The last few years have been tumultuous, to say the least. Yet few areas of business have gone through bigger swings than hiring. According to our latest survey data, this has had a huge impact on hiring professionals.
Criteria recently released the 2021 Hiring Benchmark Report, the fourth annual report of its kind based on data from a survey of over 400 hiring professionals. The report sheds light on some of the biggest trends in HR and recruiting today, and provides a pulse on the climate within talent acquisition.
One of the most striking themes from the report: hiring is harder in 2021 than it was last year. We asked hiring professionals how challenging hiring is compared to 2020, and two-thirds (66%) said that hiring is more challenging this year. 29% said that it felt about the same, and just 5% felt that hiring is easier this year.
Knowing everything we know about the talent market right now, this shouldn’t come as too great of a surprise. Many industries are facing talent shortages in key roles. At the same time, the Great Resignation is putting pressure on organizations to retain their talent amidst an increasingly competitive candidate-driven landscape.
In fact, we also asked hiring professionals how many job applicants they were getting, and the majority (56%) said they’ve been receiving fewer job applicants this year compared to last year. 30% said they were getting about the same number, while 14% said they were getting more job applicants.
If that weren’t enough, organizations continue to operate under some degree of uncertainty thanks to the ongoing effects of COVID-19. Many companies have adapted to hybrid and remote work models, and this has put pressure on the hiring process to adapt to changing demands.
While the talent market is certainly presenting its fair share of challenges, it also provides organizations with the opportunity to reevaluate their talent strategy and pivot in order to achieve their hiring goals. Whether it’s by adjusting their requirements in job descriptions, or using more evidence-based tools in the selection process, or even increasing the dollars put towards recruiting efforts, we expect organizations to come up with creative solutions to rise to the occasion.
To uncover more trends in hiring today, download your copy of the 2021 Hiring Benchmark Report.
