9 Helpful Trends in Recruiting to Watch for in 2024

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Harrison Mbuvi

Harrison Mbuvi is a freelance HR writer at Ongig.Harrison writes from the heart to make complex topics simple for the reader.

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Increased competition for talent, increasing demand for diverse workplaces, and growing employee expectations of better financial and mental well-being will continue to put organizations to the test in 2024. That’s why you must keep up with the latest trends in recruiting to continue attracting top talent.

Keeping up with the latest recruitment trends is important for organizations to remain competitive. It also ensures they’re able to cover their hiring needs both in the long and short term.

The latest trends in recruiting reflect the ongoing changes in society, the current state of the labor market, and emerging technological advances. 

Source: Photo by  Pch.vector on Freepik

In this article, we’ll share 9 recruitment trends to watch for in 2024. And we’ll share practical tips to help you make the best of each trend.

1. Trends in Recruiting: The use of AI in the hiring process

Artificial intelligence was already among 2023’s top trends in recruiting. And the popularity is set to grow in 2024. 

For example, according to GoodTime’s 2024 Hiring Insights Report, over 45% of talent acquisition leaders used AI in 2023. And they plan to continue using AI in 2024 to make their work easier. In line with this, employees are also seeing AI’s benefits, as a recent TalentLMS survey revealed that 66% of Gen Z employees believe AI has positively impacted their skills:

There are many HR tasks you can automate using AI and make the hiring processes more efficient. Some of these tasks are:

Offer and onboarding

A positive and engaging onboarding experience creates a positive impression on your new hires. And with AI-based tools, it has become easier for organizations to create a personalized onboarding experience for their new workers. 

For instance, AI tools can help create a gamified onboarding experience. This keeps the new employee engaged and motivated as they learn about your organization and their role.

Create job postings with fewer resources at scale

AI job description tools automate the menial job description writing process. Additionally, they remove subconscious bias from your job descriptions.

For example, Ongig’s Text Analyzer is a powerful tool for reducing bias in job description language. It reviews the language of your job descriptions and identifies gendered language. So you can make your job descriptions as gender-neutral as possible. 

Using gender-specific words can discourage applicants of any gender. So, by removing these gender specific-words, you can boost your application rate by even 29%.

And, certain jargon phrases used in the business world might discourage applicants from diverse backgrounds. Ongig’s Text Analyzer helps identify these biased phrases and words, allowing you to attract diverse groups of candidates and also avoid racial bias in recruitment (and 12+ other types of bias).

Ongig’s Text Analyzer tool also goes beyond identifying gendered words and racially sensitive language in job descriptions. It also looks for industry buzzwords and ‘boring’ language that may turn off your potential candidates and creates consistent, compliant JD templates with a few clicks.

Talent assessment

Organizations use AI-powered talent assessment tools to measure candidate personality traits, skills, and competency. These tools offer an efficient and comprehensive way to assess candidates’ skills by using, behavioral assessments, and gamification. 

This process saves time and resources for the organizations. And, it provides a great experience for candidates by making it easier for them to showcase their skills.

But, concerns about AI bias and lack of human touch persist. For example, in 2018, Amazon had to scrap a tool that was showing bias towards women. HR teams need to create a balance between using AI for efficiency and maintaining the personal touch in candidate interactions.

Practical tips for maintaining a human touch while using AI for recruitment

Maintaining a human being in your AI recruitment process will keep your candidates engaged in the whole process. Here are tips to help you:

• Use a 50/50 onboarding approach

Using automated systems during onboarding saves time. But, it’s better to use a 50/50 approach during this process. 

For example, if you set up systems for employees to fill their documents using technology such as Docusign on their own, for the next onboarding programs, have team members guide them through the process.

• Maintain transparency

Let your candidates know you use AI. Explain the data collected and the steps that use AI in the whole process. And, let them know they can provide feedback when they feel any AI bias.

• Maintain human involvement in decision-making

Use AI for the initial steps such as screening. But reserve human involvement for final decisions such as interviews and the offer stage.

Campbell Tourgis, chief operating officer at Wainbee, says:

“We’re planning a strategy that blends automation with thoughtful human involvement. We’ll enhance our automated systems to assess not only technical mastery but also soft skills and cultural fit. 

Alongside this, we’re improving communication by incorporating personalized video messages from hiring managers and introducing virtual meet-and-greet sessions. 

This ensures candidates feel valued and connected throughout the process, preventing the risk of losing the human touch as we embrace more automated recruitment practices.”

2. Trends in Recruiting: Hiring internally for open positions

The current labor market has intense competition for talent. So, this high competition has led to an increase in the need for organizations to want to fill open positions internally in 2024. 

For example, the  2021 Randstad RiseSmart’s Career Mobility Outlook survey showed that 87% of employers believed that 10% of their open roles could be filled by their current employees.

Plus hiring current employees has its benefits such as reduced time, effort, and costs that get used to hire external talent. For another thing, giving your current employees more opportunities for career advancement is a game changer that can enhance employee retention.

Practical tip for hiring internally

To succeed at hiring your current employees for new roles, do this:

• Create an internal talent inventory: Track your employees’ career goals, skills, and aspirations through career development conversations. This will help you know which employee to pick first when you notice an organizational skill gap.
• Promote job posts internally: Use your organization’s newsletters, and company communication channels to advertise the roles you’d love to hire for.
• Create employee referral programs: Encourage your workers to refer colleagues they think would make a great fit for new open positions. Offer them rewards for referring any talented employee.

Finally, internal hiring is an ongoing process. Be ready to receive feedback and adapt.

3. Trends in Recruiting: The rise of Gen Z in the workforce

Generation Z, known as Gen Z, is the generation of individuals born between 1997 and 2012. This generation is tech-savvy, diverse, and open-minded. 

And in 2024, there will be a big increase in Gen Z in the workforce. This means that recruiters have to adapt their hiring strategies to appeal to Generation Z’s expectations and unique preferences.

Gen Z candidates value mental health, career growth opportunities, and work flexibility more than the other generations. 

Organizations that attract, recruit, and keep Gen Z employees will enjoy digital skills, fresh perspectives, and a forward-thinking approach to innovation. This will make the companies thrive in the current ever-evolving business landscape.

Practical tips to attract Gen Z

To better appeal to Generation Z candidates, follow these steps:

• Promote diversity and inclusion

Lack of inclusiveness and diversity makes attracting and keeping Gen Z employees difficult.  For instance, ensure your organization is diverse in race, gender, sexual orientation, age, and disability. 

This sends a strong signal to your Gen Z applicants that your organization values all its people.

• Promote mental health awareness

Generation Z employees want to work for companies that value mental health. So, organizations must build stigma-free work cultures, and incorporate mental health programs across their business.

• Provide career development opportunities

A 2023 report by Linkedin shows that 31% of younger employees, which includes Gen Z, value opportunities in career growth, learning, and skill building. 

If they don’t see these opportunities, they are likely to leave. So, create career development programs, conferences, and online courses for them.

• Promote work-life balance

A flexible working environment is a key motivator for Gen Z employees. So offer them generous paid time off, and flexible remote working options.

Lastly, talk to your different Generation Z employees to know what they want to see your organization doing.

4. Trends in Recruiting: Skills shortage in the market

Although the candidate supply is higher in 2024 due to the layoffs in 2023, most candidates don’t have the skills organizations are looking for. For instance, according to leaders interviewed by HR Daily Advisor, the skills shortage problem will still be a challenge in 2024 just like in 2023.

Modern-day jobs need new digital skill sets which some candidates are lacking. For example, tech skills such as coding, cloud computing, and data analytics are in demand. 

These tech skills aren’t only demanded by tech companies. They are also in demand in other sectors like manufacturing, agriculture, and customer support roles.

And there’s also a soft skills shortage. Many candidates don’t have skills such as problem-solving, leadership, adaptability, and communication which are important in the modern workforce.

Practical tips for addressing skills gaps in 2024 and beyond

HR leaders need to do an audit to understand their organizational skill gaps. The below tips can help you:

• Do a skills gap analysis: This will help you deconstruct the work your employees are doing, the skills they have, and the skills they are lacking to perform their jobs well.
• Introduce professional development plans: Introduce career coaching sessions to talk with your employees. This will help you know their goals and what they need to grow.
• Offer training budget: Give your employees the funds they need for any type of training. For example, this can be a workshop or conference they feel will help them. 

5. Trends in Recruiting: An age of contracts and the gig economy

Since 2020, organizations have turned to seasonal, contingent, and freelance employees to better respond to changing market conditions, and maintain a competitive edge. 

Source: Photo by jcomp on Freepik

This trend of the gig economy is set to rise even in 2024. For example, it’s projected that in 2027 86.5 million people will be freelancing in the United States.

The challenge with the gig economy trend is the complexities in compliance management. Because, proper worker classification, faster hiring cycles, and rapid onboarding and offboarding are important to maintain a contingent workforce.

So, to simplify your contingent workforce management, build a set of processes, roles, and projects you want to hire contractors for. 

For example, instead of writing general job descriptions, write out the specific job tasks that contract workers will need to finish (e.g., write 4 blog posts per month) or processes you’d want them to finish (e.g., payroll management).

Finally, don’t forget your country’s local laws on hiring contractors.

Practical tips for hiring contractors

The process of hiring contractors is different from hiring full-time employees. To succeed, do this:

• Rely on social media hiring

Freelancers and contractors don’t frequent popular career sites. They hang out on social media and online communities. For instance, focus on Twitter and Linkedin to build relationships with them. 

You can also recruit contractors through online talent platforms such as Upwork and Fiverr. For instance, a joint study by Harvard Business School and BCG found that more companies are hiring talent through demand digital platforms like Upwork or FreeUp.

• Understand different service models 

Some contractors prefer hourly charging, others monthly retainers, others fixed-price gigs, and others project-based payment. So check if your organization’s accounting setup can accommodate all the proposed payment terms and payment cycles.

• Offer fair compensation

Like regular employees, if you don’t pay your contractors well they are bound to leave. So, pay them well, considering they also pay for their taxes. 

6. Trends in Recruiting: High focus on talent retention

Even with the hard economic times, employees are still quitting their jobs. Employees in 2024 want jobs that give them peace of mind. They’re also quitting for better company culture, new challenges, and higher compensation

Also, the new generation Z, that’s entering the labor market has shown not to stay in jobs for a long time. This is especially true if their mental health isn’t taken care of. 

Plus, according to a 2024 employee experience trends report by Qualtrics, new employees are quick to leave. And some are only staying for 6 months.

So this shows organizations need to focus on improving employee experience to increase retention of their employees. For instance, in 2023, 83% of tech organizations made efforts to change organizational culture to keep their employees.

Practical tips to improve talent retention in 2024 and beyond

To ensure you keep your talent for the long term, follow these steps below:

• Build a supportive and positive work environment

Create a culture of respect and trust. Additionally, invest in the well-being of your employees and provide them with career development opportunities. For example, offer your workers support for their mental and physical health. 

• Offer fair compensation benefits

Perform market research to ensure you’re offering your employees fair compensation. Plus, offer them comprehensive benefits packages such as paid time off, health insurance, family health package, and other perks such as catered weekly lunches.

• Reward employee achievements

According to research from Nectar HR, 71% of employees would be less likely to leave their company if they were recognized more for their work. 

So, you can recognize your employees’ efforts in different ways such as setting up peer recognition programs, including gift cards, providing career opportunities, and giving shout-outs on social media.

7. Trends in Recruiting: The rise of remote work

The need for employees to work remotely has been rising and it’s still rising in 2024. But the problem is many employers want their employees to return to the office. 

So, the only organizations that will manage to recruit top talent in 2024 are those that give their employees work flexibility.

Practical tips to create work flexibility

Flexibility in the workplace is important to the future of work. Put in place the strategies below to be ahead of the future:

• Develop a flexible work policy

What’s flexible for one employee may not be workable for another employee. 

For example, some employees may prefer to always work from home to help take care of the children or an older parent. While another employee may prefer working from the office for half the day. Other employees may prefer traveling to different destinations for work.

• Invest in tools and technology

After creating a flexible workplace program, provide employees with the tools they need to perform their tasks well. This could be communication, project management, and cloud-based software.

• Adjust your policies

Creating workplace flexibility isn’t a one-time project. Ensure to get feedback from your employees and managers to know where you need to improve. 

For example, from the feedback you might find that the program doesn’t favor working parents.

8. Trends in Recruiting: Reaching out to passive candidates is more important than before

The high competition for the top talent will continue into 2024. 

So as a recruiter, spend more effort reaching out to passive candidates. This is especially crucial for critical business positions, and, and leadership roles.

But getting the attention of passive candidates isn’t easy. To be successful, follow the practical tips below.

Practical tips for reaching out to passive candidates

• Personalize your outreach methods

Personalized communication and messaging are essential when reaching out to passive candidates. So, craft messages that speak to their interests, goals, and career aspirations. This will make your opportunity stand out. 

And, write effective job descriptions that can attract them to the role. Passive candidates will not apply to your role if your job ad is good.

• Build relationships with them

Focus on nurturing a good relationship with your passive candidates. Do this by engaging with them on networking platforms, focusing on knowing their goals, and showing that you’re genuine. So you can be on their minds when they’re looking to change roles.

• Be patient and persistent

Be patient and ensure your communication doesn’t come off as pushy to your passive candidates.

Lastly, ensure that you share opportunities with them once you get a chance.

9. Trends in Recruiting: Increased focus on Data-driven hiring

Data-driven hiring strategy has been a recruiting trend for the last couple of years. According to The Employ 2023 Recruiter Nation Report by Lever, 24% of HR leaders will continue to invest in data-driven recruiting in 2024. 

The reason for more investment in data recruiting is to increase the recruiting speed and efficiency. This is because real-time data easily reveals core recruiting metrics such as time to fill, offer acceptance rate, and sourcing effectiveness. 

Companies that don’t create data-driven hiring strategies in 2024 will struggle with recruiting top talent, compared to organizations that will take advantage of analytics.

Practical tips for creating an effective data-driven recruitment strategy

A data-driven recruitment strategy can succeed if you follow some of the steps below:

• Set goals and define your KPIs

Begin by setting clear, and measurable objectives. And align the goals with your organization’s business objectives. For example, do you want to hire for niche roles, improve hiring speed, or reduce recruitment costs? 

Examples of KPIs to help track your progress could be time to fill, new hire performance rates, and time to hire.

• Collect and organize data

Relevant and accurate data collection is important for generating meaningful insights. For example, you can collect and analyze your data from social media platforms, job boards, applicant tracking tools, and internal talent pools.

• Revamp your hiring process

Use insights from your data to improve your recruitment process. For instance, if you find that your application process is long, find methods to improve it.

Lastly, continue measuring and improving your processes.

WHY I WROTE THIS:

Ongig’s mission is to support your commitment to writing inclusive and effective job descriptions with our Text Analyzer software. Book a demo today to learn how you can automate your JD writing process to stay up on the latest trends in recruiting.

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February 16, 2024 by Harrison Mbuvi in HR Content