Recruiting Trends in 2021: How it Will Change

As we move into 2021, many of the recruiting restrictions driven by COVID will be here for the foreseeable future. To help recruiters understand these changes, we wanted to share four themes we consistently hear from our clients.

1. Geography is no longer a hiring constraint

Companies are discovering that worker productivity can be the same or better with remote employees. The good news for recruiters is that you no longer need to source great talent in your specific geography. The bad news is neither does anyone else! You will be competing against more companies for great talent.

ScoutLogic Recommendation: Prioritize geographic focus areas leveraging similar companies to yours in those areas. This focus will help improve your footprint and ensure a substantial candidate population for you to recruit.

2. Improve your employee value proposition

With new candidates coming from new areas, being pitched by different companies, and not having in-office benefits….your value proposition to candidates needs a second look. Many of our clients are re-thinking their messaging and even their benefit plans based on these new recruiting realities.

ScoutLogic Recommendation: Determine your likely competition and review their employee value proposition messaging. Then check your messaging, discard what is no longer relevant, and add substantive content to your pitch that differentiates you from the competition.

3. Update your skill requirements

Collaborating virtually requires different skills. The skillset, competencies, and behaviors needed to work in an office environment, with lots of peers around you, and almost entirely face-to-face interactions are radically different than “Zooming” with co-workers four hours a day and then being on your own for the other four.

ScoutLogic Recommendation: Review your pre-hire assessments and add sections for collaboration, self-direction/motivation, technology comfort level, and flexibility. Even if you still hire a candidate who scores lowers in these areas, it will give a future manager insight into the new employee’s development areas.

Is it time for a new background check company? 
Let us help you pick the right one with our free eBook

{{cta(’40ec684c-9924-4f33-a95f-ad852b7fed2f’,’justifycenter’)}}

4. Digital hiring technology is a must-have, not a nice-to-have.

This digital shift sounds like a no-brainer, but we continue to be surprised at companies who rely on paper-based tools and forms to source, recruit, and onboard. In this new world, those processes need to be 100% digital, and your talent acquisition and HR teams can leverage these tools to really improve your recruiting supply chain.

(Yes, you can perform background check remotely, check out our article on remote background checks)

ScoutLogic Recommendation: Map out your end-to-end process. Look for opportunities to digitize and automate any paper-based processes. For the tools you have implemented, maximize the benefit by having their account managers review your adoption and provide ideas on how you can get more benefits from their solutions.

ScoutLogic’s Remote Team Success — Learn From Us

Covid has accelerated the adoption of technology 5-10 years, and the companies that evolve the fastest will win this next battle in the war for talent. ScoutLogic is a pre-employment background check company whose goal is to make background checks easy for recruiters. To do that, we need employees who are engaged and motivated to bring their best every day.

We have been operating a primarily remote work environment for over three years and believe the benefits it can bring a company can be a competitive advantage. If you would like to learn more about how ScoutLogic makes remote teams work, please reach out to us.

ScoutLogic is not a law firm and nothing in this article should be construed as legal advice. Always check with a qualified attorney before making any changes to your program

David Garcia

David Garcia is the co-founder and CEO of ScoutLogic. David is also a senior operating advisor for Norwest Venture Partners. David is a member of the boards of ScoutLogic, YipitData, and Supplier.io and was formerly on the boards of Infutor and Avetta. He has over 25 years of B2B commercial leadership experience in data & analytics companies.