Hiring and recruiting have always been dynamic and challenging aspects of HR. In the last decade, HRs have observed an essential shift to a candidate-driven job market and the emergence and domination of new recruitment channels. 

Over the past few years, we've experienced an unforeseen hiatus in hiring, the Great Resignation, Quiet Quitting, and now the rise of record-level inflation affecting compensation levels. 

It’s an understatement to say that the past few years have changed hiring and recruitment. Some companies changed the way they hire by switching the entire process online. Another novelty is that more companies are joining the remote work trend that allows them to hire around the globe. 

Not all companies and industries hire online and remotely, but they surely experience the changes in a candidate-driven job market. Flexibility, pay transparency, and career growth opportunities are becoming key decision-making factors when applying for jobs.

With these ten hiring and recruitment statistics, you’ll be better prepared to craft a successful recruitment strategy this year.

54% of recruiters have seen candidates turn down an interview or job offer due to a lack of flexibility and remote work options.

The pandemic has impacted what we expect from work in a profound way. One of the main drivers of the Great Resignation movement was a more-or-less mandatory call back to the offices. Job seekers now prioritize flexible, remote work options more frequently.

The software and IT industry lead this trend: reported 72% of companies in this industry allow remote work in some capacity. Considering that 36% of companies globally struggle to recruit skilled tech workers — and the talent gap is only growing wider — this isn’t surprising. The growth pace of many companies in tech and IT propelled them to widen the benefits package and offer remote work to capture talent from anywhere in the world. 

The fact is that highly qualified workers are in demand, and remote work options are attractive due to time- and cost-saving opportunities, better work balance, and more. A slightly better compensation package cannot outweigh these benefits for workers that aren’t in a hurry to find a new job.

Job seekers are willing to trade an average of 12% of their salary for training and flexibility. 

Yes, we knew that candidates wanted more flexible jobs. But training is also high on their wish list.

Is this because companies didn’t do a great job with onboarding and training during the pandemic — when it was all done online and remote? Or is it just a continuation of a long-before-present trend of lacking development opportunities in organizations?

Gallup’s research from 2016 shows that 87% of Millennials find career growth and development opportunities important in a job. According to Gartner, one of the main reasons employees quit in 2018 is the lack of future career development.

Even though the persistence of this trend is disheartening, it points to a window of opportunity for recruiters and their companies. Including career growth and training in their employee value proposition is a sure way to attract candidates that want to grow in their new roles. An example would be including specific development opportunities after 3, 6, and 12 months from the signing date in job descriptions.

62% of recruiters in 2021 listed improving the quality of hire as their top priority.

The quality of hire is a complex metric that ties into the long-term contributions of a new hire. However, for recruiters, it comes down to this: choosing the right candidate that will perform well and stay with the company longer.

Increasing the quality of hire is complex, and it’s no wonder that 62% of recruiters think it could be improved. There are a lot of steps in the talent acquisition process that could affect the quality of hire:

1. Sourcing. If you’re looking for new employees in the wrong places, the best candidate still likely won’t be the best fit for the role. Start determining the best sources of hire by finding how your top performers were hired. Or, acquire historical recruitment data and find out what sources give you the best results.
2. Benefits. Regularly updating your compensation and benefits package according to the industry standard is vital to hire the best candidates. Top performers know their worth.
3. Candidate experience. Offering subpar experience during the recruitment process leaves a wrong impression on the candidates. They could drop off, spread the word, and not reapply for new positions within the company. This reduces the possibility of choosing the best candidate, as they could lose interest during recruitment.

79% of candidates and employees want some form of pay transparency.

In addition to that, 32% of candidates want total pay transparency, meaning making all employee salaries public.

The pay transparency debate was always present among HRs: the opponents stated that the company could lose its negotiating power and the advocates said it could level the playing field for candidates and companies alike.

With salary ranges becoming mandatory for job advertisements in New York and other areas, it’s clear that governments are starting to recognize the right to this vital information when applying for a job. Including a salary range in job descriptions also has a multitude of benefits for recruiters and talent acquisition teams — it aligns the company and candidate expectations from the beginning. Since 50% of candidates had withdrawn their job application when the compensation information didn’t match their expectations, providing salary range in job descriptions turns out to save recruiters’ time, too.

79% of UK job seekers use social media during their job search.

Digital generations such as Gen Z and Millennials are already making up the majority of the world’s workforce, and social media is a part of their daily lives. It’s no wonder recruiters are using social media more frequently to find the right candidates for their job positions.

Social media includes LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and more. Finding the right channel for your job advertisements might not be the simplest task with a limited budget. Here are some useful findings from the above-linked research that might help:

• Job seekers in Hospitality, Retail, Creative & arts, Marketing, and Health & Wellbeing use social media while job hunting the most.
• People in Security, Trade, Banking, Accounting & Finance, and Engineering use social media the least while looking for a job.
• Professionals such as accountants, lawyers, and project managers predominantly use LinkedIn in their job search; Twitter is the most popular channel among Marketing and PR job seekers; people looking for jobs in Hospitality or Retail will mostly use Facebook.

70% of the global workforce comprises passive talent who aren’t actively job searching, and the remaining 30% are active job seekers.

In other words, there’s a large, silent majority of candidates that you need to put extra effort into reaching because they’re not applying for jobs. How will you interest them in your openings and engage them to apply?

Nourishing your employer brand goes a long way in this case. With a strong employer brand, you can widen the pool of candidates for open job positions by attracting some passive job seekers.

Creating a presence for your brand on your candidates’ preferred social media — see the statistic above — could make a big difference. Research shows that 80% of employees would seek a new job after only one bad day at work. Knowing what your company offers could prompt them to check out your open positions. A simple application process (for example, just with their LinkedIn profile) will lead to a previously passive candidate in your recruiting pipeline.

Of course, this will not happen with all the candidates. But, considering that such a big majority is passive, employer branding activities on your candidate-rich social media channels could justify your investments.

If they receive no feedback on their application from a company, 80% of candidates won’t reapply to any of its open positions again.

This finding from Lever can be amplified with these two pieces of research:

• 64% of candidates who experience a negative hiring process would share that experience with their family and friends, with 27% going on to actively dissuade others from applying to the same organization, according to Retorio.com
• Candidates are 4x more likely to consider your company for a future opportunity when you offer them constructive feedback.

Considering the everlasting problem of a lack of qualified candidates, organizations must understand that offering insightful feedback to rejected candidates can lead to damaging consequences for the company and is not a waste of recruiters’ time.

Instead, it should be seen as a great employer brand tactic (you’ve probably seen a LinkedIn post from candidates praising the company that rejected them but gave them feedback) and a way to widen your talent pools with highly engaged candidates.

30%-40% of new hires are employee referrals.

Word of mouth and personal connection is still the most effective recruitment channel. In fact, 82% of employers said that employee referrals generate the best ROI out of all other sources.

Why is this important to remember? Because, way too often, employees don’t know about open positions in their companies or are not motivated to refer their contacts to them. Thus, improving the visibility of open positions and doubling down on referral program awards can prove to be a time- and cost-saving tactic for recruiters.

89% of candidates find a clear mission and purpose important in potential employers.

How do you get super-driven employees? You give them purpose.

Every candidate needs external motivation to apply for a job. Aligning with the company’s mission and purpose is the next step that signals to candidates how their jobs could be meaningful.

Glassdoor’s research found that these elements of company culture matter the most in today’s job market: 

• Customer. Listening to customers and creating value for them is key.
• Collaboration. Collaborative workplaces inspire cohesion and productivity in employees.
• Diversity. Diverse workplaces empower employees, lead to higher innovation, and ensure better decision-making.
• Integrity. A code of ethics installs a sense of pride in working for a certain company.
• Respect. Mutual respect between employees, leaders, and managers increases workplace trust and reduces potential conflict.

63% of organizations are willing to hire candidates with transferable soft skills and train them up to full proficiency.

This signals that employers are finally putting the statement ‘you don’t hire for skills — you hire for attitude’ to practice. Why is this good news?

For employers, it means gaining more control over future recruitment and hiring. If you train and develop employees for skills you know you will need in the upcoming years, there will be no talent gap to close.

However, it’s not as simple as it sounds. In order to make this tactic profitable, newly trained employees need to stay with the company longer. To fully benefit, employers must apply the best employee retention practices, such as offering attractive benefits and further investment in career development and growth.

In the end, hiring and recruiting is only one part of the total employee journey. Seeing the employee experience as a whole will improve the results of the entire HR team and help them address the most common challenges they meet.