5 Trends in Staffing to Watch for in 2021

AdminAssist
AdminAssist April 8, 2021
5-minute read
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In 2021, it's expected that staffing will grow by 12% in the USA alone. Despite major labor setbacks last year, the recruitment and staffing industries continue to see substantial growth. If you're looking for trends that may impact how you attract, hire, or onboard candidates, these trends will offer some guidance as to how the industry is changing.

#1 Flexible Work Options

Remote work is here to stay. In 2020, more people picked up on the work-from-home trend than ever before, and it's not going anywhere. While some businesses are happy to be returning to "life as normal," for many more, remote working is the new way of life.

Amongst employees, 99% of people currently working remotely want to continue doing so. Meanwhile, the undeniable cost-savings for both workers and employers makes for an attractive opportunity. As a recruiter, you should tap into the desire for flexible work options and emphasize whenever a position is able to accommodate remote or even part-time remote work conditions.

When a job does require an employee to be in-office, make sure you emphasize all the perks associated with being on-site. For instance, if the company allows dogs to come to work, offers free daycare, or other benefits, candidates will certainly want to know about those things, and they can help an office position stand out in a world that wants to work from home.

#2 Virtual Recruiting

There are countless reasons why virtual recruiting is something you should add to your tool belt. Even if you don't intend to recruit virtually 100% of the time, the industry has long been trending toward virtual screenings and interviews; this past year just spearheaded its adoption.

As a recruiter, you need to work within the confines of a client or candidate, which means brushing up on your virtual skills and finding the right platforms to conduct virtual interviews. Also, you may also want to look into virtual onboarding tools and other ways you can take care of your typical recruiting work from a distance.

Adding virtual or distance recruiting to your skill set won't just help you snag more clients, but it can save you time, improve candidate experience, and help future-proof you within the recruiting industry.

#3 Automation

Wondering how automation can be put to use within your day-to-day work as a recruiter? The fact is, everyone could use automation to take over some portion of their repetitive, time-consuming work. Taking a step back and reviewing your processes can help you implement automation to optimize the time you spend working and help you seamlessly transition from one to-do item to the next.

In the world of recruiting, marketing clients and sourcing candidates is just one area that stands to benefit from automation. If you haven't already, take some time to explore Applicant Tracking Software and other tools that can help automate your screening, scheduling, and follow-up processes. When combined with the next trend, automation suddenly becomes a lot smarter.

#4 AI and ML

You likely already have some idea of how Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) work. While once out-of-reach for the average individual or small business, many digital services now incorporate AI and ML into their systems, making this advanced tech available to the masses.

As a recruiter, there are a number of tools you can benefit from that utilize AI. Think automatically sourcing, sorting, and screening candidates and learning from your selections to help you find similar candidates for a number of a client's positions quickly. With these tools, you can shave hours of menial tasks out of your schedule and free up more time for meaningful outreach.

#5 Smart Hires

Smart hiring, in its most basic form, means offering companies quality candidates in order to boost your reputation and build up the relationship with each client. As the world of recruiting continues to grow more competitive, the trend of "smart hiring" is rapidly becoming the norm. The concept sounds fundamental yet modern technology is helping it become an achievable standard.

While recruiters always make their best effort to hire the right person for the job, smart tech — like automation and AI — is making it easier. Smart hiring tools can help you save time sourcing and screening candidates, all the while improving candidate experiencing and informing your outreach. The result? You learn more about who you're hiring, and they get more excited about the opportunity, creating a win/win for your clients.

So, if you want to stay ahead of the latest trends in the recruiting sector, make sure you're using these resources to your advantage. Focus on keeping your competitive edge sharp, and success will follow.