5 Challenges Recruiters Will Face This Year

The past few years have seen monumental shifts in ways of working around the world, with knock-on effects that have changed the way we search, engage and recruit talent. Templeton and Partners reveal what 2023 holds in store for recruiters, and how upcoming challenges can be met and overcome.

1. Growing Mismatch Between Client Demands and Candidate Wants

The beginning of 2023 saw some firms eager to get their employees back into the office. However, as found by countless surveys from the past three years, the vast majority of people want flexible work, yet in 2023 only three out of 10 job adverts actually mention flexibility. Appetite for part-time roles has rocketed in the past decade, despite reluctance from employers to facilitate job-sharing and pursue more flexible options.

Templeton’s recent market report found that flexibility is the number one factor candidates will be looking for in a new job for 2023; recruiters will need to expend efforts convincing their clients to amend their offering, and balance candidate expectations with reality.

2. Longer Hiring Times for International Sourcing

Low unemployment is exacerbated by the 330,000 workers lost from the UK following Brexit, and the UK’s decision to leave the EU will continue to impact those working in recruitment. Availability of talent, competitiveness to recruit European nationals into the UK, and new immigration rules will elongate most international hiring processes.

Recruiters can’t avoid additional admin time and associated resource costs, but they can soften the impact by practising close communication with every client and candidate, working collaboratively with their own compliance teams, and helping client businesses to plan proactively for international expansion.

3. Harnessing the Right Technology

Compared with the old days of a CRM and a phonebook, recruitment technology has rocketed in advancements over the past few years alone. Recruitment tech has also increased in complexity and cost, leaving many to wonder whether the bells and whistles are actually worth the investment. The latest trend of ‘data-driven’ recruitment practices could cause more problems than it solves: years and even decades of poorly processed data could lead consultants up the wrong path, resulting in inaccurate hiring strategies and wasted time.

Properly harnessing technology means only using what you need, for what you need. Micro agencies can’t possibly put huge volumes of data on every candidate’s website clicks or social media impressions to the best use, whilst larger firms will need to overhaul legacy systems to ensure all tech works together smoothly. Recruitment is a people industry, but we need to become technically literate too: the best consultants will continue to prioritise candidate and client needs at the heart of their activities, and work with their IT and marketing departments to use tech strategically, only in the right ways and the right places.

4. Younger Candidates’ Focus on Values

The youngest demographic to enter the workforce are increasingly connecting their day jobs to their own identities, wanting organisational values and missions to match their own. Growing up as digital natives with the ability to access world issues and instant news from their pockets means Gen Z are also fluent in sustainability. Gen Z will be increasingly difficult to recruit in more traditional industries with less diversity, such as Financial Services, and Energy-affiliated companies with stakes in fossil fuels.

In 2023 recruiters will need to include more in-depth detail on an employer’s sustainability when pitching to candidates, with data and examples to avoid greenwashing accusations. Sustainability will increasingly cover any impact that a company has on people, animals, environment and societies, requiring recruiters to be even more well-versed in their client activities and brand impact.

5. Slower Hiring Meets Ever-Shrinking Talent Pools

The Great Resignation of 2022 is likely to create the Great Stagnation of the labour market in 2023. When combined with recent slow job creation levels, layoff announcements from leading companies, and fears of recession around the world, more firms will delay hiring plans at the same time as talent decides to stay put.

The cost of living crisis is persuading many to remain in their secure jobs, opting to leave jobseeking until 2024 where they hope the nation’s finances are clearer cut. Childcare costs are preventing parents from returning to work as early as they would like, further depleting available workforces.

Diverse talent presents the answer. Hundreds of millions of available diverse candidates are frequently overlooked and undervalued: during times of unprecedented skills shortages, diversifying your approach (literally!) will uncover untapped talent pools. Female, ethnic minority, LGBTQ+, disabled and neurodiverse professionals have the same wealth of skills and knowledge as their peers, but with experiences and ideas that employers will not have fully leveraged, and the ability to drive creativity and innovation like never before.

Templeton and Partners are a diverse tech recruitment agency working with some of the world’s largest companies across 40 countries.