Talent Trends for 2022: Shifting Focus to Improve Recruitment

Companies that have weathered the challenges and uncertainties of 2020 and 2021 have emerged with renewed confidence in their resilience. However, we’re not out of this crisis yet. The COVID-19 pandemic has taken its toll on workers – changing expectations for compensation, work-life balance, and benefits, as well as making some positions particularly difficult to fill.

Recruiters will need to think smarter and keep an eye on talent trends for 2022. We’ve come up with some ideas to make your recruitment process hassle-free, including expanding the ideas of what a “great candidate” is, incorporating video interviewing technology to improve candidate experience, and increasing flexibility around remote working.

A Better Search for Specific Skill Sets

Hiring managers often create an employability baseline based on college degrees and years of experience in a given role to find new hires. This narrow view of “the ideal candidate” automatically filters out many promising candidates and misses core competencies that translate across fields. Upskilling and reskilling to train existing employees for new roles is common, so why not find candidates using a skills-based approach? 

One way to do “skill-based” recruiting is to create a list of the competencies that would make a candidate a great fit for a given role. Starting with the highest turnover position can be an effective approach, rather than retooling the entire hiring process all at once. Compile information from line managers and past employees who were successful in this role to determine which qualifications to include on the list. Make sure to include a list of soft and hard skills.

Such skills might include the ability to communicate effectively via written and spoken communications with coworkers and clients, to collaborate with members of a team, critical thinking to synthesize information, and problem-solving.  For a position that isn’t so collaborative, the most important skill might be the ability to make autonomous decisions. Combine these with hard skills, such as knowledge of Salesforce, SQL, Excel, or any program necessary to the job function. 

A Focus on Talent Experience

Screening candidates is just one piece of the puzzle; just as important is the ability to attract a deep talent pool. Companies that focus on candidate experience will be the most competitive going into 2022. Job seekers expect a branded experience that informs them about the company and its people while preparing them for the advertised role. They want to work with an HR team that is quick, responsive, and enthusiastic. Hiring that combines virtual and in-person processes will be most convenient for recruiters and candidates alike – saving time and money. 

With interview on-demand, recruiters can send out one-way virtual assessments that job seekers can respond to at any time of day or night. The platform allows the company to use its brand logo and colors, record introduction and goodbye messages, and even customize the way they present the interview questions (text, audio, or video). Apart from being a branded experience, on-demand interviews allow candidates to answer questions on their own time – especially helpful for those candidates who are already employed.

Flexible Remote Working Options

During the “year in quarantine,” many Americans got a taste of working from home for the first time – and liked it. A highly flexible workday allows people the ability to take care of their households and families as needed while accomplishing all of their daily work tasks. Employees save on gas, lunch, and wardrobe, while employers save on leasing space and utilities – a win-win situation.

Harvard Business Review’s Talent Accelerator study found that 88 percent of knowledge workers will look for “complete flexibility in hours and location” in their next job search. More than three-quarters of individuals said they would accept a pay cut in exchange for a better work/life balance. 

At the same time, the vast majority of employers reported increases in productivity that led them to continue offering flexible remote work opportunities. A real-time virtual interviewing tool like interview connect is not only an asset during the hiring process but can be used to train and meet with remote employees as well. 

Get on board with the latest trends

If you’re looking to get on board with the latest trends in talent and fine-tune your hiring for 2022, get started with interviewstream’s suite of tools that make virtual interviews simple and engaging.

From on-demand interviews that allow your candidates the freedom to own their application process to branded live video interviews, kick your recruiting up a notch with interviewstream. Talk with one of our hiring experts today to see how we can help you hire more effectively.

About The Author

Caroline Chessia is the Marketing Operations Specialist at interviewstream. She loves color-coordinated graphs, hiking in the mountains, and every dog she meets—especially the Golden Retrievers.