Trendspotting — 8 factors that will influence talent acquisition in 2023

The year 2023 will be upon us before we know it; the current year and the two preceding it have been extraordinary ones for business as a whole and full of surprises for talent acquisition (TA) teams in particular.

Globally, an uncertain post-pandemic business environment coupled with major shifts in employees’ expectations translates into one learning: there is no guarantee that TA strategies that worked previously will continue to be effective in 2023.

How do recruiters stay competitive and successful in this hazy, shifting landscape? For one, it is a worthwhile exercise to look back and analyse your 2022 strategies across various metrics. Were your recruiting processes effective? Did your job descriptions resonate with candidates? How fruitful were your talent sources? Looking ahead, it is essential that you read the tea leaves, so to speak, on broad trends in recruitment and sync your recruitment strategies with them for 2023.

Here is a sampling of talent acquisition trends that business leaders worldwide are keenly watching and which we are likely to see in 2023:

• Data: A recruiter’s best friend

Job seekers can be unpredictable and market forces will keep shifting. Data, however, does not change. In a talent acquisition environment that is akin to driving through fog, data-driven hiring processes have proven to be a guiding light and are being rapidly adopted by diverse industries. Technology-driven tools now provide increasingly fine-grained data on candidates. Analysing such data has enabled recruitment companies and HR managers to make more informed, efficient hiring decisions and finesse their processes rather than go solely by gut feeling or work experience. Organisations that shun this trend will struggle to keep up with competitors who have embraced data-driven recruitment to source and hire high-quality talent.

• Digitalising the hiring processes

Remote hiring, a process forced upon the business world by the pandemic, has found quick acceptance by recruitment managers. From virtual career fairs to online assessments, video interviews and virtual onboarding platforms, the digitalisation of the hiring cycle, powered by ever more sophisticated artificial intelligence (AI),  is a trend that will gain more traction in 2023.

HirePro’s AI-powered platform, for instance, covers sourcing, fraud-proof assessments and online remote proctoring tools to ensure the authenticity and integrity of the recruitment process. Of particular advantage for high-volume college hiring programmes are its Campus Hiring Workflows, which can be used by all stakeholders to ease administration processes and vastly speed up hiring schedules across varied geographical locations.

• Preventing “quiet quitting”; preserving employee satisfaction

Even as exciting AI-powered solutions ease the burden on HR teams, there is no substitute for the human touch when it comes to employee satisfaction. Quiet quitting is the current phrase widely used to describe employees who, to quote a Forbes study, “are neither engaged or disengaged” and “show up only to do the bare minimum.” This, along with employee attrition and dissatisfaction, will continue to be a major negative trend.

A 2022 study by Gallup ties low employee engagement to mediocre managers. Further, says the study, “only one in 10 people possess the talent… to engage team members, retain top performers and sustain a culture of high productivity.” To reverse this dismal trend, companies must consistently train and develop managers to become more effective at motivating and engaging a young workforce.

• Promoting internal mobility with AI to enhance employees’ career growth 

The uncertainties of a job market that is just emerging from the shocks dealt by the pandemic-induced lockdowns, the global chip shortage and now the consequences of the long drawn out Russia-Ukraine war have all contributed to recruitment managers focussing more on promoting internal mobility—another talent acquisition trend that is set to continue into 2023. Business leaders have realised that it is easier and more cost-effective to focus on nurturing their current workforce rather than chasing elusive new talent. This translates into building positive relationships with employees, providing mentorship and offering them reskilling or upskilling programmes. Artificial intelligence platforms will also come into play here, where predictive analytics can help cherry-pick promising employees and, based on their aptitude and goals, provide them with career development avenues.

• The hybrid work model

The work-from-home model mandated by Covid-19 restrictions overturned many assumptions about the sanctity of the traditional 9-to-5 office routine. However, as lockdowns stretched on, many young employees began to feel the absence of in-person contact with office coworkers. Enter the hybrid work model, a happy combination of the in-office routine and work-from-home, with all-round positive outcomes. Some of these benefits are:

• Workers have a good work-life balance and flexibility of hours.
• Employee retention benefits organisations.
• Employee productivity gets a boost.
• Company culture undergoes robust growth.

Going forward, companies reluctant to adopt this trend could find themselves out in the cold when it comes to hiring high-skilled candidates.

• The gig economy and moonlighting

The popular perception of gig workers in India is that of low- or medium-skilled individuals employed as taxi drivers, working in sectors like courier or food delivery, or providing services like beauty treatment, plumbing and carpentry. That notion is set to change. A Business Standard report from March 2022 observes that with the growth of tech-enabled platforms for gig employment and the post-Covid demand for flexible working arrangements among millennials and Gen Z, the profile of gig workers is rapidly diversifying to include job seekers qualified in areas like web design, project consultancy, software development and content writing.

Moonlighting—taking up freelance projects on the side while being formally employed in a full-time job—is a common occurrence worldwide, especially in the tech industry. In recent times, remote working, economic uncertainties derived from the pandemic period, low pay rises and other concerns have boosted this trend. In October this year, a Financial Times report quoted AuthBridge, a moonlighting detection agency, as saying that 8–9 per cent of Indian IT workers were engaged in moonlighting. While most large Indian IT companies have strongly opposed the practice, others have cautiously begun to accept that this could be the start of a big new trend. They are considering arriving at a flexible arrangement with conditions attached, such as employees not taking on gigs with rival organisations or declaring upfront their part-time projects.

• Gamification in recruitment 

A not-so-new but fast-growing practice in the hiring cycle, gamification is a tool that many companies are adopting to make their job postings more appealing to millennial and Gen Z job seekers. For example, companies may offer online quizzes, puzzles and platform games to assess candidates’ agility, endurance and problem-solving abilities—qualities that are invisible on resumes. Incorporating gamification into hiring has been shown to have several advantages, such as more objective evaluation of candidates and reduced hiring time. Much of the value of gamification as an assessment tool, however, will depend on how well the games are designed. As gamification gains more traction with companies, it will also become a widely adopted tool in employee skill training, say recruitment experts.

• Social media hiring

When people connect with friends, shop and consume news and entertainment on social media, why should they not search for jobs on the same platforms?

For companies seeking to hire new talent, social media has become a happy hunting ground. With about 3.50 billion people active worldwide on various platforms, this is one trend that is set to continue.

Further, social recruiting worldwide has acquired even more strategic dimensions and is no longer confined to posting job openings and attracting more applications. A report by Content Stadium reveals that 64 per cent of the talent acquisition and employer branding teams they surveyed publish company news on social media platforms. 62 per cent use social media to showcase company culture in the form of office celebrations, staff at work or workplace tours; 55 per cent upload event promotions as part of their recruitment strategy.

HirePro’s AI-driven agile platform is specifically built to address the unique challenges that talent acquisition leaders encounter today, be it in campus or lateral hiring. Our cutting-edge systems, coupled with people deeply committed to customer service, enable enterprises to stay in touch with current recruitment trends and hire the best talent available. Do call/mail us at …………..to know more about our services.

Sarala Vanga

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