It’s that time again. It’s your quarterly review. Get excited because this is a great time to review some of the amazing accomplishments you and other pros like you have made in recruitment for 2023 thus far! Despite recruitment challenges, things are starting to balance out in the candidate market – partly because of the brilliant ideas and methods being used.
Recruiters are faced with unclear work arrangements.
Heading into 2023, there was a great deal of uncertainty regarding whether employees would be required to return to the office. The heads of some of the most powerful companies insisted on giving employees the option to either commit to in-office work again or be terminated. Elon Musk, most known for his successful innovation at Tesla and SpaceX, purchased and took over leadership at Twitter. Soon after, employees and other business leaders criticized him for blasting off emails mandating that employees return to the office and work at least 40 hours weekly. Reed Hastings, CEO of Netflix, expressed similar sentiments. He told sources that he did not see the value in allowing employees to work remotely. He went on to support his claim by saying he would likely institute a 4-day workweek onsite.
Many companies are fluctuating between full remote work or in-office arrangements. Meanwhile, others are using a hybrid model which requires employees to be in the office a few days each week. This challenges struggling recruiters to find candidates willing to work in the office. The best recruiters, however, listen to what candidates want and try to accommodate their needs regarding work arrangements.
There’s still room for improvement.
You may find it surprising to hear that many of your colleagues face increased levels of stress and burnout on the job. Recruiters work long hours, often to meet the demands of their agencies. Corporate recruiters face a lot of pressure from leaders who need good people now, knowing fully well that it can take a long time to find the right person for every job opening.
Add to this the inefficiencies with some recruitment platforms and processes. It becomes a never-ending cycle of frustration. It’s taking longer to recruit talent when it should take less time. In a State of Hiring and Recruiting Report for 2023, KarmaCheck found that
“73% of HR leaders are experiencing burnout as a direct result of missing the mark in hiring and recruitment, with interview scheduling issues (53%) and slow screening and evaluation (42%) as the top contributors.”
Just as it’s become critical for organizations to focus on employees’ mental health and well-being, it’s equally important for recruiters to have healthy work environments and better systems for managing their varied tasks. They need responsive recruitment platforms that allow for the seamless processing of candidates. That way, they can create great experiences that will reel in top candidates.
Is it live or a bot?
Now for some positive insight for the first quarter of 2023.
Recruitment technology recently evolved into incorporating artificial intelligence (AI) into the mix. This year marks the introduction of ChatGPT, which is “a ChatBot made by Open AI that produces any kind of content according to the user’s demand.” Conversational by design, ChatGPT has risen to popularity, with some 100 million users onboard within the first two months of its launch! It’s great for simple communication and tasks, saving recruiters loads of time.
How exactly is ChatGPT being used by recruitment professionals? Its usefulness seems endless. Recruiters can use this AI resource to
- answer candidate questions in real time,
- source candidates across multiple directories,
- introduce candidates to the corporate brand,
- create and post job advertisements
- develop candidate pools and
- keep them interested with ongoing content and more.
By inputting a few simple directions, any recruiter can master the benefits of ChatGPT.
Skills-based recruitment takes a front seat.
In 2023, there has been a shift from experiential qualities to skills-based recruitment. Recruiters seek candidates with the right skills for each job or the potential to learn new skills once onboarded. While resumes are still the norm, recruiters also use tools to assess skills upfront and test candidates’ ability to perform job-related tasks. This also includes software knowledge and other hard skills needed.
To complement skills-based hiring, more employers are seeing the value of promoting work cultures that include access to skill-building opportunities. According to LinkedIn,
“Since 2019, the share of recruiter searches on LinkedIn that include a skills filter has grown by 25% — and today, recruiters are 50% more likely to search by skills than they are to search by years of experience.”
A better candidate experience matters.
Perhaps one of the biggest advancements in 2023 is the realization that making the candidate experience more positive can result in greater achievements. Top talent chooses to work for organizations that offer above-average earnings, benefits, and a work culture where they have a sense of belonging. This culture must also include opportunities for additional learning and focus on promoting diversity and respect.
DEI initiatives have become a preference for candidates. A recent Monster survey revealed,
“86 percent of job seekers say they factor an employer’s reputation on DEI in their job search.”
This is especially important for Generation X and Z candidates, who represent the largest share of the employee market. To attract, hire, and retain the most talented employees means having a clear DEI program that supports growth and advancement.
This year is already turning out to be an exciting one for many recruiters. Hiring is up, and recruiters are the front line of creating long-term success.
