If you are thinking of growing your business in the new year, you are not alone.
80% of UK businesses are planning on hiring in the next 12 months.
Branded ‘the war for talent’ by some, the current market is seeing a decrease in available talent, which is only set to continue as 2022 rolls in.
Over the last year, we have seen a massive shift in entry-level talent, with a reluctance from founders to hire junior staff.
Whilst it may be challenging to upskill and grow talent in a virtual world, prioritising learning and development in the new year is an investment in our future workforce.
From virtual recruiting to gamification, here is a look at four recruitment trends that will help to secure your company the top talent in 2022:
Top Four Recruitment Trends for 2022
Virtual Recruiting
Although virtual recruiting existed pre-covid, the ability to hire without meeting candidates face-to-face has been made a necessity by the pandemic.
61% of recruiters expect video interviews to be the default going forward. This shift has enabled employers to interview a higher number of candidates in a much shorter time.
Being able to successfully hire people from anywhere in the world is leading to a surge in fully remote teams. Whilst this opens up opportunities to people living in different areas, it is important that going forward you can successfully onboard your remote team.
Keeping your team feeling connected whilst they are apart is key to creating a good working environment. Some companies are doing this by hosting virtual events to keep their team engaged and encouraging conversations around wellbeing to take place amongst their employees.
Virtual recruiting has been a saviour for many over the last couple of years and will go from strength to strength as we move into 2022 and adjust to our new normal.
Natural Language Processing (NLP)
Natural Language Processing is an AI component that has the ability to record and break down the language in human to computer interactions (both written and verbal).
This kind of technology is already ingrained in our everyday lives- for example if you ask Siri or Alexa a question, it’s NLP that dissects the meaning and answers accordingly.
Companies are now seeing the benefits of NLP in the recruitment process. In today’s world, employer branding is more important than ever, and candidate experience is so important in building good employer branding. Anything you can do to streamline this experience will be beneficial.
Using NLP for real-time interaction with candidates via chatbots, and having initial conversations with NLP systems, also gives you the chance to widen your talent pool and cut out unconscious bias.
Creating this funnel system will inevitably allow you to spread your time across the business.
NLP is something we will be seeing used increasingly in recruitment, onboarding, and continual training in 2022 and beyond.
Upskilling
Upskilling is the process of building on an employee’s existing knowledge to allow them to progress in their role.
This enables you to hire more junior members of staff and create long term employment opportunities with much greater scope for career and personal development. It sounds similar to reskilling, but it is much more proactive.
Reskilling occurs when the member of staff needs to be taught a new skill in order to retain them if their current role has become non-essential.
Upskilling will inventively create a stronger workforce as it will provide you with the skills you need to grow your company.
We are currently seeing a massive decrease in available talent on the market. Upskilling will help to diversify your talent pool, and by investing in junior members of staff you can save money on big wages and create a stronger workforce.
Your previously upskilled employees can then help with the onboarding and upskilling of future employees, allowing management and leadership roles to emerge and help your business grow as 2022 unfolds.
Gamification
Will 2022 be the end of the CV?
We are seeing an increase in companies ditching the CV and instead opting for a more objective, science-based hiring process.
The inclusion of technical tests and the incorporation of gamified psychometric tests are becoming more popular. This not only helps to remove a level of unconscious bias from your hiring process but also gives you an insight into how your candidates approach tasks.
It is far too easy to get distracted by a big name on a CV and fail to make an objective decision. Personality, behaviour, and cognitive abilities are much better predictors of future job performance in comparison to past workplaces.
Focusing on cognitive abilities, behaviour and personality will help you hire the best talent.
Employer branding is more important than ever, so as we enter 2022, think about how you can boost your candidate experience and diversify your hiring process.
All of these trends are indicative of our future workforce and its push to eliminate bias throughout the hiring process.
As 2022 is fast approaching, this is the time to solidify your hiring plans. Ensure that you are addressing any bias in your process by placing time and resources into creating a diverse workforce that will help us build a sustainable future.
Are you growing your business in 2022? It is time to get your plan in place. We understand the
importance of finding the right talent for your team, if you want any advice don’t hesitate to get in
touch with our team of experienced consultants at ISL Recruitment!
This is a guest blog written by Róisín Phelan. Róisín is the Content Writer at ISL Recruitment. Her writing tackles the intricate troubles faced by startup founders and tech talent. Whether you are a founder looking to grow your team, or a candidate wanting to secure your dream tech role, Róisín’s writing offers valuable insight into the ins and outs of the tech world.
