Hiring this year? 8 things you should be prepared for

The pandemic has changed our lives in many ways. Not only have we sheltered in place, gone months or years without seeing friends and family, but we’ve had to shift our working patterns considerably to meet the challenges of our time. 

The whole world collectively braved an experiment where many professions were forced to work remotely and flexibly. The word “furlough” entered our collective vocabulary, and we were faced with looking a bit deeper at our lives and work to see where they did and didn’t align with what matters to us. 

The result is that the world of work has accelerated its change significantly over the last 18 months. The return to the office will trigger what we’re calling ‘the great migration’, which will see a significant number of job changes as things begin to unfurl. Job seekers will pursue alternative options that fit their needs better and cater to the preferences they’ve acquired over a disruptive 18-month period.

It’s becoming increasingly competitive to hire as individuals become more exacting in their expectations and have greater clarity on the roles and organisations that will really work for them. In a noisy online world, here’s what you can do to stand out and build working cultures that will attract and retain great people in 2021 and beyond.

Consider your benefits and perks package

Our insights show that traditional benefits don’t cut it. Jobseekers in 2021 are looking for benefits from work that enhance the enjoyability of their life, with flexible location, hours, a compressed 4-day working week and unlimited holiday topping the most-wanted list for candidates. Other appealing benefits focused on learning and development budgets and budget for wellbeing. For organisations with smaller budgets, this list of most-wanted benefits provides a significant opportunity to compete for talent with their larger counterparts. Offering flexibility can be a more affordable option that really sets opportunities apart. We expect to see more emphasis on wellbeing and learning budgets going forward as candidates continue to work remotely and have fewer opportunities for in-person learning from peers, and some of the in-office perks candidates sometimes experience.

Focus on the flexibility you can offer candidates

Flexibility is the new benefit that everyone expects. Organisations who require their workers to return to the office without offering significant levels of flexibility will find themselves losing a significant proportion of their existing workforce, and will find it more difficult to hire new talent in. From our own data and experience, flexibility will be the most attractive benefit going forward, with three quarters (74%) of professionals saying that a flexible working location is a primary barometer they use when assessing whether or not they’d be interested in a new role. There’s a greater need than ever to embed flexibility into your policies. Not only will this ensure your organisation remains agile and inclusive, but will also improve your attractiveness to potential new talent.

Clearly define hours of work and help to create boundaries where there are none

Most remote workers are putting in extra time working from home. To mitigate the risk of burnout, employers should consider how they’re supporting boundaries for their teams. Our research found that 17% of people found having more time to relax, be with family, or exercise was an important part of working remotely. To maintain mental health and wellbeing, we’d encourage employers to explore introducing wellbeing hours every week (Betterspace is a great example of this), or experiment with a 4 or 4.5 day week. These interventions can help to stem some of the mental health risks associated with working remotely and the intense screen time. There’s a growing body of evidence to support the idea that fewer days can be a huge competitive advantage as well as facilitating a healthier and more productive team. We’d recommend Buffer’s insights as a fully remote team who are exploring the 4-day week. Our team at Escape the City have been experimenting with this and have found huge benefits across wellbeing, productivity and connection between employees.

Your emphasis on authentic purpose matters 

​​Gone are the days where culture meant snacks, standing desks, and a ping pong table. Leaders are tasked with finding ways to make culture stretch across time zones, work environments, and personal circumstances. While challenging, it’s not only possible but necessary to help your employees maintain a sense of community and purpose. It’s clear from our data that purpose is a defining characteristic of attractive work, but people are savvy about ‘purpose-washing’ and are keen to understand clearly why what they do matters. Consider purpose-mapping for each role, defining how that role helps the organisation achieve its mission and why it matters beyond company profits. Speak directly to this in job advertisements to help prospective employees understand why the role is important not only to the organisation but to the problem the organisation is trying to solve.

Look after the environment

Sustainability is a priority for job seekers in 2021, but they are wary of greenwashing. Claims about sustainability need to be backed up with action to be effective. Clearly communicate how your sustainability practices are connected to how the organisation works more broadly, and to a deeper care for all stakeholders in the organisation’s ecosystem. Show job seekers how sustainability is infused in daily work activities, training programmes, reward systems, and operational practices and objectives. Your hiring practices are a great place to start. Sustainability messages can only add value if they reach job seekers. Use multiple channels to inform job seekers about your sustainability, such as on your careers pages, employee testimonials, recruitment handouts, conversations with recruiters, and job advertisements.

Your approach to diversity and inclusion needs to be holistic 

From our data, diversity and inclusion is a critical part of a job seekers assessment of a potential job or organisation. An organisation’s approach to inclusion has to be embedded across the business, going well beyond unconscious bias training. From advertising, to recruitment, to interviews, to language, all touchpoints that potential employees have with an organisation need to be looked at through the lens of inclusivity. Organisations will need to ask themselves: are we really moving things forward or are we just ticking boxes? As society expects more and more from the individuals and organisations within it, an intrinsic and clear desire to increase equality and inclusivity will be a decisive factor in the attractiveness of your organisation from both a consumer and employee perspective.

Broaden your horizons

Thinking beyond your immediate locale is essential to truly attract the best talent, wherever and whoever they may be. There are communities of talent across the UK, Europe and the world who would be great employees and candidates if given the opportunity. Think beyond your obvious channels for candidates too, ensuring that you’re reaching people across a wide spectrum of experiences and networks. There’s a wealth of talent and experience in diverse, regional and international communities that are missed opportunities if you’re hiring too narrowly.

Consider community and connection as core to your plan

From the professionals we spoke to, 43% of people said they didn’t believe remote working was the best way to generate ideas or work collaboratively. We’d encourage employers to think about how they can facilitate connection. Initiatives such as remote team activities or providing a budget for teams to work in local coworking spaces will go a long way to help prevent feelings of isolation. Providing the option to make use of a shared workspace can greatly reduce the inequality inherent in remote working. 

Much is likely to change moving into 2022 and beyond. We are living in an unprecedented time where there is no clear roadmap. As we continue to move forward in this new world of work, things will inevitably continue to shift and adapt. What is clear is that most employees and job seekers aren’t willing to return to ‘business as usual’. With new expectations, a new realisation of what’s possible, and a heightened awareness and sense of social responsibility, we believe that the world of work has fundamentally changed.

Check out our full report on post-pandemic careers here.