If you’re in HR or recruitment, we don’t need to tell you twice about how the industry has rapidly changed over the last two years. You’ve already changed the way you work. From the office to remote to a mix of the two for some! Labor shortages, the Great Resignation, and the antiwork movement are all signs of the times. To face the realities of the new world of work, it’s time to change the way we approach talent acquisition and HR. We asked 10 top experts for their predictions for recruiting and HR in 2024.
To help you future-proof your hiring and HR practices, here are ten predicted trends:
1. Treating your candidates well will pay off
Nowadays, candidates have their choice of options. Focusing on candidate experience can help your company to stand out from the competition. Why is candidate experience important?
- Positive candidate experiences increase the odds talent will join your team.
- Poor candidate experience is a turn-off for candidates.
- The age of social media: people talk. If someone has an experience that is really good or really bad - they may share their thoughts on platforms like LinkedIn, Glassdoor, or Indeed!
- Negative candidate experience damages your employer brand.
- Positive candidate experience sets candidates up for success when they join as they already feel “part of the team”.
2. Employee wellbeing can help with talent retention
As Joanne suggests, focusing on well-being and flexibility for employees can help to attract and retain talent in the competitive landscape. How can you support employee wellbeing?
- Communicate with your employees: listen and hear their needs and opinions on how you can better support them.
- Encourage a healthy work-life balance: modeling this from the top-down can help encourage employees of all levels to prioritize this.
- Promote mental health awareness: help destigmatize mental health, and offer support.
- Create a financial wellness program: help alleviate the financial stress that impacts their lives in and out of work.
3. Don’t underestimate the power of AI
Using AI in recruiting may sound futuristic, but for many recruiters - this future is already here!
Artificial Intelligence in recruitment can automate sections of or entire workflows that crop up frequently. It reduces the need to work on high-volume, repetitive tasks.
This allows more time for recruiters to focus on strategy and human-driven tasks. Using powerful tools can help you to help talent come to you.
4. Recruiters will have to get back to the basics
Focusing on the skills every recruiter should master can help to navigate challenging recruitment situations. Writing applies to many different aspects of the hiring process - for example, writing job ads.
Anyone who’s been on a job board has seen hundreds of posts - so capturing the essence of your company and the role is essential for attracting the attention of top talent.
Focusing on this one skill can have a profuse impact on your ability to communicate with candidates!
5. HR tech early-adopters will have an advantage
Those who are more tech-savvy may have an advantage in the future of work. HR tech can offer a lot of benefits for recruiters:
- Automating repetitive, manual tasks
- Facilitating easier communication
- Eliminating bias from the hiring process
- Enabling collaboration between hiring managers, recruiters, and team members
6. Chief Robotics Officers will join the C-suite
What is a Chief Robotics Officer? CRO’s have a mix of responsibilities ranging from automation, managing human capital, managing robotics, engineering, IT, and managing the employee and robot dynamics.
Some predictions have been made that CROs will be added to 60% or more of global companies in industries such as logistics, healthcare, agriculture, and manufacturing by 2025.
7. Human-first recruitment will be a priority
Focusing on your candidates’ and employees’ needs will make talent acquisition much easier. Nobody wants to be treated just like a number.
To take a more “human approach” you can start by:
- Focusing on candidate experience in the hiring process
- Understanding candidate needs/desires (perks, benefits, resources, etc.)
- Offering flexibility in work locations/time
- Incorporating diversity and inclusion into your hiring process
- Cultivating a culture of belonging and inclusion that supports diversity
- Using team-based hiring methods to introduce candidates to different members of your company
8. The Great Resignation will turn into the Great Reconnection
Adam Smiley is an expert in positive work cultures and creating inclusive workplaces.
He believes that the Great Resignation has turned into the Great Disconnection. By focusing on fostering inclusive hybrid workplaces, this disconnect can turn into the Great Reconnection.
Check out Adam’s keynote speech at TGTHR to learn more about his take on the future of work!
9. The shift to remote work will continue
Remote/hybrid work may be here to stay. Although many companies have tried out remote work during the pandemic, adopting this policy as a long-term strategy means making adjustments.
Companies will have to adapt their recruitment to be remote-friendly, and investigate technology that can assist their remote working.
Organizations will have to bring themselves up to speed, starting with an applicant tracking system, quick communication apps, video conferencing tools, and secure cloud-based solutions.
10. Creating a cohesive culture in a hybrid/remote-first world
A big question on the minds of many HR Directors is “How can you create a cohesive culture in today’s remote/hybrid work environment”?
This has proved tricky - especially considering the challenges of making remote-only employees feel a sense of belonging in hybrid companies. Remote discrimination is a real issue that has emerged.
Focusing on building a hybrid workplace culture is a key first step to tackling this issue.
Bonus: A call to action - it’s time to future-proof your hiring!
In order to withstand unforeseen future challenges, and be competitive in today’s candidate-driven landscape, focusing on future-proofing strategies are more important now than ever.
Future-proofing needs to be done from the top-down of your hiring and HR strategies. From your HR tech stack to the way you build your employer brand.
Watch Karim’s on-demand keynote on “Attracting talent through storytelling” recorded at our TGTHR conference to learn more about this topic!
