Top 5 Recruitment Trends for 2023

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As we settle into the new year, the job market continues to evolve, and hiring managers are adapting to new recruitment trends to attract the best talent. At Blue Signal, we recognize the importance of staying up to date with the latest industry knowledge to help our clients source top talent in even the most challenging markets. If you're struggling to navigate the post-pandemic job landscape, you're not alone. In this blog, we'll explore the top five recruitment trends for 2023, providing insights on how you can stand out and succeed in your company's industry. If you’re an employer struggling in your search to hire the best candidates, keep reading to learn about the latest recruitment strategies for the year ahead.

Remote and hybrid work is here to stay.

women at her desk busy working from home.

Remote and hybrid work continues to reign supreme amongst recruitment trends for 2023. The pandemic has reshaped both employer and employee expectations regarding flexibility, according to Human Resource Executive. Their research indicates over 90% of employers report that productivity has stayed the same or increased as a result of remote work, making it a viable option for many organizations. Furthermore, employees are looking for flexibility when it comes to what they work on, who they work with, and the amount they work, Harvard Business Review researchers found. This is why companies are investing in improving their employee experience, as reported by a Gartner survey of frontline worker managers. Through proper support, allowing employees to work remotely can increase their sense of value and engagement – resulting in improved employee retention for your business.

Additionally, making a job change is more convenient than in the past now that job seekers have the ability to make the shift from home, making the opportunities and benefits much higher. As CNBC reports, "the cost of switching jobs is lower when remote work is on the table." Overall, remote and hybrid work is amongst the top recruitment trends for 2023, as it provides flexibility and convenience for both employers and employees.

Burnout is on the rise; expand health and well-being offerings.

Young man practicing virtual meditation in front of his lap top.

Unfortunately, post-pandemic effects remain in the workforce and employee burnout is on the rise, making it a top concern for recruitment trends in 2023. According to Harvard Business Review, nearly 60% of employees report they are stressed at their jobs, which is higher than even the peaks of 2020. With employees experiencing burnout, companies are starting to realize the importance of expanding their health and well-being offerings to attract and retain top talent. According to Gartner, 82% of employees now say it's essential for their organizations to see them as a whole person, rather than just an employee. In response, companies are implementing proactive rest, more paid time off (PTO), no-meeting Fridays, wellness time, discussion opportunities, on-site counseling, and coaching as recommended by Gartner. These wellness initiatives demonstrate a company's commitment to their employees' well-being, help to alleviate burnout, and will ultimately lead to increased productivity and profitability in the long run.

DEI efforts move forward.

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) efforts continue to be a crucial factor in company recruitment trends in 2023. However, Gartner research reveals that 42% of employees believe that their organization's DEI efforts are divisive, and 2 out of 5 agree that a growing number of employees feel alienated by or resentful of their company's DEI efforts. To address this challenge, HR must equip managers with the tools and strategies to engage resistant employees and address pushback early on before it develops into more disruptive forms of DEI resistance. As Harvard Business Review notes, these strategies can help create a more inclusive work environment that fosters diversity, promotes equity, and builds a culture of belonging where employees feel valued and respected for their unique contributions. By prioritizing DEI efforts and addressing resistance, companies can attract a more diverse pool of talent and create a workplace where all employees can thrive.

A chart showing 3 ways to implement DEI efforts into your company culture.

Blue Signal is committed to integrating DEI principles into hiring practices at all levels, and we are continuously exploring ways to enhance this process. Our diversity and inclusion recruiting team possesses the expertise to attract a wider range of diverse candidates and can support you in improving your employer branding to align with D&I values.

Diversified talent pipelines and soft skills dominate recruitment trends in 2023!

Diversified talent pipelines and soft skills are set to dominate recruitment trends for companies in 2023. According to Harvard Business Review, organizations must shift their focus from candidates' credentials and prior experience to assessing their skills to perform the role. Gartner's research on hiring trends of 2023 shows that candidates are charting nonlinear career paths and applying for jobs outside their current areas of expertise. This shift in talent acquisition means hiring managers are now less concerned with industry experience and technical skills. An article from the Harvard Business Review states that employing a skills-based approach can ensure more accurate alignment between job seekers and employment opportunities, significantly increase the size of talent pools, and enhance internal career mobility and employee dedication. Furthermore, they report that the skills-based approach holds the potential to mitigate the inequalities in the economy and society, which are damaging to the well-being of institutions. This is why it is essential to expand your company’s range of talent sources and prioritize the development of soft skills in order to diversify talent pipelines and stay on top of 2023 recruitment trends.

Why you should work with a recruiter in 2023.

As recruitment trends continue to evolve in 2023, it's becoming increasingly important for companies to work with recruiters to find and attract top talent. At Blue Signal, our recruiters are experts in navigating the job market and can provide valuable insights into emerging recruitment trends, allowing companies to stay ahead of the curve and attract the best candidates. Our recruiting team can help companies build strong employer brands, which is critical in attracting and retaining top talent. By working with Blue Signal, companies can leverage their expertise and resources to find the right candidates for their organization, ensuring a more efficient and effective executive hiring process. Ultimately, working with a recruiter can help companies save time and money while ensuring they have the talent needed to achieve their business goals in 2023 and beyond.

Don't let the daunting task of implementing these recruitment trends overwhelm you - let a professional take the pressure off your hands. Take the first step towards improving your hiring process by contacting a recruiter today!

Implement these top recruitment trends into your hiring practice.

With the job market constantly changing, it is essential for hiring managers to stay informed about the latest hiring strategies to attract and retain top talent. At Blue Signal, we understand the importance of staying up to date with industry knowledge and providing clients with innovative solutions to overcome even the most challenging hiring obstacles. We hope that our exploration of the top five recruitment trends for 2023 has provided valuable insights for employers looking to differentiate themselves and succeed in their respective industries. As your partner in the process, we encourage employers to stay on top of the latest hiring strategies to ensure they have the best chance of finding and securing the right candidates for their organizations. Click the icons below to join our social media community and stay up to date on all the latest hiring trends!

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How to Grow During a Recession: Top 5 Things You Can Do to Recruit and Hire

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It’s no secret the fear of a recession is on the rise. According to a recent article by CNBC, “A U.S. recession is ‘quite likely’ next year as persistent inflationary pressures force the Federal Reserve to shift interest rates higher than expected.” As you can see, the experts agree a recession may be coming in 2023. Knowing an economic downturn is likely, you may wonder how to grow during a recession.

Blue Signal is here to answer that question. There are many things your company can do to grow during a recession and stay ahead of any economic downturn impact to your business. Our team is deeply involved in understanding the current market trends that will make a difference to your hiring strategy; an approach that is crucial for growth during a recession. While economic downturns can be scary, they also foster unique opportunities to take advantage of. According to a study from Bain & Company, there are 47% more “rising star” companies during declines than in stable economic periods. So, what makes a “rising star” company despite the consequences of an economic decline? Keep reading to learn the top five things you can do to recruit and hire during a recession.

Top 5 Tips Include:

Image of people sitting around table discussing with text overlay of five things you can do to grow during a recession.

First, What NOT To Do – A Hiring Freeze

As the fear of the recession settles in, news of layoffs begins. While downsizing may seem like the safer route, it can also bring serious consequences to your company. A hiring freeze could result in loss of profits, the opposite of its intended purpose to reduce costs. According to The Human Capital Hub, a hiring freeze can cause a decrease in productivity, bad publicity, fewer opportunities for development, and responsibilities burdening for current employees. Research of past recessions found “companies that reacted very negatively to the recession remained flat, while those companies that doubled down and took advantage of competitive moves to drive growth, actually had outsized growth coming out of a recession” according to Bain & Company.

Rather than halting all hiring, begin by strategizing your hiring plan moving forward. It’s important to distinguish what your company needs most to succeed and grow during the recession. An economic challenge can be a great opportunity to grow, and the first step is to have a recession proof hiring plan. During a recession, it’s important to be more strategic and stay ahead of the challenges that may arise. In fact, a report from ZoomInfo found “the companies that take a more focused and targeted go-to-market approach come out on top.”

To Grow During a Recession, Conduct a Skills Gap Analysis

A skills gap analysis is a vital tool to utilize to identify what skills your workforce possesses and what they lack, especially if you want to grow during a recession. Conducting a skills gap analysis can help ensure the organization is ready for any changes and challenges that may lie ahead. “The analysis will prompt essential management questions, expose latent staffing problems, and map out a path to increased efficiency and productivity” states a report from SHRM. The skills gap report can guide hiring priorities, create opportunities for training and development, and provide insight on where to allocate funding.

Steps to conduct a skills gap analysis listed on an image of a hiring manager analyzing a graphed hiring growth plan.

Find the Right People

It’s important to not cast your hiring net too wide. Utilizing the results from a skills gap analysis, companies can narrow down their search to fit their crucial hiring needs. According to Forbes, it’s important to focus on quality over quantity, despite the increased competition during this time. Now is the time to reach back out to passive candidates and seize the opportunity. A report from the Harvard Business Review recommends asking top leaders within your company “to list three to five great players they would have liked to have hired over the past five years and then check in with those people.” With layoffs on the rise, the Harvard Business Review suggests this is the perfect time to “source potential candidates from target sectors and companies who may now be either jobless or open to change.”

"Quality over Quanity" graphic overlayed on an image of a business woman pointing to herself in happiness with her thumbs up.

Offer Competitive Salary and Benefits

During economic downturn, companies are focusing their search on highly qualified individuals to fulfill their open roles, making the talent pool more competitive than ever. As a result, competition drives up the price of high-impact workers. So, ask yourself, is your company offering an appealing package? Research from SHRM found that U.S. salary budgets are projected to grow, on average, just over four percent for 2023. The report also stated that “the labor market, inflation, and hiring and retention pressures were cited by respondents as key decision drivers in setting pay budgets for 2023, along with concerns over economic pressures.”

But what if you don’t have the capital to increase salaries? If you don’t have room to increase your salary budget, consider offering non-monetary benefits like remote work, unlimited PTO, volunteer time off, and more. Offering remote opportunities can increase your talent search pool, provide your company with a competitive edge, and help save money. That’s right, according to findings from Fortune not only do employees save money by working remotely, but it can benefit your company too! Offering non-monetary benefits can greatly impact your ability to grow during a recession, without costing your business.

Focus on Company Culture to Grow During a Recession.

While economic declines can be stressful, it is important to not lose focus of building a positive company culture. SHRM states, “while it's tempting to focus on the bottom line and keep costs down, remember that your employees are your most valuable asset.” If employees are unhappy, they will not perform well and if performance is down, so is business. By building a positive, diversified, inclusive work environment, your company will stand out to job seekers and help to retain your current workforce by keeping them happy.

A group of employees high fiving with a quote overlayed on the image reading "By building a positive, diversified, inclusive work environment, your company will stand out to job seekers and help to retain your current workforce."

In Conclusion

The challenges of keeping your company afloat during an economic downturn can be intimidating, and trying to grow during a recession may be even more daunting. With these five strategies to grow during a recession, your company will be equipped to not only survive but excel. As recruiting experts, Blue Signal has the industry knowledge to help your company navigate your hiring efforts during these difficult economic declines. When planning your recruiting strategy during a recession, remember to consider ways to build resiliency into your workforce. By staying clear of hiring freezes, conducting a skills gap analysis, narrowing your search for the right candidates, offering competitive pay and benefits, and focusing on the company culture, your company can find growth amid the recession. If you want to grow during a recession but are unsure of where to start, contact our team at Blue Signal today to schedule a call and address your hiring needs.

Building an Effective Recession Hiring Plan

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As the end of 2022 rapidly approaches, many companies are beginning to look forward to the new year. This is the best time of year for planning and goal setting – which includes curating a hiring plan! It is exciting to anticipate future growth and accomplishments, however, we would be remiss to not address the impending recession. While experts agree a global recession is likely coming at some time in 2023, it is nearly impossible to predict its severity or length. No matter the case, many companies will likely feel the effects of the upcoming recession.

Not all hope is lost, though! In fact, a report from NACE provided an encouraging statistic showcasing that employers project a 14.7% increase in hiring for the class of 2023 college graduates. With all of that in mind, it is crucial to build an effective recession hiring plan to not just survive, but thrive through the recession and beyond. As a senior leader, it’s important to create a recession hiring plan, commit to it, and follow through. In times of uncertainty, your team will be looking to you for guidance, so it is crucial that you remain transparent and carry out your recession hiring plan. But how?

Bar grpah showing NACE study on hiring trends fro college graduates with 2023 outlook

2023 Hiring Outlook

The first step in building an effective recession hiring plan is to evaluate the future hiring landscape. The US talent acquisition outlook is always challenging, and that trend will likely prevail in 2023 due to the fear of a recession and its effects. One positive prediction from experts is the expectation that demand for workers in America will continue to outpace supply in 2023. In addition, businesses will also face greater demand for highly skilled workers that local talent cannot cover. This means the 2022 trend of remote work dominating job openings is here to stay. This is an advantage when building a recession hiring plan as hiring managers will be able to source and hire talent outside their area!

Why It’s Important to Have a Recession Hiring Plan

It may seem counterintuitive, but a recession can be a great opportunity for a company to grow. Hiring and retaining high-quality workers is an essential growth strategy amid an impending recession. In fact, Bain & Company's research of past recessions showed a glaring difference in the outcomes of businesses that remained assertive in a slow economy, compared to those that took a more conservative approach. Also, companies that have continued to hire during a recession have been able to take advantage of the market. If you can, make it a priority to look for new hires during a recession — you may find the best talent is suddenly available. Since this type of financial climate can ultimately impact your bottom line, having a clear sense of your needs and filling and retaining your crucial roles first can help you streamline your budget without sacrificing essential hires. Therefore, it’s important to be even more strategic when it comes to your recession hiring plan in order to stay ahead of the challenges of a recession.

Three women working collaboartively with ideas ona whiteboard. Reasons to have a recession hiring plan listed in the foreground

Strategies for Building a Recession Hiring Plan

Thus far, we have addressed concerns regarding an impending recession and looked at predicted hiring trends for the coming year. Also, we’ve discussed the “why” behind building your company’s recession hiring plan. Now it’s time to look at the “how.”  Both facets of your recession hiring plan will help you determine the best path to hiring and success through the recession, as well as beyond it.

Look Beyond Layoffs

Companies that emerged from prior recessions the most successful, leaned less heavily on layoffs to cut costs, and relied more on operational improvements as a part of their recession hiring plan. It is well known that layoffs can hurt team morale and dampen productivity. Across-the-board pay cuts or hiring freezes that fail to consider employee productivity have been found to backfire, damage morale, and drive away the most valuable employees. However, some layoffs are inevitable during an economic downturn. If your company layoffs are unavoidable, consider utilizing an outplacement program like the one provided by Resume and Career Services. This program strives to soften the impact of displacing employees by providing expert resources, tools, and skills needed to find a new position fast.

Diversify Talent Sourcing

A recession can serve as a time for your company to seize the opportunity for recruiting new and unique talent. In fact, 44% of business owners who participated in a Universum survey said they would cast a wider net to attract new talent. There are two ways to go about diversifying where you find talent to enhance your recession hiring plan. One way is to look outside of local regions in which you typically recruit. By removing geographic limitations on job searches and considering remote applicants, you can truly hire the best of the best — not just the best of who’s located nearby. Another way is to be open to candidates who may not be an exact fit for the role but are looking for growth opportunities and have the drive to learn a new skill in your industry. While focusing on work experience alone may make them look less qualified on paper, transferable skills are valuable and often make up for any gaps in experience. These candidates also give you the opportunity to train them on your specific business processes without their sometimes biased, past experiences interfering.

Leverage Recruiters

According to a LinkedIn article on 2023 job trends, we can expect an uptick in candidates partnering with recruiters. Therefore, companies should consider partnering with a recruitment agency that already has a thorough recruiting process — one with the expertise, experience, time, and resources to pitch your organization to top talent and successfully attract those individuals to your company.

Partner with Blue Signal's Recruiting Team!

Good recruiters will specialize in an industry and have a finger on the pulse of hiring trends affecting that market, as well as a network of top talent looking for new opportunities. It is especially important to keep a recruiter in your back pocket that has solid relationships with sought-after, passive candidates. This will give your recession hiring plan an advantage in the recruiting process without spending valuable time sourcing candidates on your own.

BAckground is group of employees wokring together to develop a recession hiring plan. The foregraound lists the three main points to keep in mind when developing the recession hiring plan.

As leaders in the recruiting industry, Blue Signal is uniquely aware of hiring challenges, especially during an economic downturn. However, there are ample opportunities for growth and a lot to look forward to in 2023 despite overall projections showcasing a daunting landscape. The number one thing hiring managers and departments can do in the face of these predictions is formulate a strong recession hiring plan and follow through. This recession hiring plan should include strategizing beyond just layoffs, casting a wider net of potential candidates, and leveraging recruiters to gain access to industry trends and top-tier candidates. Not sure where to start? Reach out to the team at Blue Signal today for an intake call to address your hiring needs.