Written by Simon Benford-Blows

As we move into 2023, the market is still relatively unstable and likely to move into recession, that said what is different certainly in the UK is that there is still a shortage of labour with stats say there is 1.2m jobs currently advertised and 1.2m people out of work.  It suggests companies may encounter increased difficulty in attracting skilled and qualified candidates from a sparse and competitive talent marketplace.

All trends adapt to the needs and demands of a workforce and Businesses and HR & Talent functions have been forced to change the way they approach recruitment and retention to become more efficient, streamlined, and proactive.

1. Remote Work

Remote or Hybrid working is still going to be a factor certainly in Q1 or 2023. Providing your employees with flexibility to work remotely has become more important as businesses strive to retain existing talent. 

2. Proactive Recruitment and candidate engagement

We will continue to see a switch from reactive to proactive recruitment, with HR employing key strategies to locate talent before demand to fill a position becomes critical. Proactively engaging candidates has long been a common practice when filling executive vacancies; it was rarely used when hiring for entry-level positions and engaging passive candidates is becoming important in lower and middle level roles and for bringing top talent into the funnel. Therefore, the need to build proactive recruitment strategies is likely to increase.

3. Use of Recruiting Automation

A major result of the squeeze on labour is that organisations have had to pursue more actively Automation, this is no different in the recruitment space and 2023 will witness more recruiting and staffing firms turning to automation for simplifying repetitive tasks and reducing admin work

4. Diversity and inclusion

Business leaders globally accept that a culturally diverse workforce fuels innovation, creativity, and higher profitability. Diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging initiatives and values are a critical component for companies that want to keep up a productive and positive workplace culture.

One of the biggest challenges is the inclusion piece many are making bold steps to address Diversity however many are falling short on Inclusion. Research has long shown companies’ bottom lines benefit from the inclusion of diverse workforces. Therefore, those that focus on improving inclusion as well as diversity are likely to improve their retention levels too.

5. Employer and Employee Branding

Employer branding is extremely important, and it will only become more so. It’s vital that you position yourself as a company that cares about its employee’s well-being and development. As we go into 2023 employees will expect their well-being to be a focus.

6. Internal Recruitment and retention

Upskilling and reskilling existing employees offer a great way to fill talent gaps within a company and cut down on hiring and other costs. It is suggested that companies will invest more in Learning and Development providing employees with education and opportunities for career development and upward mobility which is also a great way to increase engagement and retention.

7. Gen Z entering the workforce

Gen Zers are all set to enter the workforce and it is forecasted that they will bring a significant change into the recruitment process which is – speed, they will expect everything to be virtual and fast-paced.

Those with outdated recruitment methods and processes will suffer the most as this will be a major turn-off for them. Companies will have to gear up accordingly, recruitment Automation, mobile-optimized application processes, and candidate engagement at each and every step of the hiring stage will become a necessity.

 

While businesses will face plenty of uncertainty in 2023, the ability to be agile, scalable, and flexible will help them hire the right talent to better position themselves in 2023. The need to focus on proactive engagement, flexible workplaces, D&I, and Learning opportunities will support companies gain and retain a competent workforce in the face of a general talent shortage.