2023 has all the hallmarks of a challenging year, with a cost of living crisis creating pressures for households, inflation pressuring businesses and the prospect of a recession concerning to all. However, it also promises plentiful opportunities thanks to emerging new technologies, increased flexibility, and greater connectedness.
To help HR managers and teams navigate this new landscape, we’ve compiled our thoughts on key recruitment trends set to shape the next 12 months.
Skills-based hiring
Back in 2019, Gartner named the global skills gap as one of the biggest threats to organisations and it’s a statement that continues to hold weight today. However, we’re already seeing many business leaders making moves to address that gap by taking a second look at their hiring practises.
The US computer manufacturer, IBM was one of the earliest adopters of this shift with its ‘skills not degrees’ approach to recruitment. It’s something we expect to see more of in 2023, as hiring teams focus more on what capability a candidate can show, rather than what their degree certificate may say.
Internal recruitment
Internal recruitment looks set to be a recurring theme, as businesses consider how best to fill key roles. With more than 70% of employees in lower paid roles having applied for career advancement opportunities according to McKinsey research, there’s a clear opportunity to recruit internally by offering upskilling and further training opportunities to existing team members keen to make a step up.
Flexibility will become entrenched
New government plans to make flexible working a legal requirement will mean that everyone has the right to request amends to when and where they work. Although many workplaces already offer some degree of flexibility as a legacy of the working from home revolution seen during the pandemic, we expect that this will be formalised and expanded upon in many workplaces.
The nature of this flexibility will differ from company to company, based on industry and role, but could mean employees have more say over their rota, the introduction of flexi-hours or job sharing.
Proactive rest will improve performance
The last few years have been stressful, and with many households now experiencing financial pressures as a result of the cost of living increase, it’s no surprise that the culminative effect of the pandemic plus money worries has left many employees grappling with increased feelings of stress and anxiety.
Gartner research shows that the average employee will work nine hours of unpaid overtime per week, yet only 43% of team members trust their leaders to act in their best interests. This disconnect and fatigue has a direct impact on performance, but the decline can be reversed with the introduction of proactive rest. It says proactive rest should become embedded into the workflow, with employees able to access suitable tools and resources to rest guilt free when they need to do so. This shift can help to reduce burnout by as much as 20% and increase performance by 26%.
