In public life, business and even employment, the needle is erratic, shifting much farther in one direction than we anticipated before jerking us in the other direction, catching us completely off guard.

Economic uncertainty and the lack of long-term market visibility are top concerns for talent acquisition (TA) teams in 2023. What is more, the skill level of the available talent pool may not match the jobs that companies are seeking to fill. In today’s tight labour market, we can no longer rely on standard hiring processes, especially when hiring at high volumes.

Regardless of the direction of the economy, the following factors are shaping the future of hiring.

The evolution from recruiter to ‘talent strategist’
The job duties of a recruiter have remained largely unchanged. But take a broader view of the entire employee pipeline and gaps in the funnel may become noticeable. These are gaps recruiters must learn how to fill, from sourcing applicants for specific roles to implementing post-hire activities that can affect retention.

Recruiters are undergoing a transformation from merely people finders to the broader-yet-refined role of the ‘talent strategist. Moreover, hiring is no longer a one-size-fits-all process. New systems leverage automation technology that empowers recruiters to target candidates with precision and accuracy. The flexibility to customise search options provides the opportunity to refine the process even further, using a data-driven approach.

Values-driven DE+I
According to 'Indeed & Glassdoor’s Hiring and Workplace Trends Report 2023', the importance of DE+I initiatives to employees has surged in the past three years and they continue to be important in 2023. To demonstrate equal consideration for all candidates, TA teams can remove the need for a CV from job postings, replace educational requirements with skills and post job openings to non-traditional job sites.

Unretirement
Data released by the Office for National Statistics in December showed that many older workers were already returning to the workforce, and that three in five (58%) workers aged 50 to 65 years were considering returning to work. Besides extra income in uncertain economic times, they can also resume a sense of purpose, one that may have got lost during the transition from employment to retirement. This creates challenges and opportunities for companies in 2023 as they try to capture the skills of these returnees and create an office culture that engages multiple generations.

Companies will need to strike a balance between keeping conventional hiring practices to cater to the more seasoned workers while exploring new technologies and best practices to engage the next generation of workers: Gen Z. It is also true that many in this older generation will not be as technology adverse as the stereotypes might suggest, and so capturing the attention of these so-called silver surfers will depend as much on digitally enabled hiring processes as it does for younger generations. 

Gen Z
This tech-savvy, highly visual generation won’t settle for an antiquated candidate experience. They want fast communication, mobile-friendly functions and transparency when it comes to benefits and pay. As such, recruiters not only need to be ready with the latest technology that uses automation, machine learning and analytics, but they also need to know how to engage this younger generation using new platforms and methods that may be foreign compared to their usual practices.

To stay ahead of the game, recruiters should focus their efforts on finding the best candidates in a volatile market, while still catering to the needs and demands of the different demographics across their hiring pool. Facing acute talent challenges, many talent acquisition teams across a range of UK industries such as hospitality, manufacturing, or food & beverage will benefit from using unorthodox methods and innovative schemes to ensure that both recruiters and workers succeed.

Sean Behr is CEO of Fountain, an applicant tracking system for high-volume hiring.

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