Five hiring trends that will shape the next 12 months

Recruitment guru Marc Sumner picks out the five key trends that hiring bosses should be aware of in the coming year

Focus on diversity and inclusive recruiting

This should be something that is always at the forefront of your recruitment process. Having a diverse team of employees with different work/academic histories, perspectives and life experiences will have a positive effect on your company and employer brand.

You will have more engaged employees, a wider range of varied perspectives, and increased team creativity. You cannot have a diverse company without practising inclusive hiring - your hiring managers must be aware of biases and work to remove them in the hiring process.

Remote working is here to stay

As 2020 has demonstrated, working from home has become a daily occurrence for many in the IT channel and is set to become standard for many employees. A recent IBM survey found that 66% of respondents wanted to continue working from home.

Recruiters need to factor this in when it comes to hiring. Communicating roles and expectations, so that prospective hires know precisely what is needed from them. Top talent, in particular, will be seeking more work flexibility. This is also a big opportunity for employers who are no longer restricted to 'local candidates' with nearly 80% of firms surveyed recently concluding that they could find better talent if not restricted to hiring based purely on people who live within a commutable distance of their offices.

Virtual hiring is here to stay

If employers are more in-tune with employing remote workers then it stands to reason that internally, virtual hiring processes need to be robust. Employers have already had to adapt standard hiring procedures to an online format. Conducting online interviews is not a real barrier to effective hiring unless it's attempted without any preparation. Post-2020 recruitment needs to assess talent effectively from a distance. This might also mean it is time to really look at psychometric testing as a standard recruitment tool to run alongside the traditional interviews.

Hiring for skills is crucial

Not only is it important to assess relevant 'job related' skills for individual roles, but there is also a rising focus on the 'soft skill's that candidates bring to the table. Communication, problem-solving and the ability to collaborate with others both face to face and virtually have always been important, but in a post-pandemic world, they're non-negotiable.

According to the recently published World Economic Forum's Future of Jobs report 2020, 50% of all employees will need reskilling by 2025. With this in mind, you should invest in regular training sessions for your current employees. As well as adding new talent to your team it is also important to make upskilling your current employees a priority.

Social media as an effective hiring tool

This is one trend that was gaining traction even before the pandemic. Almost 85% of companies now say they use this channel with success. Understand that your competitors will be on these sites scouting for potential talent. But it's no longer enough to simply advertise a position on LinkedIn, for example; it's up to savvy hiring managers to cultivate smart relationships that proactively engage candidates individually.