The Major Recruitment Challenges to Anticipate in 2023 and How to Tackle Them

2022 has been a difficult year for most businesses across all sectors.?

It was a year characterized with many workplace trends like quiet quitting, the on-going demand for 4-day work week and career cushioning - all exacerbated by diverse economic and psychological shifts as workers yearn for better work-life balance.?

As the after-effects of these changes spill over into the next year, what recruitment challenges should your company expect to face in 2023? Most importantly, how can you up your team’s hiring game to stay competitive in the changing climate?

We have gathered in this article, the 5 biggest recruitment challenges to expect in 2023 and the survival tips to help you get through them.

Top 5 Recruitment Challenges to Face in? 2023

1. Difficulty Attracting Qualified Candidates?

Qualified, skilled and vibrant hires will continue to be rare commodities in the job market of 2023.?

Despite the massive layoffs that marked the latter end of 2022, the Great Resignation showed no signs of stopping as record numbers of employees left their jobs.?

What does that signify? The current generation of workers are not afraid to quit their jobs in search of better benefits. No matter how long it takes, most job candidates will rather wait to diligently consider every offer before settling for “the best package.”

Therefore, to attract and retain the best talent, you should take note of the following:?

• Now more than ever is the time to focus on building a strong employer brand image. Bad reputation is a huge turn off. Your organization should be seen supporting good causes and treating your workforce with respect.?
• The serenity and aesthetics of workplace environments matters.?
• Competitive salary is still a crucial factor in the talent attraction war. You can get one over your rivals by offering better payments.?
• Moreover, consider adding some out-of-the-box employee perks like private health care package, all-paid expense vacation trips and discount gym membership cards. Think creatively to expand the list.?

2. Fast-tracked Recruitment Processes

Recent research indicate that, on average, qualified candidates get snatched within 10 days of being in the job market.?

Thus, as an employer, you will need to always act fast to stay on top. There are digital tools that can help automate some of the time-consuming processes like placing ads on job boards and parsing resumes.

However, adequate care must be taken to not endanger the quality of the hiring results for speed.?

For that, we recommend the following:

• The selection process should be optimized with the right questions to identify candidates with a proactive mindset and cultural fit.?
• Be mindful of the drossy elements that can ruin the applicant’s experience during hiring process. Sloppy onboarding, inaccurate job description, documentation errors and similar signs of unprofessionalism.?

3. Poor Candidate Experience

Candidate Experience which describes how prospective employees feel about a company’s recruitment approach is one of the long-standing issues in the HR industry.?

A major reason for that is the fact that some companies have continued to adopt the old tradition of using substandard approaches when engaging candidates for entry or mid-level positions. Proactive engagement was only used when filing for executive roles.?

However, with a growing number of cases of companies that have suffered from the adverse effects of bad candidate experience, the terrain is becoming leveled.?

Ensuring a positive candidate experience for every potential hire that applies to join your firm is one of the recruitment challenges you must brace up for in the coming year.

According to Finance Online, 97% of candidates that had positive hiring experiences refer other candidates to their employers. Also, 55% go a step further to share it with their social networks.?

At MGCG, employee experience is one area we consider as critical for our clients’ success. Our recruitment consultants are trained to effectively guide brands on how to show off their culture to create positive impressions on candidates. We critically assess the recruitment process to ensure that unfavorable elements are eliminated.?

4. The Gig Economy and the Skills Gap

The exodus of workers leaving the legacy job market and moving into the gig industry is another recruitment obstacle to deal with in 2023.?

The trend will particularly affect business owners that have come to constantly rely on the traditional job market to supplement their workforce needs.?

So much so because these organizations will find themselves crossed between two choices:

• Make some trade-offs to adjust their business models so as to accomodate gig workers
• Or, risk losing out on skillful, vibrant, and tech savvy workers.?

However, after many years of consulting with various companies, we at MGCG believe there are better pathways for circumventing the issue. Below are our key recommendations if your company is stuck on a similar issue:

• Identify skill gaps amongst your hires and take advantage of online learning platforms to upskill your workforce
• Look internally to scout for talented employees with proven capabilities to take on vacant roles
• Another strategic way for dealing with the issue is equipping your hiring team with the right training to enable them identify job candidates that can be enrolled on future courses so they can move internally within the team

5. More Gen-Zers Coming into the Workforce

The coming year will see more influx of Gen-zers into different workplaces.?

These youngsters are digital natives that have been raised in the era of high-speed internet connectivity and a digital age where virtually all kinds of tasks are automated and virtual.?

Irrespective of whereever they find themselves, they expect everything to mirror those experiences. From the job application stage to the interview, everything for them must be digitized.?

Businesses looking to attract these youngsters to give their brand a fresh look will need to upgrade their tech infrastructure to meet with modern standards.?

Conclusion

At MGCG, we have witnessed several workplace trends over the years and have seen the impacts they create in the recruitment landscape.?

One of the enduring lessons we have gleaned from it all is that, every challenge carries an opportunity - an opportunity to gain a competitive edge over your rivals.?

While 2023 may come with yet more trends, the info shared in this article will help you plan ahead and deal effectively with the challenges.?

Finally, as we round up this piece, we want to take this opportunity to send our warmest wishes for you and yours in the coming year.?