Hiring Trends 2021

Several companies saw an impact due to Covid-19 in the year 2020. While there was an impact, HR was one function that was transforming itself continuously. Companies will continue to feel the impact of Covid-19 in 2021 as well. HR, as in the year 2020 will continue to transform and will take the front seat. We have been hearing that there is a significant change in hiring from a hiring freeze in 2020 to a hiring spree in 2021. Most of the trends of the year 2020 will continue or rather these trends will continue to shape the future of hiring. 

A few hiring trends to observe in 2021: 

Digital hiring while staying personal: Markets are disruptive and continue to be so in the future as well. To meet this, several companies have or quickly moving towards digital hiring more than ever. Though the term digital hiring is not new, it’s become vital to attract talent. Digital hiring will have a broader perspective. It would mean the usage and leverage of various tools starting from technology tools like video interviewing tools, social media hiring, applicant tracking system, job portals, technical assessment portals, psychometric assessment portals, artificial intelligence, and culture fitment. 

Certain repetitive tasks will be automated so that the recruiters spend more time and stay in contact with the candidates for better engagement. The focus would be on turnaround time to close a position; new hire joining rather than just an offer release; further not just on new hire joining but on retention of new hires. Gaining meaningful insights through evidence-based and data-driven hiring will continue and thrive.

Gamification: This is one trend that will continue to thrive. As said previously, gamification is the concept of applying game mechanics and game design techniques to engage and motivate people to achieve their goals. 

Gamification will be used more to test candidates on industry knowledge, product knowledge, and certain soft skills - creativity, problem-solving, listening skills, adaptability, team building, etc which are required not just for performing the job responsibilities but also to create a great culture. 

Candidate Experience: This trend has gained and will continue to be the hottest trend as there is fierce competition in attracting and retaining talent. Companies will be adopting several strategies to attract talent right from the application stage to the offer stage and further till joining. The focus would be to leave a great and ever-lasting experience. 

Compelling Employer Branding: There is an increased tendency of candidates to read the reviews, following company pages over social media. Employer branding has become very important in today’s world of fierce competition to attract and retain talent. Employers are making use of social media to give an update about the happenings in the organization, creating a positive brand. 

Talent Pool & Employee Referrals: The first place to source profiles for an open position is always the company’s internal database. With the cost increasing using job boards, companies are creating and maintaining their database and making effective use of them. This is one of the best ways to reduce the cost and identify talent in less time. Also, referrals from employees increase the chances of the candidate joining the organization. Companies are leveraging these two to reduce TAT in hiring and for better conversion rates.

Gig Hiring: Gig economy is the future and will continue to thrive. Millennials are choosy and are looking for gigs rather than full-time jobs as there is the flexibility of working from anywhere and anytime. Organizations are too embracing this as it helps in hiring experts for specialized skills for a short stint and helps in managing the cost towards salary, benefits, infrastructure, and well-being programs. 

Cultural Fitment: Hire for the attitude not for the skill. There is an increase in this trend. Companies are giving more importance to holistic hiring rather than just hiring based on a technical assessment or a psychometric assessment. This trend will continue further as the focus is changing from just hiring to retention right from day one of new hires joining. Behavioral skills play a vital role in any organization's culture. One of the reasons for the reduced attrition rate would be culture fitment. 

To summarize, hiring will be centered on more conversion rate i.e., people joining than the number of offers issued, and further focus would be on retention of new hires.