Top 5 recruiting and staffing trends for 2022

The new year is rapidly approaching. With it often comes renewed hope for a year full of opportunities and positive change. But what does 2022 have in store for your staffing and recruiting efforts? Here are our top five predictions based on current trends.

Companies will have access to a broader pool of applicants

Once COVID hit, many people chose to stay home versus working, citing concerns over workplace safety due to greater exposure to the virus. That appears to be changing rapidly as one job survey found that, as of July 2021, 64.4% of job seekers indicated that they could start their new position immediately upon being hired. This was a 3.5% increase over the month before.

With more people ready to return to work, this creates a broader pool of applicants, which is good news for companies looking to bolster their staff. That said, the next trend suggests that finding your next employee may not be as simple as it may seem.

Job candidates want more

A 2021 Jobvite survey of more than 800 recruiters revealed that job candidates are now being more selective about the roles they pursue. Specifically, they are after positions that come with a larger number of benefits, with medical coverage ranking as the most important at 51%, followed by access to a 401(k) at 49% and the flexibility to work from home at 44%.

Perhaps most notably, almost three in four recruiters reported that the job candidates they’ve worked with during the past 12 months also inquired about how to push for a higher salary. This represented a 20% increase over the year before.

Diversity, equity, and inclusion are a major focus

The Jobvite survey also found that 49% of job candidates working with recruiters have requested to learn more about their prospective employer’s approach to diversity, equity, and inclusion. They want to know what the company is doing to promote a more equitable workforce. This is up from 33% in 2020.

Taking steps to create a more inclusive workforce offers benefits that extend beyond drawing in more candidates. McKinsey & Company adds that companies with more diverse employees also tend to have above-average profitability.

Personal referrals are king

The number one way that people find a new job is via referral according to data provided by LinkedIn. Additionally, recruiting through a current employee’s network can potentially expand your talent pool by up to 10 times. While some companies offer a financial incentive for employees who make a referral that ends with a hire, this isn’t necessary.

LinkedIn reports that only 6% of employees make a referral for money or recognition. In fact, the top two reasons for making a referral are because they want to help their friends and they want to help their company. One in four make the referral because they want to be considered valuable to their colleagues.

Analytics are critical to hiring success

It’s often said that, in business, it’s important to know your numbers. While this references the importance of keeping your finger on the pulse of your company’s finances, there are other numbers you should also be watching in 2022. Those are your hiring analytics.

Recruiting Brief stresses that paying attention to what works and what doesn’t when recruiting new staff can make or break a company’s ability to draw in top prospects. Insights to monitor include how many applicants are in your pipeline, offer acceptance rates, and job candidate feedback scores. These metrics can help you determine which of your strategies will bring in high-quality candidates in 2022 and which strategies are best left in 2021.

Interested in creative recruiting tips? Download our free guide here or check out our recruitment content library here. 

About the Author

Christina M. DeBusk creates small business content for a variety of publications, some of which include Businessing Magazine, Compendent, Chiropractic Economics, and more. She is also the author behind the column, "The Successful Solopreneur.

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