3 Top Recruitment Trends for 2024

What does recruitment look like in 2024? There are three top trends that set this year apart and help us predict what the employment market will look like this year.

At this time of year we traditionally see a higher level of resignations as people enact their new year’s resolutions and decide to get a new job. It’s a great time to reflect on employment and recruitment and ways that we can attract top-notch employees.

There are three things that are at the forefront of recruitment trends for 2024: the increased use of artificial intelligence, pay transparency and changing demographics in the workforce.

Increased Use of AI in Recruitment

ChatGPT launched just over a year ago and we’re seeing many new software programs using AI in the workplace. This means we need to focus on new ways to recruit using AI to help us. But remember that candidates are also using AI to help themselves as well to write their resumes or their cover letters.?

Maybe it’s time to reconsider recruitment processes and evaluate the ones you currently have. For example, perhaps it’s time to ditch the need for a cover letter. I know that gives some people the hives! I love a cover letter, too. But the reality is that most people don’t send cover letters anymore. If you’re ignoring candidates without a cover letter, you might actually be ignoring the perfect person, and the candidates with cover letters may be using AI to write them anyway.?

‘If you’re ignoring candidates without a cover letter, you might actually be ignoring the perfect person’

How AI Can Help in Recruitment

How then do you reconsider your recruitment processes, particularly if you’re recruiting at the start of the year? Because there’s a lot of competition in the marketplace at this time. You need to stand out.?

Have a look at your processes. AI applications may be able to help you:

• increase your speed
• reduce the administrative burden
• make better decisions?
• remove bias from hiring (although we know that there are still challenges in this area with AI).

This is a good opportunity to think about using AI generally in your business and whether you? can use it in recruitment.?

Hire the Candidate, Not the Application

Be aware that candidates could be using AI with their applications as well. It’s important to ensure that you’re picking the candidates that are going to be best for the role, not just candidates that can use AI to put in the best application.

Pay Transparency

We should expect to see a lot more of this in 2024. There is a global trend towards pay transparency and changes in Australia last year banned pay secrecy clauses within contracts and policies. We expanded transparency within the Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA) with increased reporting requirements for organisations required to report to them.?

‘Pay transparency has an increased focus as it is not just the regulatory environment that’s changing, but also employee expectations.’

How Does Pay Transparency Affect Recruitment??

You should have a remuneration policy, which means a process to determine what you’re going to pay. You can then be transparent in job ads, because if you have a process for determining your pay rates that’s shared with your team, you can be transparent about pay in your job ad.

A remuneration policy means you’re not going to upset any of your existing staff with the remuneration posted in your job ad. It also means you’re attracting candidates within the right salary range and filtering out those who aren’t immediately.

The Danger of Not Specifying the Pay Rate

When there are job ads out there without pay rates, a lot of people simply won’t bother applying, particularly for some roles like sales representatives. For most people, knowing the pay range allows them to gauge if they should spend time applying for the role.?

‘ For most people, knowing the pay range allows them to gauge if they should spend time applying for the role.‘

For you as the organsiation, it also means you are receiving applications from people who will be happy with the range that you can afford to pay. It’s going to help you to attract-better fitting candidates in that crowded market.?

If you haven’t put a remuneration policy in place, I really encourage you to take a look at this, because it’s going to become more and more important, not just for hiring new staff, but also for your existing staff. People expect there to be robust processes in place for how they are paid and for pay decisions to be made equitably.?

Changing Demographics in the Workplace

By changing demographics, I specifically mean the increase of Generation Z in the workforce. According to McCrindle, currently the global workforce statistics are:

• Gen Z: 27%
• Gen Y: 34 %
• Gen X: 27%
• Boomers: 12%

Globally, Gen Z is the same percentage of the workforce as Gen X and only just less than Gen Y. And why is that important? Every generation for hundreds of years now has disparaged other generations. But we do know that generally speaking, there are differences in:?

• how we learn information
• how we describe ourselves
• what we’re looking for in an organisation
• what our career paths might look like
• how we grew up
• whether we are a ‘digital native’ or not

What Does this Mean in the Workplace?

McCrindle’s research shows that the top three words Gen Z use to describe themselves are:

• independent
• determined
• creative

If those global statistics match your organisation, then about a third of your employees describe themselves predominantly as independent, determined and creative. And that means you may need a completely different leadership style for managing Gen Z than you may have needed for baby boomers or Gen X. It’s important to start thinking now about the demographics of your workforce, and the different values of different generations.?

What Does this Mean for Recruitment?

When it comes to recruitment, how will you recruit these different generations? If you simply post an ad on an electronic job board and ask for a cover letter answering a list of questions you may not get a lot of candidates.?

You need to start thinking about how to engage different generations. Put Gen Z and Gen Y together and you’ve got over 60% of the global workforce.?

Top Tips for Recruiting in 2024

• Use socials I’m not saying that you have to go on to TikTok, but you may choose to! You may choose to use YouTube, to use socials such as Instagram to start talking about your available roles.?
• Review your recruitment processes How do you lower the barriers so that people can see themselves in the job and be motivated to apply for it??
• Review your selection processes Can you use AI in your selection or review processes??
• Make a plan?

1. What is your plan for this year when it comes to recruitment??
2. How are you going to improve your hiring processes??
3. How are you going to make your pay more transparent??
4. How are you going to be more inclusive across different generations and also consider that within recruitment??

Have your say

Are you ready for recruitment in 2024? We’d love your feedback on this series, just head on over to Amplify HR or connect with Karen on LinkedIn.