In the last two years, our work environment has changed dramatically. The pandemic forced many of us into lockdowns, and we had to quickly create new ways to keep our organizations running. In doing so, we ended up creating more efficient solutions regarding how to be more productive, have better work-life balance, and produce more value.

We are taking forward several of those revolutionary changes as we go into 2022. Here are the top 10 recruitment trends that small and medium businesses have to consider in this new era of hybrid work.

Recruitment is highly candidate driven 

With the Great Resignation of 2021, there are a lot of open positions and fewer qualified candidates to fill them, which means companies are the ones searching instead of the other way around. Job seekers have more options when it comes to accepting roles, and they are leaning towards better perks like remote flexibility, hybrid work, and a strong corporate commitment to diversity and inclusion. This also means candidates have the upper hand in negotiating salaries, and because they can be more selective, organizations are having to work harder to satisfy them.

Remote recruitment is here to stay

 If there is one major benefit that the recruitment industry can take out of the pandemic, it is the ability to recruit remotely. More and more candidates are looking for hybrid work opportunities, and remote recruitment allows hiring managers to cast a wider net to source quality applicants. Not to mention that remote recruitment saves time, reduces recruitment costs, and allows for more efficient ways to screen candidates.

Learn how Zoho Recruit can help you recruit remotely

Automation and AI are essential

 Recruitment technology has brought about exciting new solutions to source, attract, nurture, and engage talent. With today’s candidate-driven market, time to fill will be a major differentiator when it comes to hiring top talent. Automation and AI can do mundane recruitment tasks, freeing up your team’s time and enabling them to focus on things that need more human intervention. It also streamlines the recruitment process to make it more efficient while eliminating bias and improving candidate engagement.

 Solutions like Zoho Recruit can parse resumes, screen candidates based on your requirements, handle assessments, and rank top applicants so you know who to contact first. Our chatbot can efficiently engage candidates at various contact points while improving important recruitment metrics like time to hire, quality of hire, and cost of hire.

 Learn more about how Zoho Recruit can help you

Hiring decisions are backed by analytics

AI uses past data to analyze hiring metrics. Just like consumer marketing, digital recruitment campaigns can also give insight into your potential talent pools. With analytics, recruiters can develop more effective recruitment strategies and source, interview, and assess applicants better. For example, your team can get insights into where to post jobs to get the best response rates, which platforms provide the most appropriate candidates for the job, and even get deeper insights into which candidates are the best match for a role and why.

All of this data will also come in handy for skill gap analyses, workforce planning, performance reviews, and employee retention after top candidates become a part of your workforce.

Take a look at Zoho Recruit’s analytics feature.

Better employee value propositions, better hires

These days, candidates are looking for more than just a paycheck. Since they get to choose which employer they want to invest their time into, they’re more likely to assess the company’s reputation, and the internet allows them to research more thoroughly. Your corporate culture dictates whether an applicant will choose you over your competitor. Make your workplace unique, make your employee value proposition stand out, and seek candidates who will either fit or add to the work environment you’ve created.

Make sure that your careers site reflects your core values, culture, and diversity. Provide clear career paths, and guide candidates to the opportunities that would be most relevant for them. Lastly, use options like Quick Apply to make it as easy as possible for anyone who comes across your job openings to submit an application.

Check out Zoho Recruit’s career site templates.

Diversity and inclusion are huge priorities

Candidates now look for companies with similar values that stay committed to their diversity, equality, and inclusion (DEI) policies. It’s essential to hire individuals from varying cultural and socio-economic backgrounds. More diverse organizations have proven to be more creative and productive as people from different backgrounds tend to use their shared experiences to develop stronger solutions to problems.

Recruiters are seeking out passive candidates

Candidates who are “not actively looking for a job” are passive candidates. If converted, they usually end up being better hires because they aren’t just keen about leaving their current employer; they choose you for your unique employer brand or something genuinely exciting about the opportunity. Seeking passive candidates is more about fostering a relationship with job seekers over time as they learn more about why they should consider changing jobs.

Build a talent pool from various sources like job search engines, social media followers, referrals, or even customers, and nurture them with company information like job opportunities, events, projects, and more. This will considerably expand your talent pool.

Gen Z is entering the workforce 

Gen Zers are graduating from high school, trade schools, and universities to enter the workforce, and they expect everything to be virtual and fast-paced. They are the most likely to do their research about your company on social media, and they do not appreciate outdated recruitment methods. Mobile-optimized application processes are preferred, and they will quickly move on to different opportunities if they aren’t engaged during each hiring stage.

 Social media recruitment is more prominent

More people are active on social media due to the pandemic, and companies are now using it to connect with candidates during and outside of hiring cycles. Social media can also be used to build a strong employee value proposition, showcase your culture, and build brand advocacy by sharing employee stories.

Learn how Zoho Recruit can help you recruit with Facebook

The Gig Economy is thriving

While the gig economy was already growing before, the pandemic has led more people to consider taking on short-term gigs as a means of a flexible and stable income. More often than ever, companies now hire temporary staff who will deliver high impact work without going through a full recruitment process.

Zoho Workerly’s temp staff software is your one-stop solution to facilitate temporary staffing.

Looking forward

People now have a lot more awareness about socio-economic issues, work culture, and burnout. If a job seeker is going to go through the hassle of finding a job, they want to make sure that they are producing value towards something that they really believe in and that the company cares about their needs in return. In a candidate-driven market, it is important to stay up to date on recent technology, create efficient hiring strategies, and market yourself as the organization that candidates want to work for.