Digital Recruitment Trends Set to Dominate This Year

Filed in:
Insight

The recruitment trends set to dominate this year 

2020 threw individuals and businesses into an area of the unknown; much of the population suddenly had to work from home and a huge number of off-line only businesses suddenly had to get online.

Agile and digitally savvy businesses have been the ones to survive the storm so far.

---

2021 Trends

There are a number of key trends that we can expect to see in recruitment this year, as well as a shift in employee’s expectations! 

---

1) The "death of the office" is a myth

The idea that we will never return to the office again is overblown!

Rather than a 'death of the office' scenario we are more likely to be looking at a "Commuter Revolution’ and an acceleration towards even more flexible working patterns in a bid to miss out the mass rush for a 9am start.

Businesses who are looking to attract the very best talent should keep in mind how important flexible working will be to candidates and not go back to their old ways of working.

The rise of flexibility in the workplace will create opportunities for multi-site, multinational business and it is likely we will see an emergence of new micro-office spaces across the country meaning those people who struggle to work from home or don't wish to commute long distances could work from a hub vs a formal corprorate building space. 

---

2) We have a long way to go before relying on automated talent acquisition 

According to a CareerBuilder survey, 72% of employers believe that within the next 10 years some roles within talent acquisition will be automated.

Most businesses, however, are a long way from completely wiping out these roles and relying on automation for organisational design.

The only time a human recruiter can be replaced effectively is when a human role is replaced with technology. 

An experienced consultant is able to uncover an applicant’s suitability for the company, its culture and the role from the start, saving both the business (and the candidate) time and energy

....something that technology doesn’t have the capability of doing at present. 

In an environment where skills shortages are present, businesses that are privy to a team of consultants who boast priceless depth of industry knowledge and mastery are guaranteed to have a competitive edge.

---

3) There will be aggressive hiring in 2021

There has been a seismic shift in the number of digital roles companies have been looking to fill.  

Digital skills are in high demand and that means those organisations already lucky enough to have top digital talent already in place will want to hold onto it - and those that don't will be working hard to attract it. 

It is now clearer than ever that if a business is to successfully transform its digital operations, it must have talent in place at both tactical and strategic levels.  

---

4) Emergence of new roles

The battle to keep ahead in an environment of rapid technological, market and behavioural change has already caused a 'rush to hire' at more junior levels. However, top level digital talent will be crucial for businesses success in 2021 and there will be another hiring boom later in 2021.

A particular trend our sister company, Hannington Tame, has noticed in recent months is the rise of product roles at C-level.

We expect to see an increase in companies hiring for product focused roles such as Chief Digital Officer, Chief Customer Officer, CMO or CTO throughout this year.

---

5) The year of ecommerce investment

Buoyed by 2020 growth in ecommerce and the wider economy not doing so well (compounded by low interest rates and the threat of negative interest rates) we will see a rush to invest in ecommerce related businesses.

The rush to invest will naturally mean we will see both over valuations and bad investments this year.  However, there will be some hugely profitable ones too.

---

6) Universities will react to the digital skills gap 

The pandemic has really highlighted the lack of solid digital skills across the country.

That's not to say there aren't many individuals out there with extraordinary talent - just that there aren't enough of them.

It is very likely far more universities will be offering digital courses or white-collar apprenticeships in the future.

---

Associated Press

HR Zone - The recruitment trends set to dominate this year

HR Director - The death of the office is a myth

Creativepool - The Consumer Trends that will define 2021

Onrec - Key ecommerce, digital marketing and recruitment trends set to dominate in 2021

HR News - Key ecommerce, digital marketing and recruitment trends set to dominate in 2021

Start Your Business - Key ecommerce, digital marketing and recruitment trends set to dominate in 2021

---

Image

Unsplash - Tim Mossholder