The COVID-19 crisis has dramatically shifted the tides in the business world, and it has changed the global business landscape. Companies worldwide are forced to adapt quickly to the new normal and the new trends in their industries to stay afloat and ensure business growth until the end of the year. Among the most important trends you need to keep on top of are the hiring and onboarding trends, as you need to build and maintain a thriving employee collective to succeed.
Whether you are hiring new talent to facilitate eCommerce success or hiring in a more traditional industry like healthcare where your decision can save lives, now it’s more important than ever to act on the relevant trends. With that in mind, here are the five hiring trends that all business leaders should follow to achieve their goals.
More diversity, equality, and inclusion in hiring
There are many reasons why your company values should find their way into your hiring process. For example, striving for more diversity, higher equality, and better inclusion in your company is not only the best branding strategy you can employ, but it will invariably bring better talent to your business to take your brand to new heights.
These are the values that candidates nowadays look for when applying for jobs. According to Monster’s report, as much as 86% of candidates care a great deal about equality, inclusion, and diversity in the modern workplace. This means that you need to weave these values into your hiring strategy to build your employer brand and attract the top candidates worldwide.
5 Hiring Trends Business Leaders Should Follow in 2021
Remote work is the new norm.
To stay afloat during a global pandemic and ensure continued growth, you must adopt the remote work model. Of course, you have probably already adopted remote work in your company, at least to an extent. Still, given the fact that the pandemic is here to stay for the foreseeable future, you will need to keep hiring remote workers in the future as well. Anyone’s guess is how long this will last, but what’s important for you as the employer is to refine your remote hiring and onboarding for maximum efficiency.
To manage remote teams effectively, you first have to hire the right people and onboard them productively. Make sure to conduct several online interviews focusing on the employee’s talents, expertise, and personal traits. Your goal is to ascertain their skills and knowledge, yes, but also to analyze their social skills, identify their goals and passions, and see if the person is a good fit for the long haul. Then, when the time comes to onboard them, be sure to pair them up with a veteran in your company so that they can learn the ropes quickly, but you can also automate the onboarding process.
Employers are looking for certified professionals.
Another crucial trend to keep an eye on is that job seekers are upskilling from home and getting certified for more complex roles, despite being in lockdown and the pandemic’s challenges. A clear example is the healthcare industry. Employers are increasingly getting candidates who have already completed their ACLS certification courses and are ready to assume more nuanced and broader roles in their institutions and medical practices.
This is a significant trend, regardless of the industry you’re in because you have an opportunity to bring certified experts into your ranks that are ready to take on broader and more complex roles from the start. Keep in mind that these professionals are tougher to get if you don’t have a compelling value proposition as an employer. A big takeaway from this trend is to up and diversify your offer as a brand to capture the attention of these high-achieving individuals.
Employers are relying on automation and AI
To minimize costs and time waste, employers are nowadays relying heavily on automation software. There are many business and automation tools out there that you can use to automate parts of your hiring process, find candidates faster, reach out automatically to job seekers based on predefined criteria, and even automate the entire onboarding process.
When the time comes to onboard newcomers, you can use training videos, tutorials, and even an in-house chatbot to help them become productive members of your team from day one. In addition, your new employees can use the built-in tools to get instant support and guidance, as well as answers to their questions without bugging you or anyone else. Honestly, AI and automation are changing hiring and onboarding for the better.
Outsourcing and the gig economy are on the rise.
Lastly, you don’t necessarily need to hunt for new employees in the traditional sense constantly. Outsourcing has been on the rise for years, and in 2021, it has become more widespread and popular than ever before. Don’t be afraid to outsource some of your projects and processes and even entire departments to specialized teams worldwide to save money.
As the gig economy continues to grow, more and more talented individuals from across the globe will become available to your company, so make sure to take advantage of their experience and expertise.
The pandemic has changed hiring and onboarding to a great extent in 2020 and 2021. If you want to build and retain a thriving workforce, be sure to base your decisions on these trends and capitalize on the opportunities they bring to your brand and its future.
