Top Trends That Will Shape Recruitment in 2021

The recruiting industry went through some major changes in recent years. New technologies and advanced hiring practices undoubtedly played a hand, and this disruption shows no signs of slowing as we enter the new decade. Let’s see how innovation and social expertise will shape 2021 and beyond. 

1. Natural Language Processing 

The single biggest trend shaping recruitment in 2021 will be the use of artificial intelligence (AI) to the source, assess, and screen employees. The power of natural language processing (NLP) tools is set to make a key change at every step of the way. Manually screening resumes is still one of the most time-consuming tasks recruiters face, but with NLP, the best applicants can be identified swiftly. NLP can also be used to interact with potential candidates and offer personalised communication with the latest chat bot technology. Finally, NLP and voice recognition are being combined to help analyse and review candidate interviews. However, human bias is easily carried into the behaviour of any AI model. Organisations must ensure those producing the algorithms do so in compliance with the company-approved anti-bias guidelines to avoid this scenario. 

2. Predictive analytics 

Recommender systems and predictive analytics will begin to play a larger role in the recruiting processes of many companies. Various technology players on the market already allow recruiters to identify the best matches for a job based on numerous parameters, such as location, past experience, education, and relationship networks. This is taken a step further with predictive analytics and recommender systems that provide recruiters with additional insights. These systems are able to generate selective lists of candidates who are best fitted for the job on offer and even uncover candidates that are not actively seeking new opportunities. In addition to making the employee selection process faster or activating a dormant talent pool, intelligent systems can also signal when a current employee is getting ready to quit a current job. Smart recruiters will be using these insights to make the most appropriate interventions and talent decisions.

3. Remote work 

Flexible schedules and work-from-home policies are turning into one of the most sought after benefits that job candidates look for, and organisations need to adapt to the work aspirations of their employees. That’s why we increasingly see more and more fully-remote companies. By allowing people to work remotely, companies are also increasing their talent pool because now they can access global talent without the limitations of geographical boundaries. As such, we will see an increase in the use of tools and technologies that help manage remote teams, including virtual offices, augmented and virtual reality work environments, as well as advanced multi-media communication tools. 

4. Work culture 

Culture is the glue that binds a company together. However, the increase in remote work makes building and maintaining a solid company culture more challenging. Therefore, it will become increasingly critical for organisations to put effort into rallying the employees around their core values, company mission, and overall vision. We will see a rise in organisations creating a dedicated role to focus solely on building company culture and team cohesion. Part of the challenge will be to blend a company culture that can be embraced by baby boomers, Gen Z, and Millennials – and their varying expectations and career aspirations – alike. 

5. Acqui-hires 

People are one of the most valuable assets in any company. While they may not show up in the balance sheet, employees often represent the bulk of a company’s value. That’s why we are likely to see a growing number of acquihires happening on the market. As recruiters increasingly spend more time and money to find the perfect candidates, talent acquisition competition grows. Recruiters are therefore looking to different avenues to proactively and quickly build up talent pools. Buying up companies for their human capital is one of these techniques. However, recruiters should be mindful of culture clash during this process, which can limit the smooth integration of the companies involved. Dedicating a multidisciplinary team to facilitate cultural integration is paramount to the success of all acquihires. 

6. Social media recruiting 

As recruiters reach for the extra mile, the logical step is to go where their potential candidates really are, and most of them are already on social media. With increased mobile usage and on-the-go interactions, recruiters will increasingly capture users’ attention on platforms like Facebook or Twitter. That’s why in 2021, we will witness more use of recruiting hashtags and eye-catching content, including videos, as part of recruitment marketing. We will also see more organisations encourage employees to share their winning content to lure in new employees and build up their recruiting clout. 

7. Diversity 

It’s been proven numerous times that diverse teams perform better, so ever more HR departments, staffing agencies, and recruiting firms will have designated staff dedicated exclusively to increasing diversity at the companies they serve. Organisations will put more effort into tailoring job postings to attract more diverse candidates, reshape the language in job descriptions to be more gender-neutral, and advertise jobs in diverse community groups. We will also see an increase in the number of staffing agencies that are specialised in diversity, challenging the status quo around underrepresented gender, race, and other similar demographics. 

8. Employer branding 

People want to work at companies that they can be proud of. Therefore, the most important thing for an employer is to build their employer brand and make the vision and mission of the company crystal clear. According to a study by Career Arc, 75% of job seekers consider an employer’s brand before applying, so building content around employee experience is crucial. That’s why we will see more organisations focused on building website sections dedicated to the company mission, employee life and stories, and other relevant employer branding content. 

9. Soft skills 

According to a LinkedIn study, 89% of bad hires typically lack soft skills such as creativity, persuasion, teamwork, collaboration, adaptability, and time management. But identifying such skills has traditionally been a challenge, which is why recruiters are looking to revamp their assessment processes as the demand grows. Recruiters will be increasingly interested in learning from a candidate’s body language and choice of words, as well as previous behavioural patterns, teamwork dynamics, ethical dilemmas, conflict resolution, and other similar factors. Another soft skill that is gaining increased prominence is the candidates’ ability to build large networks across various industries and sectors. Digital platforms allow employees to amplify the reach of any company message through their own networks, providing a significant competitive advantage in sales, recruiting, fundraising, and overall reach. 

10. Hiring quality 

Technology can be leveraged to assess new candidates, but it can also be progressively used to measure the performance of the recruiting team itself. While the cost and time-to-hire are easier to quantify, the quality is a little harder to assess. Recruiters will experiment with AI models that provide deeper insights into the quality of their hires by analysing various defined metrics and overall performance within the team over a set period of time. These models will take into account not only hard skills and expertise but also new hires’ soft skills and overall performance KPIs. 

Do you have any recruitment trends in mind? Tell us in the comments below!