What Trends Will Shape European Staffing in 2022?

Sometimes it feels like everyone in the staffing industry is looking into a crystal ball and trying to decipher what comes next, so it was a real pleasure to sit down (virtually) with some of my industry colleagues a couple of weeks ago to talk about our expectations and predictions for 2022. European Staffing Leaders Tell All: Top 2022 Trends & Expectations was hosted by Shaun Weise, Regional Vice President, Bullhorn, and I was joined on the panel by the insightful Norma Gillespie, CEO, Resource Solutions, and Sven Hennige, Senior Managing Director, Central Europe, France & Netherlands, Robert Half.

One of my biggest takeaways from this lively conversation was just how many shared challenges we have all faced over the last two years, and how much positivity there is to build our industry back better, bolder, and stronger in the months and years to come. These are some of the key trends for 2022 that we discussed during the webinar. ???

A more trusting and creative culture

Sven talked about sending 19,000 people home overnight early in the pandemic, and how that was a challenging moment that has ultimately grown greater trust and accountability across the business. As he put it, “the payback was off the charts”. That’s something I feel we have seen reflected in our pandemic response here at Kelly, but one great change that also came out of that situation was an explosion of creativity. As a business, and as a wider industry, we have become more creative, often with limited visibility on what will come next. Take onboarding new people – especially those new to the recruitment industry – we have had to develop new ways, not only to teach them about their role but to create a sense of community by getting better at being social virtually – whether that’s through informal catch-ups or planned events. Our culture has evolved to meet new challenges and I think we will take this adaptability and renewed sense of trust forward into 2022.

The future is hybrid

We talked in the webinar about flexibility and about how expectations around work – particularly for the younger generation – have shifted completely. For most roles, there is an expectation that there will be a hybrid offering. And, although there are differences across regions and roles, the aim should always be to give employees as much choice as possible on how, where, and when they work. This is the best way to allow people to create a work-life balance that works for them. I believe this shifting approach will also transform the physical fabric of the places we work and larger central locations with more communal meeting spaces will become the norm. Shaun used the term ‘social collaboration’, and that’s a great way of describing the workplaces of the future.

The ‘great resignation’ is all about choice

We discussed what is driving the great resignation and what this means for future hiring across the industry. For me, it’s all about choice. People have so much more choice now about how they work, and the expectations they have of any potential employer are growing. They are demanding greater flexibility and work-life balance, but they also want to work for businesses that are ethical, inclusive, and have a clear purpose. We’re all experiencing the impact of low unemployment rates and it’s taking longer to find the right candidates, but I also think that organisations must reflect and ask themselves big questions to ensure that they are offering the right opportunities and values to the people they need.

Digitisation will accelerate

All of the panellists were juggling multiple digital projects, and I think it shows how central technology has become to the wider staffing industry. That’s a trend that’s not going to stop – we now have a digital growth officer reporting to our CEO – but it has to be focused on improving experiences for our customers, candidates, and people. It can be very tempting to add lots of digital bells and whistles because it looks cool or seems like the right thing to do. However, digitisation has to happen with purpose, and for us, we have to look at how changes will support and empower different regions and parts of our business. Technological innovation also has to be user-friendly – the greatest tool will fail if we can’t achieve strong user adoption.

Thank you to Bullhorn for inviting me to be part of such an interesting conversation. I’m excited to see how the trends and opportunities we discussed in January will play out over the next few months. I’m sure that many will come true but that there will also be plenty of surprises for 2022!?