What businesses and candidates are to expect in 2022
The year 2022 will bring a host of new challenges for businesses and job candidates alike. As the economy reopens, businesses will be in the market to hire. On the other hand, candidates can look forward to new opportunities and recruitment practises which would appeal to them.
Below we examine what 2022 has in store for businesses and job seekers.
Businesses
- Rebuilding the employee experience
A majority of businesses are now working in hybrid or fully remote arrangements, and this looks to be the default work practice as we learn to live in the pandemic. What this means for businesses is rebuilding the employee experience around the virtual workplace. What physical experiences that have been lost due to working arrangements in the pandemic must be made up through other shared and collaborative experiences online. This could mean hosting virtual catch-up calls once a week with the team, organising virtual lunches, and meeting up physically where possible.
- Creating a positive workplace
Businesses must increasingly find ways to ensure that employees’ mental health and overall wellbeing at work are taken care of. This can be done by prioritising social culture to build teamwork and engagement. In turn, employees that work in a positive workplace will be happier which will result in better productivity. Therefore, businesses should find ways to create a workplace where their employees feel like they belong, as well as creating opportunities for workers to feel a greater sense of ownership of their work.
- Assessment of company culture
Above all else, businesses must have a good company culture to propel their business forward. Company culture goes to the core of how the people in a business interact with one another, the values which the business has and how decisions are made. With the future of work changing, businesses have to revolutionise their workplace in a short period of time. In order to improve a business’ culture, business owners should look inwards and consider whether their present model is working.
Candidates
- Candidate-driven market
The current employment market is one that is candidate-driven, and job applicants will have more power to negotiate for desired work benefits. Businesses are now considering how to put themselves at the forefront of the job-seeker market, which means that businesses will leave traditional recruitment methods and strategies, and put forward a better employer brand in order to attract job seekers.
- A focus on employee experience
Businesses are now becoming more aware of the importance of investing into their employees’ wellbeing and are taking greater consideration of how to present themselves with a strong employee brand in order to attract the top of the talent pool. Priority will be given by businesses to ensure that their employees are happy and feel fulfilled at their jobs.
- More flexible and hybrid work opportunities
The pandemic’s effects on the job market is here to stay and part of the new normal means businesses will continue to work in flexible and hybrid work models to ensure their employees’ health and safety for business continuity and productivity. What this means for candidates is that your work location may be less important. This then opens up greater opportunities for candidates to apply to jobs which may not be localised and opens up a host of opportunities for candidates in the market for a new job.
