Marc Sumner's sizzling-hot recruitment trends

Marc Sumner, CEO of channel recruitment agency Robertson Sumner, rounds up five trends for channel hiring managers to watch in 2022

This article appeared in CRN's Staff & Salaries 2022 report, which looks at pay and headcount trends across the UK's 500 largest front-line IT channel partners

For the first time in nearly two years the demand for new staff has almost been matched by the availability of candidates who are open to opportunities. There was a general reluctance to move companies during the pandemic, but now the restrictions are easing, there appears to be more confidence and people are looking to take advantage of the strong demand across the IT channel.

Having already seen a 60 per cent uplift in the number of people starting new jobs in the first few weeks of 2022 compared to 2021. the demand for new staff continues to grow at a rate far exceeding anything seen in their previous 22 years of trading.

It is imperative that companies across the IT channel consider how they recruit and retain staff to ensure that they don't get left behind. Here I run through the key recruitment trends that any hiring manager needs to consider in 2022:

1) Skills based hiring is on the rise

In previous years there has been a strong preference in hiring people who have a degree level education. What we've learned over the past 18 months is that employers are indeed resetting degree requirements in a wide variety of roles. In evaluating applicants, employers are looking beyond a degree completion and instead are looking to hire based on skills and competencies.

2) Make your employer brand stand out in the talent marketplace

Your employer branding is incredibly influential in a candidate's decision making of whether to work for you or not. Simply put it is not enough to stick in a pinball machine / games console into the office. Employees want to work for a business with common values and a strong employer value proposition - your expectations for performance and rewards for meeting them, which might include financial rewards as well as the all-important work/life balance.

3) Candidates are demanding more from employers

The way we negotiate with our employers is shifting. Work is no longer just something we do with an employer. Lots more people are realising that they make too many sacrifices for their career, and they want more — either more flexibility, higher salaries / commission, or more choice over their environment and what they do. Employee experience is paramount. And if you want to attract new talent, candidate experience is paramount too.

4) We know remote working works

And talent pools are not restricted by location as in the past. You are no longer restricted to hiring in the locations where you have an office. And if you want to take advantage of having the world's best talent in your business, your recruitment processes will need to adapt to reflect this.

5) Focus on retention

Thanks to the pandemic, half of the workforce are looking to change roles in the next 12 months. With vacancies reaching peak numbers in the UK, businesses need to move quickly to retain talent. Making a ‘counter-offer' might provide a quick fix to retaining staff but is usually a very short-term solution to a bigger issue. It is important to understand the causes of employee churn and then put in measures to help mitigate against them.

One thing for certain in 2022 the hiring and retention of people will remain one of the key challenges that we all need to balance with our day-to-day roles. The IT channel has led the way with innovations in hiring and ‘thinking outside of the box' over the past 2 years and will have to continue to innovate to stay ahead of the curve when it comes to hiring.

Marc Sumner is CEO of channel recruitment outfit Robertson Sumner.