We recently posted a poll asking our connections to vote on which HR trend they would be most interested in learning more about, and 57% of you voted for ‘How 2020 has reshaped hiring.’ We have some exciting virtual events in the pipeline but, in the meantime, we wanted to put together some information in response to your poll votes.
Attitudes
First and foremost, in 2020, we saw a seismic shift in work culture and attitudes. Perhaps most notably, working from home was a benefit once reserved for working parents and carers, but the national lockdown on 23rd March 2020 soon put an end to that. Almost overnight, entire businesses had to adapt to remote working where possible and (according to the Office for National Statistics) 46.6% of the UK workforce were working from home by April 2020. With lockdown three currently in full swing, working from home is no longer a benefit but an expected norm for many businesses.
The Recruitment Process
Like many things in 2020, most recruitment processes have gone entirely virtual; from CV screenings to virtual interviews. Though modern technology has eased the transition and video calls have been able to replace physical interviews, virtual hiring has introduced a new set of challenges when it comes to the onboarding process. Including, but not limited to, providing equipment and IT support, virtual team integration and maintaining communication (for five top tips for remote onboarding, click here).
Employee Engagement
It’s no secret that creating and maintaining great company culture will boost employee morale and loyalty (and therefore increase productivity). As 2020 pushed workforces home, it brought the importance of employee engagement to the forefront; not only the mind of the businesses but also the job seekers. Multiple studies have shown that the majority of workers in the UK value workplace culture over salary or financial reward when it comes to job satisfaction. You can read our five top tips for engaging a remote workforce here.
Remote Working
If there’s one thing that lockdown has taught many organisations it’s that, given the right tools and a decent Wi-Fi connection, most employees can be as productive as usual, whilst working completely remotely. In addition to the many obstacles that remote working threw at us last year, it also brought some positives in regard to recruitment: with location no longer a restricting factor in the recruitment process, we are able to cast the net a lot wider and diversify our candidate pool.
Talent Pool
As the UK approached a second lockdown last September, many businesses were forced to make difficult business decisions and cutbacks in order to stay afloat. As a result, redundancies peaked to their record highest level since 2009 (according to the Office for National Statistics); this has led to a shift in the talent pool as high calibre professionals have found themselves looking for work, and junior candidates are brushing up, retraining or upskilling in order to stay competitive in what is now an employer-driven market.