2020 has been a year no one will forget. What started out as a strong year with soaring global economies and record-low unemployment levels, all of it flipped upside down in a matter of a few weeks. Because of the huge challenge’s organisations have faced over the year, recruitment and hiring have changed, and in many cases for the better.

Remote interviews and remote onboarding have quickly become the new normal, which might shape the way hiring is handled in the future.

As economies around the world are picking back up, so is hiring. How might hiring differ in 2021?

Read on to learn our top predictions.

Hiring will start picking up

Business is slowly but surely picking back up not just in the UK, but globally. This means organisations that might have paused their SAP or tech projects will resume more confidently, hiring at an increased rate.

We expect to see increased activity in all hiring, especially in the tech space. Tech hiring has already recovered to the post-pandemic level in the UK, so 2021 is looking bright.

Although the recruitment market has been very much client-led due to the influx of available candidates in 2020 due to job losses over COVID, we see the balance of jobs to job seekers starting to normalise in 2021.

Employer branding

As candidates are starting to get snapped up again, it’s more important than ever to ensure your employer branding is effective in attracting the top talent.

Tech talent are looking to join organisations they can trust and that can adapt to extreme changes, as we all know this isn’t over yet. People want to know how organisations have looked after their people in the past year and what they can expect going forward.

Flexibility & remote working set to continue

Although some organisations were slowly embracing remote working prior to COVID-19, lockdown measures meant the workplace had no choice in the matter. Those companies that were able to, had to quickly update their processes and systems to enable their employees to work from home.

Many clients have reported to us that working from home has in fact worked far better than they had anticipated. Many have even reported increased productivity. As an SAP & tech recruitment agency with an award-winning technology infrastructure at the forefront of our operations, we have seen the benefits of working from home too.

Having gone through a year of working remotely, organisations are likely to keep hiring on a remote basis until it is safe to work from the office. As social distancing is projected to linger for another few years, organisations are likely to keep a balance between on site and remote working.

After almost a year of doing so, people see the personal benefits of a more balanced approach to work. Candidates will likely start requesting more remote working and flexibility as the norm rather than as as perk.

Some companies will use this as an opportunity to down-scale their office spaces to align with this new way of working and save on costs.

AI (Artificial Intelligence) to ramp up

2020 has been a big year for AI, and it’s reaching the hiring process too. According to CareeBuilder, 50% of organisations already use AI to source and screen candidates. This year has highlighted many processes that can be automated to save time.

What does this mean for candidates? Their applications will need to be spot on, including the relevant keywords, so the AI software picks up the candidates that are an exact match for the job the recruiter is working on. Don’t be intimidated by this prospect as you can turn it into an advantage with increased attention to detail and using the relevant keywords.

For those nervous about losing that personal touch from their local recruiters, AI in recruitment works in partnership with the recruiters and cannot replace the human element.

Diversity will continue to play a growing role in hiring

With Gen Z continuing to enter the workforce and baby boomers retiring later in their careers, generational diversity in hiring is set to continue its trend in 2021.

Furthermore, as candidates are able to apply for remote working, this creates an opportunity for candidates with weaker links to the city to apply for jobs. This might boost the diversity of people from different backgrounds applying and landing jobs.

Thank you for being with RED in 2020. We look forward to welcoming 2021 and making it a positive and fruitful year.

Visit our blog page now for more SAP and tech career and industry insight, as well as fun content for this holiday season.