In the aftermath of the COVID-19 outbreak last year, recruiters and job seekers found themselves in the middle of a global crisis as the lockdowns wreaked havoc on talent acquisition teams.
The pandemic accelerated the shift from traditional recruitment to virtual recruitment and onboarding a remote workforce. Businesses are increasingly turning to virtual recruiting solutions and focusing on diversity, equity, and inclusion while expanding their talent acquisition efforts to include boundary-less candidates.
The talent acquisition challenges of 2022
The most essential end-of-the-year task for talent acquisition teams is to develop a specific action plan for the next year to enhance their recruitment operations. Here are seven key talent acquisition trends to watch out for in 2022.
1. A talent war across industries resulting from the digital shift in the economy
There has been a significant demand for technology professionals across industries and domains. Technology is no longer the goal; it is rather a well-defined means to numerous goals. As a result, the need for tech skills will continue to rise.
Organisations are seeking technical expertise outside of their country, hiring permanent employees as well as gig workers, remotely. With the blurring of geographical boundaries, the war for talent has become global, resulting in stiff competition.
2. Boost in product innovation culture and local technology consumption
The digitisation of everyday transactions as well as the need for technology innovation across both business and public domains paved the way for the development of products for local consumption. Digital disruption has become a critical part of corporate transformation and the steep rise in the demand for tech talent.
3. Rise of micro-companies solving smaller problems and shift from service economy to product economy
There is a significant rise in the micro companies founded to address consumer pain points in underserved markets. This has brought forth innovative and powerful tech not only for niche markets but also for the common man.
India has become one of the biggest and fastest-growing digital markets. The shift from a service economy to a product economy, driven by technology, is expected to leapfrog the country to its next level in many years.
For instance, the journey from retail shops to ecommerce in India took less time than that in western countries. The time taken for mobile adoption in India was faster than the desktop adoption in the US.
4. Growth of Tier 2 cities and talent therefrom
With the presence of major Indian and global organisations in metros and Tier 1 cities, there is a high demand for IT talent in these regions, resulting in high attrition rates. Consequently, an increasing number of IT organisations are shifting base/setting up their offices in Tier 2 and 3 cities.
This shift in trend can be attributed to talent availability at a comparably lower cost and mid-to-senior talent relocating from the larger cities for a better work-life balance.
5. Digitisation of recruitment processes with the advent of tech innovations
Firms adopted digitisation in recruitment processes in response to the pandemic. The area of human resource technology is evolving at a rapid pace, with new tools for better and faster recruiting being added every few weeks.
While the advent of technology might seem a little daunting to human resource professionals, these advancements are not meant to replace humans but assist them in successful recruiting.
7. The evolving role of HR – from managing homogeneity to managing heterogeneity
Traditionally, employers used to source, assess, and interview candidates from the same city, state, or country. A large chunk of the job roles were full time with a small percentage of part time or freelance roles. With remote work becoming the new normal, and the globalisation of talent, HR personnel today interact with people from different countries and cultures.
The teams that they manage are not homogeneous, even in the nature of the job roles. A single team can have employees engaged full time, part time, or on contractual basis.
Human resources leaders had to manage personnel and execute employee-related processes remotely throughout the pandemic period. Employees were hired globally, breaking the norm of hiring locally. This will continue in the years ahead.
6. The rise of the gig economy
The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in a surge of the gig economy, which comprises freelancing or part-time work rather than full-time, permanent contracts. A gig worker may work from anywhere in the world thanks to the internet.
So whether one is a freelance illustrator seeking an author or an agency looking for an SEO professional to help with a huge project, physical geography is no longer an issue when finding the ideal individuals to collaborate with. The gig economy is expected to explode in popularity in the coming years.
(Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of YS.)
