand values to engage interest from prospective candidates. Delivering an easy application process will improve your application rates, but it is important to get the balance right between ease and detail. This gives candidates the opportunity to demonstrate their abilities.

By combining effective technology and a personal touch, employers can deliver a unique and time efficient candidate experience that represents the organisation in a positive manner. Candidates expect more than just receiving a good package and perks, the experience also plays a crucial role in the acceptance decision.

 

3. Location

In 2020, we were forced to become more mobile, with changes across company policies such as working from home, hot desking and online meetings. With this new way of working now in place, 2021 is set to be an interesting year for the traditional work environment.

It’s thought that the traditional working-world may evolve as flexible work patterns, cost savings and streamlined processes start to play an important role. This is an exciting prospect for recruitment! Without geographical limitations, your candidate pool becomes larger and talent in completely different areas of the country may be applying for your roles.

 

4. Virtual becoming the new reality

It is important to maintain some face-to-face interaction, despite working from home. In 2021, we anticipate this will continue to strengthen. The likes of Zoom, Google Meet, and Microsoft Teams are likely to become normality, for working and interviewing. It would be near impossible to talk about upcoming recruitment trends without mentioning Zoom!

Employers have already had to adapt their hiring processes to operate online. With this there have been some great benefits, providing an efficient, cost effective and time-saving recruitment process.

 

5. Remote working

Remote working has been a big trend for the last few years. Employers have tried to optimise work life balance for a more productive and loyal work force. The circumstances in 2020 have accelerated this trend. This proves that traditional office-based roles are able to function remotely. There are also great business benefits, such as cost savings by changing the flexible working policy.

This year may bring expectations from potential employees to include a more flexible work pattern and an option for home-working. It’s likely this will move from being something quite unique to becoming the new norm for a lot of organisations.

 

What do you think? Are there any other recruitment trends you expect to see this year? Let us know in the comments.

 

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