The future of recruitment in the next 12-18 months
Continuing our four-part miniseries on the future of recruitment, we share insights from recruitment experts on what they think will happen in the next 12 – 18 months in the recruitment sector.
I think the sector will change to become more of an employers’ market. Employers will be required to have more flexibility around their working practices and there’s going to be a lot more working from home. This will lead to a demand for smaller office spaces.
When looking for and acquiring new staff, employers are going to be looking for those with working from home capabilities, those who are self-driven and able to achieve results without being in an office environment. And that’s also going to impact on how you recruit for your clients.
Ann Swain, Global CEO of APSCo, agrees. “The recruitment market in 12 to 18 months’ time is going to be more client led than it’s been in a very long time. Clients are going to be looking for contract staff while they gauge what’s happening in a future economy, and I think there’s going to be a whole load of new start-up’s with people feeling it’s time for them to do it on their own.”
“The world of work is changing, that will change in the recruitment with smaller offices, more people with flexible and agile hours, and there is still money to be made and a service to give.”
DeeDee Doke, Editor of Recruitment Magazine, says “Recruitment is a one-stop-shop for matching skills with new requirements. Furloughed flight attendants worked in the NHS during the pandemic, Ford manufacturing teams made ventilators instead of cars. Skills can be rediscovered, reapplied, and redeployed. Perhaps this is COVID-19’s gift to us.”
The team at Footprint Digital see the opportunity in finding new work for those made unemployed by COVID-19. Dave Roscoe, Business Development, suggests that “There is going to be a huge talent pool out there: lots of people, very skilled individuals, that no longer have jobs. It’s just a question of making some noise. If you’re not out there, if you’re not reaching out to people and if you’re not attempting to be visible then the danger is that these great candidates are going to pass you by.”
His colleague, Chris Green, Head of Marketing Innovation adds to this – “but the recruiter needs to demonstrate that they can match these people well to positions coming in, to show their prospective clients that. There’s going to be more of an emphasis to make better and more meaningful connections.”
“Personalisation has always been something so important to recruitment,” says Tom Jepson, Director. “I think people want to feel like that they’re being championed. You [as the recruiter] need to be visible. You need to be a beacon of authority and trust.”
Tom Bowden, Director, sums it up perfectly, “The world needs great recruiters at the moment and so it’s a great time of opportunity.”
Of course, you won’t be able to help everyone. Tracey Barrett, Managing Director for BlueSky PR thinks that recruitment businesses will be “operating against a backdrop of, potentially, a sea of candidates that you can’t necessarily help depending on what sector you’re recruiting into, and also it’s going to be a very client led market. So, adding value to your clients through good content is going to be important in terms of giving yourself a differentiator.”
“But being able to signpost candidates that you can’t help to good content that helps them in their career, so they go away with a good feeling about your brand for the future is going to be equally important. So, get that content strategy right now, and that will stand you in good stead for unlocking that lockdown.”
Across the pond, David Ellis, Director at Precision Global Consulting, predicts that the US staffing market will become global, “I think we’ll see a lot more employers accessing remote talent. Whether that remote work is in the US, in other states of the US, or potentially even the whole global talent pool that is now available.” And this is something that all recruiters, globally, could be a part of.
We will continue this miniseries next week, discovering more insights into what digital recruitment will really mean, and how recruiters plan to move out of survival mode.
This series was inspired by our future of recruitment video, which you can watch here. For more information you can check out our Blogs or Resources pages or you can visit the COVID-19 section on our UHY website.
To discuss how COVID-19 has impacted your business and to find out how Recruitment Accountants can support you please get in touch, you can call us on 0845 6060 9632 or email hello@recruitmentaccountants.com.
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