5 Top Recruitment Trends to Focus On in 2023
The COVID-19 pandemic, Great Resignation, and recent economic downturn have permanently transformed the way we work—and talent leaders must keep up. Pivoting investments into digital-first strategies and utilizing targeted communications strategies will be key to securing (and keeping) the best talent in 2023. Read on for the top trends impacting recruitment this year:
1. Employer branding
Brand positioning is a critical piece to your recruitment strategy as generations demand more from the companies they interact with. In fact, 57% of job seekers say that an Employer’s brand is important when they are considering a new position. To gain the right visibility with your target audiences, it will take more than tapping into your marketing department for your company’s brand guidelines.
There are many factors that can help aid your employer brand and reputation in the marketplace. First, let’s address the timely topics that are influencing employees today: Corporate Sustainability, Culture, and Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI). These three focuses are more than business trends. Surveys have stated that 70% of job seekers want to work for a company that is committed to diversity and 41% of candidates would decline a job if a company’s sustainability values didn’t align with their own. These factors if fully enacted, cared for, and invested in can help your brand’s authenticity and reputation with future candidates.
To future-proof your branding strategy, first make sure that your internal Sustainability, Culture and DEI programs are being managed. This can include, but is not limited to, following ESG standards, supporting positive hybrid-workplace models, and providing inclusive mentorship and training opportunities. Next, you must construct a content strategy that aligns with your audience’s needs and communicates your unique offerings. Content should populate your Careers website, but also be promoted through your social channels for exposure to your targeted audiences. While employee and interviewee experiences can naturally spread across channels like Glassdoor, the most successful employer branding strategy will require recruitment marketing efforts. For more best practices on how to make your Careers website a talent magnet, download our Guide to Successful Talent Acquisition.
2. Data-driven recruiting
With companies increasingly focused on gaining cost efficiencies, recruiters are going to be put in the position of needing to gain deeper data analysis skills to meet C-suite’s expectations. Since recruitment strategies can span across several channels, programs and departments, it’s more important than ever to have a data-backed strategy that tells you exactly where your efforts are most profitable and efficient to gather quality candidates.
If you’re not actively using Google Analytics (or a supplemental website analytics tool), an email automation tool, and an Applicant Tracking System (ATS) it’s time to familiarize yourself with their capabilities. The expertise to properly setup such tools and reports can come from your internal marketing teams, your software’s customer support, or from a trusted recruitment marketing partner. A full outline of important KPI’s to discuss with your teams can be found in our previously stated Guide to Successful Talent Acquisition . While it can take several months to integrate a proper reporting system for your recruitment efforts, you’ll know that you’re well on your way to having a strong data structure in place when you’re able to intelligently answer the following questions:
- What are your hiring goals (i.e., number of hires, top source of hires, acceptance rate)? Are you hitting your monthly KPIs?
- How long does it take to onboard and train a new employee?
- What is the quality of your candidates and hires?
- How much does it cost to recruit a new candidate?
With proper reporting structures, IDX enabled clients to achieve goals like a:
- 25% increase in applicants
- 74% reduction in cost-per-applicant
- 206% increase in conversions
3. Talent pool growth & usage
If you’re new to recruitment marketing recognize that building a qualified talent pool takes arguably the most planning. The act of gaining your audience’s trust and contact information will require content calendars, online engagement points, proper analytics tracking and a reliable CRM. The most forward-thinking, savvy companies will not only be increasing the size of their talent pools in their CRM’s but optimizing their campaigns to nurture real relationships with these audiences.
Following performance marketing best practices for lead nurture, email lists and communications should always be segmented. As our Director of Lead Nurture, Blaine Kinsey puts it, “Email without segmentation is just spam.” This means recruitment departments will be required to double down on their content production and personalization for each hiring department and career field. If invested in and set up properly, however, nurturing first-party lists of engaged individuals can help you communicate more cost-effectively in the long run. The cost difference between sending a personalized email versus placing ads or hiring an outside recruiter can be vast. As the $140 billion talent recruitment industry continues to rapidly grow, competition for talent’s attention will only increase. Gather your share of the talent pool now.
4. Freelance & fractional professionals
The rise of freelance professionals has already happened due to technology growth, economic events and full-time employees choosing to adopt “side-hustles”. It’s now time to embrace the potential benefits of hiring freelance specialists and fractional executives into your company’s mix. Using reliable, internal data led by your operations and project management teams, address what projects in your company may not elicit full-time hires. While it’s not advised to hire a company full of only freelanced and fractional employees, you’ll likely be able to move forward more efficiently into 2023 with a healthy mix of full-time and part-time staff.
If part-time professionals are a good fit for your company, make sure that your job postings are updated appropriately and remain competitive amongst similar job posts. It can take time to build recognition with a new audience. A great place to start is by building relationships with freelance/fractional service organizations or agencies that perform outsourced work.
5. Retention
Ripples of the Great Resignation are still in effect. Log into your LinkedIn network at any given point in the week and you’re likely to see several of your connections announcing new job moves. As employers it’s important to keep company morale and strength up alongside any new recruitment programs. You’re competing with other companies who might be more innovative, have better remote/flexible work positions, unique training opportunities and a reputable, positive culture. With about only one in four employees being confident in their career at their current company, according to Gartner’s 2022 Business Quarterly report, it’s no wonder high-quality talent are still seeking new positions. This makes employee retention a top factor to address in 2023.
While overall company budgets might be getting cut, HR departments are a vital part of an organization’s longevity. You will need your best talent to innovate and compete. Instead of questioning how to do more activities with less, invest only in the efforts that matter most in retaining employees. Start by asking staff and recent hires about what has currently advanced their career at your company as well as what they’d like to see. Performing a systematic survey based on career levels and departments will give you a comprehensive understanding of what matters most to your talent. Managers on a departmental level should act upon team findings. Likewise, if there are well-rated company-wide programs in place or positive company accolades you can use these to enhance your future Employee Value Proposition (EVP) and employer brand.
Ready to upgrade your 2023 hiring strategy? We can help.
At IDX, we help companies across the globe source and retain the best talent for their brand. Click here to learn more about our HR and Talent Acquisition solutions or here to get in touch with one of our experts today!