Top 10 Recruitment Trends to Follow in 2023

With 2022 firmly in the rearview mirror, it’s the perfect time for businesses and HR leaders to re-focus their attention on what lies ahead for the complex and fiercely competitive talent and recruitment market. But before we dive into what the year ahead has in store for the recruiting industry, let’s summarize the year behind.

Last year ushered in a candidate-driven market that had employers and recruiters revisiting their recruiting strategies and looking for ways to step up their game to attract and engage top talent. The entire industry felt the impact of the mass exodus caused by the great resignation, an influx of job vacancies not seen in nearly two decades, an unstable economy, and fundamental changes in the way people work.

Fast forward to the end of 2022 into the new year to an unstable economy, massive layoffs by big tech giants, Meta (Facebook), Twitter, and Alphabet (Google), and it’s safe to say that navigating the employment market in its current state can be a daunting prospect.

Developing the right recruitment strategy plan to meet the challenges ahead starts with understanding what those challenges are and identifying what recruiting trends 2023 has in store. To help you prepare for what lies ahead, we’re breaking down the top 10 trends you should be following this year.

Direct Sourcing will continue to gain traction

Direct sourcing, which was once primarily used for a contingent labor workforce, is rapidly becoming a mainstream recruiting solution for many businesses. And with competition for top talent higher than ever and employers looking for ways to decrease recruiting costs, you can expect to see  more and more enterprises taking their recruiting in-house with a direct sourcing model.

Direct sourcing will also continue to gain traction in 2023 because companies look to their own internal employee resources to fill open roles. Businesses looking to reduce external sourcing costs are looking for talent within their own teams or sourcing through existing talent pools of employee referrals, ex-employees, alumni, and silver medalists, to achieve maximize ROI. Once study found internal sourcing to be 9X more effective than the alternative.

Positive employer branding will become a major focus

The continuation of the direct sourcing trend will be somewhat interwoven with another HR trend you can expect to see in 2023 – employer branding as a recruiting tool. Employers are increasingly understanding the value of creating an attractive brand image and reputation in order to draw in top talent. Not to mention the need to appeal to a whole new market of job seekers. (Enter Gen Z into the workforce.)

Devising effective strategies for leveraging the employer brand or value proposition (EVP) to attract more candidates from diverse sources is going to be an important part of attracting compatible candidates to your company and perhaps more importantly – retaining compatible talent. Which brings us to our next recruiting trend for 2023.

Employee retention will be a priority

It’s not like employee retention wasn’t a huge concern for businesses before. But in 2023, in a market filled with disruption and hiring challenges on a global scale, keeping your valuable employees will be a top priority.  If you’re wondering why, consider this: the cost of replacing an employee can range from one half to 2X the employee’s salary – but wait.. there’s more!  Not only are companies recognizing that it’s more cost-effective to retain existing employees than to constantly recruit new ones, they are also realizing the broader impact turnover has on productivity, knowledge transfer, and overall company morale.

These impacts have businesses re-evaluating their recruitment strategies to ensure they’re adequately invested in employee retention efforts. This might include initiatives such as offering flexible working options, employee referral programs, enhancing employer branding, and above all else – transforming the candidate experience. After all, getting the right talent in the door is the precursor to the whole thing! Companies that can deliver an unparalleled candidate experience will be a step ahead of the competition.

Candidate experience becomes critical

It bears mentioning that many of the recruiting strategies and HR trends of 2023 aren’t exactly new. Candidate experience has been moving to the front of the line of recruitment priorities for some time now. So, what makes a great candidate experience? Cue the violins and pass the caviar? Fortunately, it’s not that complicated. But here are a few basics to consider:

• Clear, easy to read job descriptions with nice-to-haves vs a long list of must-have requirements
• Easy application process, with mobile-friendly options for applying
• Consistent communication throughout the process
• Polite and prompt follow-up if candidate is not selected, no ghosting

Virtual recruiting and video interviews become more common

2023 will see a continuation of businesses incorporating recruiting technology into their hiring strategy. Technology that allows virtual recruiting and video options for interviews will rise even more in popularity as a convenient way for recruiters to conduct more interviews with a wider range of potential candidates.

Recruiting tools like Arya, that offer options for virtual communication with candidates via  chatbots, text and automated, yet personalized emails, will help recruiters to engage talent faster, and to effectively assess a candidate’s skills and qualities to determine whether or not they are a good fit for the role.

Mobile recruiting will continue to grow

Another tech-enabled trend in 2023 will be through mobile recruiting. In the age of the smartphone,  job seekers can find the best job opportunities from anywhere at any time with the help of mobile devices. They can also quickly apply for jobs by submitting resumes or applying through online forms.

Additionally, mobile recruiting will help companies leverage other recruiting trends including virtual recruiting, video interviews, employer branding, employee retention, flexible working, social media recruiting, employee referral programs, and candidate experience.

Social media as a recruiting tool

Utilizing social media as a recruiting tool will remain an essential part of a successful recruitment strategy in 2023. As the employment market continues to evolve, companies will leverage social media platforms to attract and engage with potential candidates and  can use social media to advertise job openings and share information about the company culture and values.

Employee retention is another area where social media will play a role in 2023. Companies can use social media to connect with current employees and create opportunities for them to share their experiences with the company. This can help foster relationships between employees and increase employee engagement.

Flexible work options will be a priority

With such a huge shift to remote and hybrid working environments,  flexible working arrangements are becoming an increasingly important part of a company’s recruitment strategy. A report from ZipRecruiter found that 60% of job seekers were seeking remote roles.

With the employment market remaining hugely competitive, companies are recognizing the need to stay ahead of the curve in order to recruit and retain top talent. As a result, many are offering flexible working options such as remote work, compressed hours, and job sharing, realizing the benefits to both the employer and the employee.

Continued focus on diversifying the talent pool

Promoting a more diverse workforce has been a priority for some time and this trend will continue in 2023. One way that companies will achieve their diversity hiring goals, will be to select recruiting technology that makes it easier to find and engage with diverse talent. With a recruiting platform like Arya Quantum, diversity options are built-in with features that mask unconscious bias and help you build a more diverse pipeline of talent every day. In 2023, the companies who embrace diversity and strive to create a more equitable employment market will be better positioned to succeed in the future.

Artificial intelligence will become more prevalent

AI will continue to play an increasingly important part of the recruitment industry in 2023, as employers continue to focus on streamlining recruiting and HR processes.

The AI technology in the Arya platform is already being used to improve the talent acquisition process in a variety of ways. From automating mundane tasks like sorting resumes and scheduling interviews, to predictive analytics and advanced sourcing capabilities, AI-powered recruiting can also help recruiters discover and engage with   the candidates who are most likely to succeed in the role.

AI technology can also provide employers with valuable market intelligence and key insights into the employment market on details like compensation in a particular area, skill set distribution, industries to target, competitive analysis, and more. All of which empowers a data-driven sourcing strategy that has the potential to truly shape the future of recruiting.

Final thoughts…

2023 certainly appears to have some challenges ahead for the recruitment industry. And as the employment market continues to change, the companies who are most likely to win the war for top talent will be the ones with not only an effective recruitment strategy in place but the companies who have the right technological tools in place. With a comprehensive AI-powered tool like Arya, you’re already halfway there! To Learn More about how the power of Artificial Intuition can take your recruiting to the next level, book your demo today!