Future of Recruiting 2023 STFF
Future of Recruiting 2023 STFF
of Recruiting
2023
Staffing
Introduction
It’s a challenging and pivotal time to be in the staffing industry. In this time of uncertainty and rapid
realignment, recruitment leaders can meet the moment as change-makers.
You’ll have to be more strategic, more adaptable, and acutely in-tune with talent, both internal and
external – what candidates want, what skills they possess, and how your teams can grow their careers.
To set you up for success, this report offers 17 predictions based on dozens of interviews with global
talent leaders, surveys of thousands of recruiting pros, and analysis of billions of data points generated
on LinkedIn.
4. Skills-first hiring →
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Recruiting trends
Prediction 1 | Recruiting trends
Recruitment experts “have the opportunity to actually change the seats at the table,” says
Microsoft’s Brett Baumoel. “You’re going to truly change the table itself.”
The depth of knowledge and experience that you bring to your clients positions you as a
consultative partner across their businesses — from advising on compensation, to fine-tuning
employer brand, to identifying and filling skill gaps within an organization.
Recruiting professionals have never been able to make a bigger impact than
right now. You used to be able to say, ‘these hires helped our company.’ Now
you can say, ‘I changed the make-up of our company, I changed where we
work, I changed what we look for, and I changed how we hire.’ ” of recruitment pros say
87%
their function has
Brett Baumoel, VP of Global TA, Engineering at Microsoft
become more strategic
over the past year.
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Prediction 2 | Recruiting trends
The feedback loop between talent, finance, and DEI on discussions of comp needs to be more
Only 45% of recruitment
agile than ever — particularly at a time when pay transparency is on the rise. Staffing
organizations can help their clients stay ahead of the curve by raising this conversation today and
advising on best practices.
increased salaries
As the leader with the clearest view of candidate priorities, labor market dynamics, and real-time enough to keep pace
recruitment trends across industries, you’re in the best position to lead the conversation about pay with inflation
and its business impact — from championing comp models that favor skills over pedigree, to
promoting comp packages that keep pace with inflation.
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Prediction 3 | Recruiting trends
That’s why refining and conveying a clear, compelling employer value proposition (EVP) is more
46%
of staffing professionals
important than ever. With most recruiting budgets expected to shrink or stagnate, employer predict their employer
branding stands alone as the only line item where a majority of recruitment pros expect an
increased investment this year. But investing in employer branding won’t get you far if you don’t branding investments will
work to understand talent’s top priorities and authentically walk the walk. increase this year.
When you think about employer branding and how you articulate your culture
to attract, engage, and retain talent, you need to go beyond performative.
Candidates can see through it. They’re tapping into their networks to
understand who you really are — beyond what your career site says.”
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Prediction 4 | Recruiting trends To so t s i s recruiters i need in t e uture
p f k ll w ll h f :
Recruiters will need a more strategic set of Percentage of staffing pros saying these are among the most
The skills companies need are changing fast. As LinkedIn’s CEO likes to say, “even if you aren’t
changing your job, your job is most likely changing on you.” Recruitment teams themselves are
no exception.
2. Relationship building 78%
Adaptability, problem-solving, and business acumen rank among the top five soft skills staffing
professionals will need in the future. As recruitment pros become more strategic client partners,
they’ll need to adjust on-the-fly and find solutions that ladder up to overarching business goals.
3. A d t
ap ab l i it y
61%
As companies align around skills-first hiring, staffing leaders will have to consider which skills
they value most — in the workforce at large, and within their own teams. 4 Pro e
. bl m- so ing
lv
59%
5. B usiness cu en a m 51%
those skills.
human part of hiring. from integrating generative AI into the recruiting process.*
Generative AI (GAI) — i.e., tools like ChatGPT that intelligently generate content — is a fascinating Automate repetitive tasks to
new technology that holds promise for talent professionals, many of whom believe it can help in time- 74% prioritize more strategic work
consuming tasks, like drafting job descriptions and personalized messages to candidates, among
others.
While two-thirds (68%) of hirers surveyed in February 2023 said they were “very hopeful” or Make it faster / easier
“cautiously optimistic” about the impact of GAI on recruiting,* hiring influencer Glen Cathey 67% to source candidates
characterizes himself as “cautiously exuberant.” He believes GAI can save a ton of time and let
recruiters focus on the most human aspects of their jobs: listening to candidates, understanding their
desires, and helping them find a new job they feel good about.
While GAI may help draft content, it’s crucial to keep a “human in the loop” — someone with the right
59% Make it faster / easier
to engage candidates
know-how should always be there to carefully review and fine-tune generated content. “You still need
* Note: These results are from a smaller survey, distinct from the other survey
to keep your hands on the wheel,” Glen says.
results found in this report, comprising over 225 recruiting professionals and
hiring managers in the US. Due to the smaller sample size, these results
should be understood on a more directional basis.
For the foreseeable future of recruiting, humans will still play an essential role.
Humanness still matters, especially for hard-to-fill jobs, and the core of that is empathy.
A good recruiter brings the opportunity and company to life, beyond what a person can
see on a website or job description.”
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Economic
uncertainty
Prediction 6 | Economic uncertainty
In an uncertain economy, you might think employers would pull back on efforts to diversify their
Though most recruitment pros say hiring overall has been negatively impacted, three-out-of-four
Yet
say that diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) hiring is not being deprioritized — in fact, nearly 20%
Work on DEI goes back decades, but it became a focal point for many in 2020, when a wave of
73% of DEI hiring.
companies pledged to make progress on diversity. Whether they deliver on that largely remains to
be seen, and you might look at these survey results with the same skepticism — is it aspirational
happy talk, or a real plan of action? Employees, candidates, and consumers alike will hold
see leaders who look like them and to know organizations are committed to
Dr. T
ana Session, DEI strategist
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Prediction 7 | Economic uncertainty
In the US, for instance, LinkedIn job posts for contract positions are growing much faster than
job posts for full-time employees, which are relatively stable. (Note: contract positions mean
labor is “contracted” out to a company for a finite amount of time listed by a contract and can
be full-time or part-time work.)
This shift towards a greater mix of permanent and temporary workers opens the opportunity for
staffing firms to share their expertise and advise their clients on talent strategy, building
credibility and strengthening partnerships. Accordingly, 23% of companies expect to invest
The share of U.S. paid job posts for
more in external staffing firms in the next year.
contractor roles increased +26% YoY,
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Prediction 8 | Economic uncertainty Demand for recruiters can rapidly reverse course
With demand now falling as rapidly as it once rose, some companies are again cutting internal
TA teams. Organizations who make too many cuts, though, may be challenged if the market
recovers faster than expected. As this uncertainty continues, companies may look to staffing
firms for guidance on talent strategy and marketplace trends.
Source: Global LinkedIn data, as of Jan 2023.
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Employer
branding
Prediction 9 | Employer branding Most important priorities for candidates:
The labor market remains tight, and talent is expected to retain the upper hand over the next five
Flexible working arrangements
years. To stay competitive, staffing organizations will have to reexamine their employer branding and 3
ensure that it aligns with what candidates are looking for today.
Advancement
4
Every month, LinkedIn surveys over 20,000 members about the most important factors they weigh
when considering a new job. The top priority for candidates today is excellent compensation and Skill development
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benefits, by a fairly wide margin, followed by work-life balance and flexible working arrangements.
All three top priorities are also the three fastest-growing priorities for candidates — though in this case,
flexible work is rising much faster (+8% YoY) than compensation (+2%) or work-life balance (+2%).
Ignore these three at your peril — while there’s much more to your employer brand than pay, balance, Fastest growing priorities for candidates:
2 Compensation +4%
Good pay, balance, and flexibility — they’re essential and we absolutely provide
that. But honestly, it’s not what makes us stand out. In today’s job market, offering
3 Supportive managers +4%
those benefits is expected. In our employer branding, we prefer to emphasize
what makes us unique.”
So instead of fixating on the particulars of a client’s flexible work policy, home in on the end result —
happy and inspired employees — and don’t neglect other aspects of company culture that foster
that happiness. And rather than only focusing on how they can grow their careers within an Under-value:
organization, show candidates how they can develop new skills to elevate their careers, whether or
not they choose to stay.
Employee happiness
Candidates
Recruitment
When the economy recovers, th e competition for talent is going to spike back up estimates
very quickly. So it’s really important for companies to make progress in how they
position their employer brand and, more importantly, how they bring it to life.”
Opportunities to develop skills
Candidates
M arc-Etienne Julien, Chief Talent Officer at Randstad Global
Recruitment
estimates
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Prediction 11 | Employer branding What’s different about Gen Z’s priorities?
Gen Z values development and diversity.
Gen Z — professionals born later than 1996 — are already a major part of the workforce. Many
are just getting their careers off the ground, and their priorities reflect that.
Gen Z’s priorities are significantly different from their parents’ generation, Gen X. Career
advancement and gaining new skills are super important to younger workers: they’re over 50%
more likely to value moving up the ranks, compared to Gen X.
The younger generation is also much more focused on the importance of having an inclusive
work environment.
Gen Z is almost 50% of our workforce, and we've learned to respect their ways
of working. Gen Z doesn't live to work, they think corporate jargon is silly, and
they expect to be paid fairly."
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Skills-first hiring
Prediction 12 | Skills-first hiring When looking for candidates on LinkedIn,
recruiters are...
Skills-first hiring will become the gold standard.
Slowly but steadily, staffing organizations have begun to embrace skills-first hiring — the +25% more likely
practice of valuing a candidate’s skills over more superficial signals like an impressive alma to search by skills than they
mater or previous employer.
Since 2019, the share of recruiter searches on LinkedIn that includes a skills filter has grown
+50% more likely
by 25% — and today, recruiters are 50% more likely to search by skills than they are to search
to search by skills than by
by years of experience.
years of experience.
Now, skills-first hiring is poised to be the way of the future. Three-fourths of recruitment pros
Source: Global LinkedIn data, as of Jan 2023.
say it’ll be a priority at their firm. But not all staffing organizations are there yet: only 76% feel
they can accurately assess candidates’ skills today. Clearly, they’ll have some catching up
to do over the next few years.
How do we get better at filtering in, not filtering out? Recruiters have been
of recruitment pros predict
trained to copy and paste a job description so they can hire really, really fast.
They're not really looking at what the work requires and what skills are needed. skills-first hiring will be a
That's starting to change.”
76% priority for their organization
Jennifer Paylor, VP, Head of Global Talent Innovation
in the next 18 months.
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Prediction 13 | Skills-first hiring No degree? Increasingly, that’s no problem.
four-year degree.
If you’re not convinced yet that skills-based hiring is the future, consider this: by being open to
hiring candidates who don’t have college degrees, you’ll be taking a big step forward in diversifying
The share of these job
your candidate pipelines.
There’s a growing consensus that removing four-year requirements is one of the most important over the past 6 months.
things you can do to promote diversity. Members of underrepresented groups are far less likely to
have attended college — but that doesn’t mean they don’t have the skills and potential to succeed.
Today one in five jobs on the LinkedIn platform doesn’t require a four-year degree. That number is
expected to grow as more employers look to hire people from a multitude of backgrounds who can
Scrappy, self-taught types won’t have shiny brand names on their resume. Local
community colleges are a great source of nascent tech talent that big
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Prediction 14 | Skills-first hiring
A whopping 91% of recruitment pros told us that understanding their talent’s skills is required to
make informed talent decisions — though slightly less (88%) say it’s currently a priority at their of recruitment pros agree that
organization.
For this to work, however, staffing organizations must distinguish between which skills are truly
“must-haves” for a role — and which are merely “nice to have.”
There used to be a lot of emphasis on qualifications. Now, it's much more about
skills and experience, the mindset is shifting. It's really refreshing.”
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Internal mobility
& upskilling
Prediction 15 | Internal mobility & upskilling
Staffing organizations will recognize the business Employees at organizations with high
internal mobility stay 60% longer.
value of upskilling and internal mobility.
Median employee tenure for orgnizations in the top and
Your organization’s next great hire might already be on the payroll. The shaky economy is forcing bottom quartile of internal mobility.
firms to look within more frequently when filling open positions: 56% of staffing professionals say
4.9
internal recruiting will be an important factor shaping the future recruiting over the next 5 years.
years
Internal mobility provides big payoffs, starting with higher employee retention. LinkedIn data 3.1
shows that employees stay at organizations almost 2x longer if the employer is highly committed
years
to internal hiring.
Improving internal mobility also saves your organization turnover cost, which can accrue quickly if
attrition is high. Recruitment pros who stay help maintain institutional knowledge and consistent
client partnerships, while also contributing positively to firm culture.
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Prediction 16 | Internal mobility & upskilling
diverse workforce.
1 Increasing development and advancement
With organizations facing serious skills gaps, it’s no wonder 70% of staffing professionals say opportunities
upskilling and reskilling employees will be an important factor shaping the future of recruiting
over the next five years.
2 Providing an equal pay scale regardless of
background
But there’s another reason why L&D is gaining more attention: employers understand that offering
learning opportunities will be critical to advancing diversity and inclusion.
Providing a wide range of benefits and
3
accommodations
In fact, when LinkedIn asked members how they’d like to see organizations be more inclusive of
underrepresented groups, “increasing professional development and advancement opportunities”
Source: LinkedIn Talent Drivers survey results as of Dec 2022
was the #1 answer in several countries, including India, Brazil, Italy, Mexico, and Japan.
You can keep hiring diverse talent, but if you’re losing them just as fast, you’re not
actually changing things. You also have to enable people to move and grow once
they enter your organization."
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Prediction 17 | Internal mobility & upskilling
If I join this organization, will you help me develop new skills? Will you offer me a clear path to 1 C ompensation
advancement? Will you help me grow, even if I only stay at this organization for a couple years?
2 W ork-life balance
These are the kinds of questions candidates are asking and they will only get louder in the future. In
the years ahead, candidates won’t just be thinking about a given job but whether that employer is 3 F lex working arrangements
the right career destination. This will be especially true for Gen Z, but holds true across the global
workforce: advancement and skill development were the #4 and #5 top priorities for all candidates.
4 A dvancement
The bottom line: candidates care deeply about learning and development, so match them with
opportunities that meet their needs. It will be critical to the success of your organization. For more on 5 Skill development
the state of learning, explore LinkedIn Learning’s recent 2023 Workplace Learning Report.
Source: Global LinkedIn Talent Drivers survey,
as of Jan 2023.
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Conclusion
Conclusion
While every prediction in this report may not bear out precisely as described,
preparing today will leave you better equipped for whatever tomorrow holds.
Change is coming to the recruitment industry, but that doesn’t mean you’ll be a
passive observer. As an industry leader, you’re in a position to reshape the way the
world works — and ensure it works for everyone.
Ultimately, the future of recruiting belongs to those willing to build it. And as a change-
maker at your organization, the future of recruiting belongs to you.
Germany, Austria, & Switzerland | India | Mexico | Middle East & North Africa |
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Methodology
Survey data
LinkedIn Research surveyed 1,611 recruiting professionals in management seniority roles or higher (1,216
corporate recruiting pros, 395 search and staffing pros), in addition to 403 hiring managers. Survey
respondents are LinkedIn members who were selected to participate based on information in their LinkedIn
profile and qualified based on survey responses. This survey was conducted in six languages across 20
countries between October and November 2022.
Candidate priorities and inclusion preferences are based on LinkedIn’s Talent Drivers monthly survey of
global members, including 20,396 members surveyed in December 2022. To measure candidate priorities,
respondents are asked to “select the most important factors when considering a job opportunity,” and can
select up to five of 15 employer value propositions. The fastest-growing candidate priorities are those with
the greatest percentage increase between December 2021 and December 2022.
Insights data
Behavioral insights for this report were derived from the billions of data points generated by the 900 million
members in over 200 countries on LinkedIn today. Unless otherwise noted, all data reflects aggregated
LinkedIn member activity as of January 1, 2023. Demand for recruiters is measured by the number of paid
job posts for recruiter positions on LinkedIn globally.
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Acknowledgments
This report was informed by insightful interviews with several recruiting leaders around the world,
to whom we owe our sincere thanks, including:
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Experience LinkedIn in action
LinkedIn’s Talent Solutions help talent professionals hire efficiently with a
single platform. Providing access to the world’s most dynamic professional
community, real-time market data, and the ability to intelligently match open
roles to qualified candidates so you can attract, source, and connect with
people based on a deeper understanding of the individual.
Contact sales
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