THE FUTURE OF TALENT ACQUISITION IS HERE: TOP TRENDS FOR 2021

Building Teams: The Future of Talent Acquisition is Here: Top Trends for 2021

Trends like the digitization of hiring, a continuation of remote-friendly work environments, and a deepening commitment to diversity and inclusion will shape talent acquisition in 2021, fuelled by the developments over the past year. Are you ready?

BY MITA MANDAWKER

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COV ID-19 marked a radical change in the way we lived, worked, and hired talent for companies. The pandemic accelerated digital transformation, ushering in what some are calling a ‘F ourth Industrial revolution.’ G lobally, businesses hustled to quickly make their operations, people, and process virtual and digital-friendly. After the initial slowdown, companies have now embraced the ‘new AI will pave the way for data-driven this technology built into their HR platforms normal’ and on their way to talent decisions already, it will be important to identify and scaling businesses again. However, work with a capable, trusted technology they need the right workforce and partner. Hiring the right people in a timely and talent to do that. As more roles cost-effective manner is a challenge for every become remote-friendly and Diversity and inclusion will go beyond business. Companies will focus on a following the shakeup we saw in data-driven approach to hiring talent this year mere points on the checklist 2020, the talent market has never leveraging AI (artificial intelligence). AI is been more competitive. proven to be better at seeing patterns than 2020 was a pivotal year for diversity, especially As the demand for talent people. This will be a game-changer as it will with conversations around the Black Lives picks up, it is essential to under- help companies make smarter hiring decisions Matter movement. A lot of organizations stand what trends will shape talent defined and put down policies on diversity and eliminate unconscious bias, which acquisition in 2021 so you can be permeates the hiring processes. and inclusion for the first time. They set ready to bring the best talent onto diversity targets, to reflect their stance on Companies will start integrating your team. We anticipate that AI-powered chatbots for the initial phases of diversity and inclusion, especially in their trends like the digitization of applicant screening to better identify the top talent decisions. hiring, a continuation of remote- candidates before taking them to the next F or many companies, 2021 will be a friendly work environments, and a stages in the hiring cycle (scheduling multiple year for accountability. Companies will move deepening commitment to diversi- rounds of interviews, etc.) beyond checking off items on their diversity ty and inclusion will shape talent The use of AI will also permeate the and inclusion checklist, to showing the outacquisition in 2021, fueled by the other phases of the employee lifecycle like comes of their efforts. Inclusion will become developments over the past year. automation of employee verification, onboard- more than a word: for companies to retain Are you ready? ing, etc. Since most companies do not have amazing, diverse talent, it will be essential for

those employees to feel heard and included at their workplace. It’s important to remember that when it comes to building diverse and inclusive teams, there’s no “perfect” playbook. We expect to see many companies move beyond basic lip service to deepening their commitments to their diversity and inclusion initiatives.

Agile, cross-functional teams will rise, built, and dismantled on a project basis.

E mployers have to show —technology space, could not have not tell explained the — what their company is all about. Candidate experience was always E very small step matters – from important, especially with a distinct shift sending email/ text reminders to towards remote working and hiring. It candidates a day before the interwill become important for companies to view to sharing employee pictures, provide an exceptional experience given videos, and office pictures, so canthat candidates will not be experiencing didates can virtually experience or their offices and culture in person. visit the workplace. This will help E very HR and hiring activity candidates get a taste of company from attracting talent, to showcasing culture and team without physically employer brand, to sourcing talent, to visiting offices. COV ID-19 forced companies to evaluate and interviewing, will need to be built to change the way we work – from siloed provide a great digital experience for department-based working to more agile, candidates to attract top talent. cross-functional, project-based teams. Companies The top employers will have a Mita is a Marketing Manager at will continue to re-work their organizational candidate communication plan, which Shortlist based in Mumbai, Mahastructure to foster agility and collaboration. will make all relevant information rashtra, India Agility and collaboration have proven crucial for available to candidates about the ensuring business continuity and success, a lesson company. hard-learned from the pandemic. A lot of companies have already started moving from permanent hires to staffing their teams with part-time resources, who work on predetermined projects for a set time-frame before moving on. We will continue to see a spike in the number of freelancers in the coming year. This approach to leveraging talent will also change the way companies assess and hire talent. Candidates with potential and transferable skills, like adaptability and problem-solving will be prioritized over their pedigree and technical capacity to do specific tasks.

Remote hiring is here to stay

Over the last year, recruiters and HR managers learned that it is possible to do end-to-end hiring and onboarding remotely. E specially with the cost and time savings possible when hiring goes virtual, remote hiring will pick up this year. We expect the hiring process will be a combination of in-person and remote processes, depending on the positions being hired for. F or instance, for entry-level positions, the complete hiring process may be remote, with the new hires making their first physical contact with the company on their day of joining (maybe not, in the case of remote workers). F or the senior, executive-level hires, the hiring process may constitute a mix of remote and in-person processes. But, for companies to leverage remote hiring, they need to define, refine and keep improving their virtual hiring processes, finding the right technology that works for them, and making sure there is enough human contact present in the remote hiring procedures.

Digital candidate experience will be prioritized

“Online video interviewing, digital assessment, and digital candidate experience strategies were ‘nice to have’ before the crisis. Now they’re business-critical.” Josh Bersin, a world-renowned thought leader in HR, Leadership, and HR