Jobvite’s latest annual survey of hundreds of recruiters and HR professionals shows many critical differences one year after the coronavirus pandemic. Recruiting priorities have changed. Due to the lack of skilled candidates and competition from other employers, the quality of the hire is now more important than ensuring an expedited hiring process. The importance of prioritizing diversity in hiring has gained prominence.
Recruiters believe that many of the shifts to safely work brought forth in 2020 during the pandemic are here to stay. They include virtual interviewing and onboarding and the continuing use of Artificial Intelligence.
Stress is rising significantly among recruiters. Nearly two-thirds (61 percent) of recruiter’s report that their stress level at work has increased at least moderately since the pandemic. This includes one-fifth of recruiters whose stress level has risen drastically.
The significant societal challenges experienced in 2020 are also having an impact on recruiting. Job candidates are increasingly asking about an organization’s diversity and inclusion initiatives, flexible and remote work options, accommodations for working parents, and mental health benefit offerings.
The criteria of finding candidates who are a “cultural fit” is viewed as less important for recruiters than the organization’s remote work options. Half of the recruiters surveyed report that job candidates are increasing their negotiations for higher salaries.
Jobvite’s annual survey is one every talent acquisition head ought to read. Other changes revealed in Jobvite’s 2020 survey show:
- Social media, employee referral programs, and job boards are most likely to see increased financial investments in the next 12 months.
- Three-quarters of surveyed recruiters choose in-person interviews as the most effective interview mode. However, recruiters have adapted. Half of the surveyed recruiters conduct 50% or more of their interviews via video, and 40 percent of recruiters believe virtual interviews will be the default moving forward.
- One-third of surveyed recruiters report that, at their organization, 50 percent or more of open roles are being hired as remote workers.
- Internal hires remain the top-rated source for hiring, followed by employee referrals and job boards.
- Recruiters are comfortable using text messaging to source and especially to communicate with applicants.
- The use of Artificial Intelligence continues to rise among recruiters. Surveyed recruiters most commonly leverage AI for job recommendations on career sites, candidate matching, job description recommendations, candidate screening with automated messages, and candidate engagement scoring.
- A majority of surveyed companies have specific goals for diversity in hiring concerning race/ethnicity and gender, while substantial numbers also have goals related to age, veterans, LGBTQ+, and immigrants.
The Jobvite chart below reveals what job candidates see as the most — and least — attractive benefits and perks. As you may expect, working from home and flexibility leads the list. Mental health benefits, family planning, and childcare services are benefits on the rise. Diminishing benefits include continuing education and casual dress code.
Artificial Intelligence continues to increase with use and makes the recruiting process more efficient. Staffing agencies leverage AI nearly twice as often as in-house recruiters. Jobvite’s chart below identifies how recruiters are using AI and the tasks AI is most often used to achieve.
The recruiting trends started by the coronavirus pandemic — accelerating use of AI and virtual interviewing and onboarding — are here to stay. Job candidates have changed their behaviors and look for jobs that offer remote work, more flexibility, and cultures that allow for more diversity and inclusion, and mental health and working parent benefits. Are your investment in recruiting and your employer brand keeping up?
Victor Assad is the CEO of Victor Assad Strategic Human Resources Consulting, managing partner of InnovationOne, and Sales Advisor to MeBeBot. He works with companies to transform HR, implement remote work, recruit executives, and develop extraordinary leaders, teams, and innovation cultures. He is the author of the highly acclaimed book, Hack Recruiting: the Best of Empirical Research, Method and Process, and Digitization. Subscribe to his weekly blogs at www.VictorHRConsultant.com.