What Can You Expect From Recruitment in 2022?

Strict government rules and a government-enforced lockdown has necessitated many companies to ask their employees to work from home. And as things are changing for the worse, many companies are actively looking to amend their policies to create a robust remote work environment for their employees. For the HR department, the task becomes increasingly challenging as they have to come up with strategies to engage with the existing employees and address their grievances, as well as attract new talent into the company by providing a better work environment.

All of these factors will influence recruiting in 2022. Many new technology trends will emerge that will change the way we HR recruits candidates in 2022.

So, let us emphasise the new industry practises and trends that can become a valuable hiring tool for recruiting in 2022.

Remote work or work-from-home will become a norm

The pandemic has completely changed our world view. Things would certainly not be the same after the pandemic subsides. It has taught us many things, most of which will get implemented in 2022 as we learn to cope and apprehend the impending danger of another pandemic-like situation. This kind of outlook would persuade many companies to ask their employees to work remotely. They may also shift their recruiting strategies and recruit more remote candidates.

The kind of technological tools and the remote work policies that companies implement now would certainly reap substantial benefits in 2022. By then, companies would have already established their remote working framework for their employees. These tools will help keep their employee productivity levels high despite working from home.

Also, the modern workforce is gradually getting to understand the perks and benefits of remote work. They have become increasingly aware of the kind of flexibility and the work-life balance they can enjoy when they opt for remote work. This would further increase the demand for remote work. By implementing robust attendance and employment policies, new-age employers can use remote work as a wonderful tool to attract the best talent into their business.

Enhancing digital strategies would be crucial for HR

As more employees opt to work remotely, HR also has to upgrade their digital strategies to meet the ever-changing company requirements. Newer technologies, such as candidate tracking systems, virtual interview apps, and digital onboarding processes will find increasing prominence in day-to-day HR functions in 2022. The HR teams can utilise these tools efficiently to scout, source, engage and recruit candidates remotely. Robust digital strategies will also help the HR department and the top management engage and interact effectively with their existing remote workforce while they actively hire new employees.

Tech tools that were earlier considered non-essential have now become the crucial feature of most businesses. Many companies are opening up to newer software applications to enable a smooth interview and seamless onboarding process for their new recruits. These tools will play a key role in providing a great candidate experience during the entire recruitment and onboarding process.

Also, recruitment tools and online recruitment processes will offer more efficiency and become more cost-effective in 2022 due to their extensive use by several companies. These digital strategies will help them cope with the changing business and recruitment dynamics in the post-pandemic era.

A new industrial revolution

A new industrial revolution is on the horizon as many companies across different sectors embrace the influx of latest technological advancements such as advanced robotics, AI, and machine learning. Today people everywhere are connected via mobile devices. This will increasingly influence how work gets done or how things get made in 2022.

This new revolution will have its implications on the workforce. However, with proper planning and adequate learning and development opportunities, employers can prepare their employees in time to embrace the induction of the latest technologies into the company mainframe. This new revolution will not just improve the job market, but will also shoot up the demand for job roles that require distinctive ‘human’ skills like critical thinking, creativity, social influence and negotiation.

Therefore, as routine physical job roles such as assembly and factory workers, credit and loan officers, and accountants will take a hit in the post lockdown era, job disciplines like customer service, training and development, finance and investment, sales and marketing, data sourcing and data analytics, and product descriptions would find increasing prominence in 2022.

Compensation and benefits packages need a transformation

The prevalent compensation and benefits packages would no longer prove effective for an increasingly remote workforce in 2022. A collective consciousness towards employee safety and subsequent compensation will prove effective at not just attracting new talent, but also keeping the existing talent engaged and rooted with the company, regardless of their job position and whether they fall in the essential and non-essential category.

The essential services workforce faces the maximum risks towards the safety of their health and wellbeing. They play an important role in ensuring the smooth functions of the allied services for a company. Therefore, companies need to ensure that this workforce, which does most of their physical work, receives customised benefits in terms of sick pay or hazard pay. After all, how a company treats its employees, speaks volumes about the company itself.

Therefore, it will become imperative to add such customised pay benefits as a part of employee compensation — this is the best way for the employer to convey the message that ‘we care’. Additionally, it maximises employee engagement, boosts their morale and enhances effective communication between the employee and the management. Plus, when the employees know that they are being looked after, they will improve their performance beyond the company expectations.

Companies that actively offer sick pay or hard pay benefits along with effective health and safety policies will experience more traction with the top talent from the industry in the post-pandemic era. In 2022, compensation is set to become ‘the’ invaluable tool to hire the right talent for the company.

Transformation is the only way forward for recruiting in 2022. Job conventions, job fairs or other large-scale events may become a rarity in the future, as people may become averse to the idea of mass gatherings post the pandemic. In this situation, digital marketing and referrals can help HR recruiters find the right talent for their company. Therefore, HR teams need to introduce the latest technology software into their system to meet the changing dynamics of the recruitment industry in 2022.