Hiring Trends For 2021

This month puts us squarely into the second quarter of 2021, after a tumultuous year due to the Covid pandemic. Many of the trends we saw in business last year related to hiring are continuing this year and are likely to do so for the foreseeable future. Among those trends are hiring temporary or “gig” workers for some positions and companies focusing more on diversity, equity, and inclusion in hiring workers.

One continuing trend that began last year is more companies turning to “gig workers,” who are:

“independent contractors or freelancers who typically do short-term work for multiple clients. The work may be project-based, hourly, or part-time and can either be an ongoing contract or a temporary position.[1]

With some state and local lockdowns still in effect, many businesses are not ready to bring back staff or add to their workforce more permanently. “Uncertainty is indeed one of the drivers of non-permanent work, so the degree that uncertainty is an issue in 2021, it will contribute to higher [freelancer] usage rates,” Osborne says.[2]

On the worker side, nine out of ten job seekers said they began thinking about looking into freelancing in 2020. One research firm predicts that over half of all skilled workers will be part of the gig economy by the end of 2021.

Gig workers or freelancers consider salary, flexibility, the desirability of working for the client, and fair treatment when considering which companies they want to work with. If you’re looking to bring on freelancers, you should focus on those key elements.

Another trend that began last year is companies focusing more on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in hiring. Research done by Monster.com found that more than eight in ten job candidates said diversity, equity, and inclusion in the workplace are important to them. Six out of ten workers said they would turn down a job offer from a company that didn’t support a diverse workforce after 2020 saw sweeping social justice movements.

“There will be continued focus on DEI in 2021,” says Tony Lee, VP of editorial at SHRM.org. He says companies will continue the trend begun in 2020 by looking at “untapped talent” candidates. “People who may not have been considered before such as people with physical disabilities, criminal histories, those without a college degree,” Lee says. “Broadening the definition of what an effective, successful candidate looks like can help make sure you’re more inclusive.”

Such a focus on diversity can also be good for business, according to a recent McKinsey report. Their “Diversity Wins” study found that organizations in the top tier of gender diversity on their executive teams were 25-percent more likely to have above-average profitability than companies in the lower tiers. For ethnic and cultural diversity, top-tier companies were 36-percent more profitable.

The bottom line: If your company wants to compete for top, diverse talent, you should increase your DEI efforts as part of your employer branding message and job descriptions. This signals to potential employees that you’re committed to diversity and inclusion in the hiring process.

[1] https://www.uschamber.com/co/run/human-resources/what-is-a-gig-worker

[2] https://hiring.monster.com/employer-resources/blog/labor-statistics/2021-hiring-trends/