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Companies will focus more on diversity, equity & inclusion in hiring
According to Monster research, more than four in five (86%) candidates globally say diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) in the workplace is important to them. Additional research found that 62% of people would go as far as turning down a job offer if came from a culture that didn’t support a diverse workforce.
It’s likely that this has to do with 2020 being a year of sweeping social justice movements. “There will be continued focus on DEI in 2021 – no change there,” predicts Tony Lee, VP of editorial at SHRM, who adds that companies will continue making efforts to look at candidates who are considered untapped talent. “People who may not have been considered before such as people with physical disabilities, criminal histories, those without a college degree,” says Lee. “Broadening the definition of what an effective successful candidate looks like can help make sure you’re more inclusive.”
It’s also good for business. According to the “Diversity Wins” Report by McKinsey, organizations in the top quartile for gender diversity on executive teams were 25% more likely to have above-average profitability than companies in the fourth quartile. For ethnic and cultural diversity, top-quartile companies were 36% more profitable.
TIP: In order to compete for top diverse talent, plan to amplify DEI efforts as part of your employer branding message and in job descriptions for 2021. That way, you can show candidates you’re committed to diversity and inclusion in hiring.
Remote work is here to stay
In case you were wondering if remote work was a passing pandemic fad, consider that the top keyword search from candidates on Monster over the last few months continues to be “work from home.” Plus, according to other Monster research, remote flexibility was the second biggest policy change reported by employers in 2020.
The pandemic essentially forced many companies to do the unthinkable: manage a remote workforce. To a large extent, it was successful, proving that the work can still get done even without a physical office presence. In other words, even when things return to normal, there’s a good chance that many employees will prefer to remain off-site, at least some of the time.
Take working parents of school children, for example. When asked in a Monster survey what they think a company could do to best support parents with school children, 75% said work schedule flexibility would go a long way.
Of course, remote work can only apply to selected skill segments where people can work from home. Of four industries examined by SIA (Staffing Industry Analysts), IT and office/clerical showed a boom in remote work, whereas industrial and healthcare staffing firms did not.
The bigger implications of remote work on hiring is that companies can hire from anywhere, globalizing recruitment, says Jon Osborne, VP Strategic Research at SIA. “In the world as it historically has been, our lives revolved around employment and because of that we were tied to the location of the employer – life may change a great deal as we are liberated from that locational anchor,” he says.
Then again, there are also some leaders who still feel productivity is “less” from remote workers versus those in office, says Herman. Hence why many companies that plan to return to the workplace sometime in 2021 are sticking with sourcing individuals who live close to physical offices.
But for the companies that are “all in” on remote, they can enjoy the ability to hire from any geo-location, adds Herman. “This has allowed them to hire quicker and in some cases, upgrade their talent.”
TIP: It’s important for hiring managers to learn how to interview remotely and look a little deeper into past history and past performance, says Lee. “Talk to people who have worked with them. Look at work samples.”
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