Antrea Fotiou
HR Advisor
K. Treppides & Co Ltd
2019 was a year of intense competition for talent and recruitment, where the market saw a significant growth in the number of open positions. 2020 and the world came to a hold, witnessing a pandemic like no other in the recent years.
2021 was the year of the Great Resignation. People re-evaluating their wants and needs, exploring new opportunities and creating a new norm in the recruitment, pivoting organizations towards an evolution of their recruitment strategies. Majority, if not all the organizations, had to re-evaluate their recruitment criteria and benefits, as the struggle to find talent and fill roles was increasing, to an alarming rate. With so many open roles and so few candidates, a disruption to the market was inevitable. Candidates actively searching for a new opportunity, increasing employee turnover, high number of open roles but not enough talent to recruit for. How can this be?
According to a study by Zety, examining Generation Z and their expectations, preferences, and work habits, only 19% of Gen Z would stay employed under the same employer for 3 years, 20% would stay employed for 4 or more years but, majority of responders stated that they would stay employed by their current employer for 2 years.
Millennials, which is the generation presiding Gen Z, has similar data as mentioned above. Survey results from Gallup showed that 43% of Millennials will switch job sometime within the 2 years period, whereas more than a fifth of Millennials have switched job within 12 months. At the same time, 50% of Millennials believe that they will be working for the same company within the next 12 months.
The Covid19 pandemic appeared to have shifted the loyalty significantly; data for 2022 may again show a shift, as the planet is slowly recovering from this global crisis. It will be interesting to see, and as an indicator of how the global market affects our decision making in many aspects of our lives what the respective percentages will be, for both age groups in 2022.
Like with most of events, this also will come in full circle. And 2022 so far, has been improving in terms of recruitment, at least thus far. This does not mean that, all will be like it was two years ago. The economy and life in general need to continue their path, nevertheless.
What will change?
As a great opportunity for organizations to rethink their needs, talent strategy has been reformed for a significant percentage of companies, with its priority being candidate’s experience as well as the speed in recruitment as key elements in the entire process. Organization began recruiting not only for hard-skills but also for character, ethos, and soft-skills as well, which, has been inextricably linked with the talent strategy core. One may say that organization must find a balance of both with an emphasis on human relationships and building a relationship of trust. Offering Learning & Development opportunities as well as benefits such as Flexibility, Remote work, Work-Life balance, variation in compensation, personal meaning, Gender Equality, being involved and evolved in safe spaces are some of the variables that will influence what it is now called as the ‘Great Rehire’. Great Rehire refers to the mass hiring of talent that will take place in 2022 and beyond (Source: Lever.co). What seems to be the method of preference for organizations is the Company-Wide Referral Programs where current employees can refer people to join, especially when the culture of the company is such where employees prefer people they know, to join them as colleagues.
As a closing note, professionals involved in Recruitment can now argue that the key in all, is the Candidate’s Experience. It is of great importance, since candidates have more and more opportunities to choose from. Position may be rejected, and applications withdrawn by candidates before the process even begins. And companies do not have the luxury to experience this anymore. HR people, hiring managers and recruiters need to focus not only on finding the much-needed talent but also offer a holistic approach, being as transparent as possible, creating an open communication line and act fast. Not an impossible task, but if done right, it will directly benefit all.
K. Treppides & Co Ltd is the largest independent consulting company in Cyprus with an established international presence and offices in Great Britain and Malta. Today the company employs approximately 200 professionals. It offers a full range of consulting, tax, accounting services to groups, companies and investors operating internationally in a variety of financial and business sectors. The Company, which started its operations in 1985, has 36 years of expertise and an elite team of experienced executives who can guide and assist investors and businesses during the establishment process and subsequent investment activity in Cyprus and internationally.
Contact Details:
[email protected]
www.treppides.com
Nicosia: Treppides Tower, Kafkasou 9, Aglantzia, CY 2112, Nicosia, Cyprus
Limassol: Andrea Kariolou 38, Ayios Athanasios, CY 4102, Limassol, Cyprus
London:7 Milner Street, London SW3 2QA
Malta: Level 1, Somnium, Tower Road, Swatar, Birkirkara BKR 4012