Even as we continue to feel the effects of the pandemic, our 2021 survey results and current data suggest continued growth for staffing and recruiting firms in the new year.
In 2021, over 70% of survey respondents expected their business and revenue to grow significantly.
In fact, some staffing agencies are experiencing record high numbers in growth week over week, and there’s no reason to suggest a shift in this growth anytime soon.
The ASA Staffing Index four-week moving average increased to a value of 107. Temporary and contract staffing employment for the four weeks ending Nov. 14 was 22.4% higher than the same period in 2020.
Between vaccine availability and high satisfaction from employees on their employers’ pandemic-related return-to-work plans (79% satisfaction) per The American Staffing Association, we can expect growth to continue on a steady incline in 2022, offering more opportunities for both long-term and gig work.
In the staffing and recruitment industry, time is money. Staffing agencies are also shifting towards data-driven recruitment.
Using one data-driven platform for all employees to stay on track, make informed decisions, and see real-time analytics and performance is going to be key to growth and maintenance in the new year. Using one system also promotes collaboration, transparency, and creates standard work protocols for effective and productive work.
That’s exactly what recruitment software does – streamlines the whole process, allowing recruiters to focus their time on building their brand, nurturing relationships with clients and candidates, and filling open jobs with the most qualified candidates.
Technology like Tracker also significantly reduces the time to hire through full automation and features like video interviewing, resume parsing, and key integrations with LinkedIn, Google Chrome, and Outlook.
When it comes to technology in 2022, the name of the game is agility and efficiency. Being able to quickly shift to find top talent quickly, ahead of the competition.
According to Jobvite, recruiters’ priorities have shifted in the last year and are focused on the following priorities in the next year:
Growth isn’t just about landing new clients and feeding the talent pipeline. It’s about building a business infrastructure. “Staffing firms need a scalable organization.”
Whether this be an ATS, CRM, or other third-party apps, technology has become a must rather than a nice-to-have in recruitment.
Between growth, higher competition for specific skill sets, and a candidate-driven market, technology supports both maintenance of current workload as well as being able to stay ahead of the game with competitors.
According to G2 statistics, over 98% of Fortune 500 companies use recruitment software. And on top of that, 94% of recruiters and hiring professionals say that using a recruitment software has positively impacted their hiring process.
As we dive into 2022, it’s important to evaluate where you are, where you want to go, and what tools and resources you can implement to support those goals.
This new 2021 feature allows full automation from tasks and communications to candidate matching, data updates and more. This feature was specifically designed to do more for you with you doing less. Manual tasks and half-integrated software means more recruiter time spent on the computer and less building relationships with candidates and clients. Tracker Automation significantly reduces time on day-to-day tasks and data capture to present you with the best qualified candidates in less time. It’s all-in-one, meaning you can close all those tabs and forget slow processing times going from site to site.
Our Long Lists are automatically built based on our 80+ filters and your job specifications to identify candidates that match. Quickly add candidates from this list to a Short List where you can send customized emails, set up video interviews, and more quickly to efficiently place top talent.
Attracting qualified candidates is a top challenge for recruiters, especially in a small talent pool (or large one). Publish jobs list to your website and include a registration page quickly through only one line of code. Optimize your jobs for SEO with our Jobs+ Feature and distribute to your website and leading job boards with only a few clicks. When time is money, getting your jobs out and finding candidates fast is vital. You can even post to social media sites, allowing your jobs optimum visibility.
It’s not just about the hard skills anymore. As we stated above, soft skills and previous engagements are all factors in finding the best fit. Our AI Ranking takes both resume and ATS history into account to rank candidates based on their interactions and learnings using AI, giving you the most clear picture of a candidate.
We’ve worked hard to deliver seamless and supportive integrations to make your life easier. Our integrations with LinkedIn, Chrome, Outlook, and Gmail allow for fast and efficient communication and searches.
For over a decade, Tracker has worked with and collaborated with staffing agencies to develop recruitment software that supports and enhances the full process, from optimization and posting of jobs to hiring and onboarding to re-engagement.
If you’re ready to enhance your recruitment process with effective, industry-leading technology, we want to connect with you and offer you a free demo of our preferred recruitment platform.
“You can use technology to remove friction anywhere across the system,” says Delle Donne. “It’s all about streamlining, making things convenient, and robotically processing things that are mundane and time consuming and repetitive.”
As we navigate 2022, we continue to see trends that have emerged over this past year and gain more focus. Many of these trends are being driven by shifts in candidates as their values and preferences have changed. The market is also influenced by recruiters challenges and overall changes in places of work.
As our workforce continues to shift to become mostly millennials, it’s time to focus on social media and texting for recruitment, brand-building, and engagement. Social media was a trend last year with 62% of surveyed respondents saying it was a top three sales tactic. And it continues to be a focus in the foreseeable future.
And social media isn’t only for sourcing candidates, but also needs to be be used to build brands (both company and recruiters), engage with candidates, and give them insight into opportunities. Social media is a long-game strategy, but one that
Check out these quick stats on social media from G2:
If you haven’t included it already, social media is an important tactic to add to your 2022 recruiting and marketing strategies.
Hiring bias and diversity and inclusion initiatives are continuing to garner attention. While companies and recruiters alike are aware of the impact, there’s still more room for improvement on the follow-through.
Career International states in their Global Recruiting Trends report that 78% of recruiters and hiring managers say that diversity is the top trend impacting how they hire. However, The Recruiter Nation Study found that only 30% of recruiters have specific goals and policies in place that cater to racial and gender diversity hiring. (Jobbatical)
Using technology like AI, automation, and search and filter functions allows for less hiring bias. But there still needs to be awareness, strategy, and specific processes in place to reduce bias and establish more diversity and inclusive opportunities.
Transparency with these policies is also important, as Forty-nine percent of recruiters reported that job seekers are inquiring about the company’s DE&I initiatives, an increase in 16 percentage points from 2020.
As we continue to see highly-competitive talent pools quickly come and go, and as more and more technology is used to identify hard skills, companies and recruiters are beginning to out more focus on soft skills.
According to a LinkedIn Global Talent Trends Study, 80% say soft skills are increasingly important to company success.
LinkedIn found Creativity (problem-solving), persuasion, collaboration, adaptability, and time management are the soft skills most wanted, but difficult to find.
An emerging trend that has come forward with the increase in identifying soft skills is also upskilling current candidates or employees. Recruiters and companies are focusing on those who have great soft skills and are willing and committed to training for those hard skills needed for open positions.
Technology can be easily implemented to avoid bias and streamline to identify a candidate’s soft skill set. Using pre-determined and set behavioral questions through interviewing can help assess these skills to identify potential great hires.
The writing is on the wall. Remote hiring and gig work is here to stay.
As priorities shift for both companies and candidates, in many cases it just makes sense and reduces costs for both parties.
The ability to take your hiring process and digitize will be essential to be able to broaden your reach to find top talent that’s willing to work from anywhere and for companies willing to employ from anywhere.
While the pandemic expedited the need for remote work, hiring, and gig work, it was already trending that way for candidates who were seeking better work/life balance.
While not every industry can (or can easily) offer remote work and flexibility, it’s something that over 78% of LinkedIn members have been talking about since 2016.
And for staffing agencies, tech like Tracker’s TrackerChat, Video Interviewing, Task Boards, and Telephony allow for collaboration, communication, and consistency.
Candidates are looking for companies and positions that offer better than what they’ve had. From health coverage and 401(k) to flexibility to work from home, attracting candidates means creating appealing benefit packages that align with candidates values.
In addition, candidates are wanting to negotiate higher salaries. In fact, 73% of recruiters have experienced this with candidates, up 20 percentage points from 2020! (Jobvite)
From understanding where you are in the hiring process to feedback if not considered for a position, candidates want feedback and want to know how to improve. G2 states that 52% of candidates don’t receive any communication in the two to three (or more) months after applying.
Culture is an important and growing value for candidates, especially millennials. And recruiters agree. According to G2, 65% of Millennials value company culture compared to 52% of people 45 and older. And 77% of job seekers consider a company’s culture before applying for a job
The candidate experience can make or break your business. Assuring candidates have a smooth and positive experience needs to be at the top of your list for sourcing and placements. Especially considering that 63% of job seekers will likely reject a job offer because of a bad candidate experience according to G2.
Check out how our integrated ATS, CRM and Recruitment Automation Software helps your team build better relationships, processes, and results.
