Blog

Recruitment Trends for 2022

Recruitment Trends for 2022

The last few years have been a challenge for businesses for lots of reasons, not least due to the upheaval caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. The rapid shift to remote work, the tentative steps back to the office and the way the workplace has evolved in such a short space of time presents recruiters with plenty of challenges. 

 

With this in mind, it’s more important than ever to be prepared for the new year, a traditionally busy period for recruiting. Here are some of the trends for the coming year and ways you can plan ahead and have the recruiting edge in 2022.

 

1. The importance of employer brand identity

It’s becoming increasingly clear that employers need to be offering more than just an attractive salary to secure the top talent. These candidates are looking to work for brands that align with their values and that can offer them good progression opportunities. They also want to be working towards a clear goal and see how they can really make a difference. 

 

To capture the attention of these candidates, you will need to have a clear and cohesive brand identity that is at the heart of what you do. Think about what the company values are and its overarching mission and look for a compelling way to present this to job seekers.

 

2. Remote Recruiting

If you haven’t already, now is the time to refine your remote recruitment process. It’s become clear that working remotely, some or all of the time, is here to stay with many businesses going for a hybrid model. This trend, which was already on the rise before the pandemic, is definitely one to watch out for as more candidates are actively looking for remote working benefits.

 

Remote recruiting brings its own set of challenges and it’s important to make sure you approach the process with this in mind rather than just following your usual process. Communication should be central to this process, keeping the candidates in the loop and ensuring that they don’t feel isolated from you. There are plenty of video conferencing tools that most of us are now very proficient with and even automated tools to help with any necessary tests. 

 

3. Embracing technology

Bigger companies and recruitment professionals have been using technology to automate some recruitment processes for a while now. These tools are becoming more and more widely used and can improve the efficiency of your recruitment process. 

 

Tools like Natural Language Processors (NLPs) can scan CVs to help curate a list of the best candidates for a role. While there used to be some uncertainty around these tools and a reluctance to rely on them, they have now become sophisticated enough to handle algorithms and legal documents. They are capable of interpreting sentiment, intent and even hidden meaning in written language. These tools can cut down on the amount of time you spend sifting through applications and greatly increase your efficiency.

 

4. Relationship-building and social media recruiting

Over the last few years, we’ve seen an increase in recruiters developing professional relationships early on with candidates who they might be interested in hiring in the future over platforms such as LinkedIn. This creates a talent pool which recruiters can dip into when required.

 

When suitable jobs do become available for these candidates, some of the leg-work has already been done. You’ll already have a list of candidates who are familiar with you and your brand and will hopefully be excited when you point them in the direction of the job description. 

 

Getting to grips with social media will also help you tackle the first point on the list, brand identity. Posting on social channels will help you strengthen this branding and stand out to more candidates.

 

5. The emergence of new roles

Recruiters will need to keep on top of the new roles that are emerging due to technological advancements and the skill sets required for them. There could be a complex list of requirements for an app developer, for example, and recruiters will need to spend time liaising with their hiring managers to develop a full understanding of these roles. This will be key to finding the best candidates for these more technical and niche vacancies. 

 

6. The new generation of workers

In 2022, Generation Z are going to make up an even larger part of the workforce. Embracing these young recruits will be an important part of creating a forward-thinking, flexible workforce.

 

In order to appeal to this generation and help them unlock their potential, first you will need to understand how these candidates differ from those who have gone before. In general, even compared to the millennial generation, these job seekers have a different world view.

 

Members of Gen Z are looking for employers who are up-to-date on issues like diversity, who are flexible and prioritise a healthy work-life balance and are keeping up with technological advancements. It’s worth spending some time researching the generational shifts that are taking place and thinking about where you might need to adapt in order to appeal to this section of the workforce.

 

7. Diversification of workforces

The benefits of ensuring that you have a diverse workforce are becoming clearer, especially in the wake of the pandemic. The increase in remote hiring has allowed companies to build teams with employees from locations all over the country and even the world. Having teams with members who differ in terms of culture, gender, race, religion, amongst other things, means you can approach problems from a wide range of perspectives. This results in creative problem solving, increasing productivity and, ultimately, profit.

 

8. Upgrading from a traditional workforce to an agile workforce

The last few years have highlighted the importance of having a workforce that enables a business to adapt to changes in circumstance quickly. One of the ways of doing this is to move away from a workforce consisting of employees who turn up at the office five days a week between the hours of 9am and 5pm. Instead, agile workforces consist of a mix of employees who are full-time, part-time or even work on a freelance basis to provide a range of expertise in a flexible way.

 

In particular, the mix of professionals who you retain in-house and those that work with you and in other fields or in other areas of the industry can stimulate innovation.

 

9. Data-driven decision-making

Data is becoming a bigger part of recruitment processes in many industries. Using data analytics tools to understand patterns in recruiting and delve into the experience of the candidates applying helps produce more accurate hiring decisions. Up until very recently, a candidate’s ability to interview well has been central to hiring decisions. Those that struggle in these situations often see this as unfair, especially when this is far removed from the environment of the actual work. 

 

10. A shift in priority skills

There has been an increasing trend over the last year of organisations prioritising skills often referred to as ‘soft skills’. As our workplaces adapt and we spend more time communicating with each other online rather than face-to-face, good communication skills across all channels are very important. Problem-solving skills have also proved to be invaluable over the last few years as businesses have had to adapt rapidly to the change in circumstances. 



There has been a big shift in the world of work over a relatively short period of time, thanks largely to the pandemic. We can now see a bit more clearly which things are likely to return to something like they were before and which things have evolved. Recruiters will need to stay up to date on these trends as we move into 2022, especially with Gen Z becoming a larger part of the workforce. Now is the time to shake up your recruitment processes and prepare your business for the more flexible and diverse world of work in 2022.