2022 forecasts for the recruitment industry range from a renewed focus on employer branding and an emphasis on technology that supports human-to-human interactions, to the cementation of recruitment as a professional service.
Access Recruitment, a division of The Access Group, gathered industry leading experts to share their predictions of what 2022 has in store for recruitment agencies, jobseekers and employers.
Paul Vogel, managing director of Access Recruitment comments: “2021 was a challenging year. It’s been incredible to see how the sector responded to these ever-changing, unpredictable and unprecedented times. 2022 will no doubt bring its own set of challenges, however I believe we are better prepared as an industry, especially with the support of recruitment technology, to address these challenges head-on and embrace creativity and efficiency when building on our client services.”
2022 will not be without its challenges
Geraldine King, CEO at Employment & Recruitment Federation of Ireland, predicts that 2022 will come with challenges in the shape of ongoing candidate shortages and possibly even some legislative hurdles. “However, overall, it will be buoyant with jobs and likely be an incredibly exciting year for recruitment globally,” she says.
According to Rob Prince, VP of Sales at Talent Nexus, there will be big changes in 2022 – with job board price hikes, new pricing models, advertising products and platform changes. “For firms, it will be crucial to find ways to navigate all of this, consolidating their advertising strategies and focusing on what brings ROI,” he says.
An unrivalled opportunity for evolution and change
According to Neil Carberry, CEO, Recruitment & Employment Confederation (REC) firms in 2022 will continue to experience unprecedented labour shortages and they will need help from experts. “Together, recruitment firms can transition into a much higher value, more professional service business model to work closely with clients. The idea of recruitment as a professional service will, I believe, truly come alive in 2022,” he says.
2022 will be an incredibly buoyant year for businesses, and recruiters should capitalise on this golden opportunity. Simon Bliss, Chairman at TEAM & Non-Executive Director at Principal People, comments that next year will see an “excess of 4% GDP growth, which should equate to 20% growth for recruitment companies. Recruiters should use this amazing time to build better businesses with more upfront payments, more exclusivity and more recurring revenue products to increase business value,” he advises.
James Osborne, Co-Founder, The Recruitment Network, believes the need for recruitment partners will become business critical for many companies. “Provided we have taken on board the lessons from COVID-19, and how we can shift the way we work, it will be an incredibly successful year for recruiters.”
Talent shortages will keep job seekers in the driving seat
Alex Fourlis, Managing Director, Broadbean UK, says that jobseekers will continue to have the power in the labour market next year. “In 2022, employers will need to work very hard to improve pay, working conditions and to offer more incentives for jobseekers to join them,” he says.
According to Dave Pye, Co-Founder and Director, Jump Advisory Group, one of the biggest challenges of 2022 will be retention. “Holding onto your people, developing them and watching them mature alongside the industry, will be a real challenge for everyone next year,” he warns.
Globalisation will be front of mind
The number of jobs offering flexible and remote working has meant that talent pools aren’t restricted to a commutable radius around an office. “The market has become very candidate-led, with each candidate receiving multiple offers,” says Robert Greening, Senior Sales Manager, CloudCall. “Organisations will have to really focus on their employer branding to secure the most qualified applicants.”
Ann Swain, Founder and Global CEO, APSCo, predicts that the flexible, post-pandemic world of 2022 will continue to provide opportunities for individuals to work around the globe from wherever they are. “In 2022, recruitment companies will be thinking more about global expansion and where they want to be next,” she says.
Recruitment technology will come to the fore
Darren Westall, CEO, Paiger, believes that there will continue to be a focus on automation in 2022, with a drive towards personalisation as a core part of this. “New trends and products that focus on personalised, human-to-human interactions will emerge, likely driven by AI. Next year will be about using technology to get back to what recruitment is all about: person-to-person interactions and conversations,” he comments.
Paul Vogel, managing director of Access Recruitment concludes: “The right technology empowers recruitment agencies to become easily scalable, to stay ahead of the competition by boosting candidate attraction, and to improve efficiency and productivity by removing manual tasks. In 2022, with the right technology behind them, recruitment companies will equip themselves to stand out and succeed in an increasingly strong and competitive market.”
About Access Recruitment
Access Recruitment fuels the growth and profitability of staffing firms around the globe with its unique breadth of software, giving agencies the freedom to focus on their clients and candidates. With Access Workspace at the core of its “Attract. Manage. Pay” suite of front to back office technology, it offers both stand-alone and integrated solutions. The only technology provider to offer the entire spectrum from SaaS recruitment CRM, to websites, automated candidate screening, pay and bill software and services, as well as a worker app and performance and productivity analytics. In January 2022 it also acquired Vincere to enhance its global reach. Find out more https://www.theaccessgroup.com/recruitment/
