Hiring Trends for 2021 in the IT Sector

The year 2020 has been nothing like anyone expected. Across the globe, the pandemic disrupted our personal and professional lives deeply. While the world still waits for a vaccine and healthcare remains the focus, the business world seems to have picked up momentum after the initial slowdown.

Organizations are now looking forward to embracing the ‘New Normal’. According to a survey by Charter Global, it is expected that more than 50% of organizations expect hiring to become fully active after January 2021. With the introduction of reforms by the Government of India, the IT/ITeS/ BPO industry now has the leverage to allow its employees to ‘work from home’ or ‘work from anywhere. Companies are enabling new employees to work remotely by shipping assets and using technology-enabled collaboration and productivity tools. – The workplaces are going remote.

As the demand for talent gains back momentum, it is bound to put pressure on talent acquisition teams and staffing agencies. It’s vital to understand the key trends that will shape the hiring processes in 2021 and plan to adapt to these changes. If you are looking to optimize your hiring processes and maximize output, here are some top trends you must know:

Change in Working Patterns

The criteria of location for a job has become less important. It gives more options to employers to look for the right talent beyond the city, state our century.

With remote working, many organizations have clocked better output and efficiency and many employees are enjoying the flexibility of time and not having to travel daily to work.

Work from home supported by robust communication technology and clear actionable can lift physical barriers between good employers and a quality workforce. Its boosting global hiring and helping companies to improve their deliverables to clients. Many expansion programs that were shelved due to the non-availability of the desired talent are now possible because we just realized it can all be digitized. Organizations quick in adopting the advanced HR-Tech are the biggest beneficiary of this emerging trend.

Data-Driven Recruitment by use of AI

Another trend that hiring professionals must keep an eye on is data-driven recruitment. With more pressure to hire the right people, both cost and time-effectively, many organizations have turned to data to help them make smarter hiring decisions; and avoid unconscious bias.

With the help of AI, the traditional hiring process will get upgraded through complete automation of employee verification and onboarding practices.

AI-powered Chabot’s will also become commonplace as companies begin to use them for the first phases of applicant screening before scheduling candidates for person-to-person interviews.

Furthermore, organizations now move from traditional descriptive analytics to predictive people analytics. By maximizing previous and current metrics, they can predict upcoming trends that they can utilize to improve HR and recruitment operations.

The complete digital experience for candidates

Technology for the Human Resource fraternity has been a key point of discussion across organizations for quite some time now. The rise of remote hiring has given a thrust to these discussions and in the coming year, HR would like to focus on a smooth digital employee experience.

HR has been using technology for payrolls, attendance, and even video interviews as a part of their process, but with changing times, HR will focus on the use of technology to provide an effortless onboarding experience. 2021 will experience a rise in the adoption of technology for paperless and contactless onboarding including employee authentication. This will help organizations mitigate the risk of hiring employees with dubious backgrounds, provide genuine employees with a great onboarding experience and employers will enjoy a quick TAT while hiring new employees.

Summing it up:

The IT industry has been evolving due to the ongoing impact of the pandemic and the worldwide lockdown. Post-COVID hiring policies depend on how swiftly different sectors plan to scale and transfer their working strategies from traditional to digital, these include healthcare, FMCG, supply chains, delivery, and manufacturing sectors.

Additionally, pandemics expedited the demand for specific disciplines and abilities across the IT job market. Hence, IT hiring will witness a significant change in the key skills and salary expectations to fit the new business practices.

Companies that undergo digital transformation must stay afloat and on top of the game, which is only possible by hiring qualified IT employees. Not ones with just technical capabilities but also the above-discussed skill sets.