Four recruitment challenges that defined 2022 and what they mean for 2023

2022 should have been a calmer year than 2021. But truthfully, it wasn’t. Not for people teams, at least. The pandemic might be over but the world of work has changed for good. And it’s recruiters who have to pick up the pieces; juggle the plates; walk the tightrope.   

Let’s round-up the four major challenges recruitment teams have faced over 2022 – and look ahead, to what they might mean for your 2023.

Let’s go.

Hiring hinges on candidate experience

Since the pandemic, recruiters in many industries have found talent shortages getting even worse.

• In health and social care: The Health Foundation says that over a million more health and care staff are needed to meet demand, improve services, and recover from the pandemic by 2030.
• In the public sector: In July 2022, the House of Lords Public Services Committee published a report saying public sector staffing is “facing a crisis” due to a “vicious circle” of increasing demand, staff shortages, low morale and recruitment issues.
• In retail and hospitality: 99% of retail business leaders are concerned about talent shortages. And hospitality is facing 186% worse talent shortages than the UK average.

In this context, then, candidate experience is more important than ever. The big question is: have you been losing great people to a poor experience?

Our research showed the answer is probably YES – and ghosting is one major issue.

We know you don’t intentionally ghost candidates. We know you’ve been under mountains of pressure and you’re doing your best. 

But we also know, we all care about being better. It’s time to stop candidates slipping through the net, so we can leave every jobseeker feeling positive and empowered. Every time. 

Ending ghosting is one change we can make to improve the candidate experience massively. And it’s an easy one, with the right recruitment technology: here are 13 ways Tribepad empowers recruiters to #EndGhosting for good. 

Let’s make 2023 the year every candidate feels great about their recruitment experience. (And if you haven’t yet, join the movement to #EndGhosting here and pledge your support).

Download the ultimate guide to candidate experience in a post-pandemic world now.

Stop the Bias: jobseekers crave fairer processes

For most businesses, 2022 saw continued focus on improving equity, diversity, and inclusion. And as ever, lots of focus fell on the gatekeepers of diversity: recruiters.

We’ve seen many teams make massive improvements – like SCS JV, who took 12 practical actions to redesign recruitment for ED&I. Or like Coventry City Council, who achieved an 122% increase in applications from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic candidates.

But there’s still more noise than action when it comes to ED&I. In 2022 we conducted research into the state of bias in recruitment, to explore whether candidates really feel protected from discrimination.

And the answer, sadly, was a resounding ‘no’.

We found that fewer than one in four candidates trust employers to use diversity data for their benefit. Respondents called out ten biases they felt are hurting their employment opportunities:

We all want a fairer, more inclusive world. In 2023, let’s commit to working harder to tackle discrimination and dismantle unconscious bias.

Rising stress threatens recruiters’ mental health

On the surface, 2022 was a less crazy, chaotic year than 2021. Sheer adrenaline carried many teams through the pandemic, as that classic British ‘Blitz Spirit’ kicked in. And now the dust has settled. Right?

Except, the working world has changed for good and recruiters are still facing major challenges.

It’s the double burden all ‘people’ people face: supporting others while coping yourself. (Watch Tribepad’s Neil Armstrong and Chief Psychologist Smriti Joshi from mental health organisation Wysa talk about managing this double burden.)

But our 2022 State of the Sector report found many teams are struggling to cope. Overall, a quarter of the recruiters we spoke to are struggling to cope with stress. A worrying 3% even say they’re at breaking point.

This situation is a disaster waiting to happen. If organisations want to hire great people in 2023, they must protect recruiters’ mental health and ensure they’ve got the right tools, tech, and processes to do their jobs effectively.  

As our CEO, Dean, puts it: 

Recession-pressure ramps up

Most recruiters are no stranger to cost pressure. We work with a heap of organisations in the public sector, for example, where budget restraints can be enormous. 

But as the UK slips ever-closer to recession, businesses across every industry face some major challenges. Business costs are increasing, and both employees and jobseekers are asking for more money to cover the increased cost-of-living. 

At the same time, unavoidable layoffs are on the rise – threatening long-term brand damage if organisations handle the situation badly. When businesses inevitably look to grow again, this could turn into a major stumbling block for recruiters. Reputation takes a long time to build and can be broken in moments.

Recruiters aren’t immune to the hire-fire-rehire cycle either. With organisations facing intense cost pressure and hiring uncertainty, you’d be forgiven for feeling insecure about your career prospects for 2023.

But the opposite should be true (and smart organisations realise it). Even when facing hiring freezes, skills shortages place a new premium on recruiters’ passive talent networks and recruitment marketing efforts. Your long-term relationships will be crucial to helping organisations thrive in this new talent environment.

In 2023, great recruiters who focus on pipeline-building not order-taking will be invaluable to the bottom line.

Looking to build your skill base? Check out our practical recruitment toolkit series:

• The WHAT, WHY, and HOW of recruitment marketing
• 4 ways to unlock more value from your database
• A modern blueprint for recruitment reporting
• A practical toolkit for finding your next recruitment job
• 15 ways to automate your recruitment process
• Copywriting for recruiters: a practical guide 
• A roadmap to researching recruitment software vendors
• How to build a business case for recruitment software
• 31 practical ways to improve quality of hire
• 22 steps to improving your job advert SEO

Recruiters are 2023’s success-makers

Let’s be blunt: as costs soar and the UK careens into a recession, these are hard times for businesses. But hard times also bring opportunity. 

During the past several recessions, most businesses struggled – but 9% of companies thrived, outperforming competitors by at least 10% in sales and profit growth. 

Research shows these top companies “didn’t merely survive; their earnings climbed steadily throughout the downturn and continued to rise afterward”.

The reason? Rather than reacting to turbulence by “switch[ing] to survival mode, making deep cuts and reacting defensively” they took the opportunity to protect and optimise business-critical functions. 

Yes, 2023 looks to be a difficult year for jobseekers and businesses. But great recruitment teams are success-makers for both. Forward-looking organisations will recognise that, ensuring their people teams have the right tools, technology, and processes to help the business thrive.

Tribepad is the trusted tech ally to smart(er) recruiters everywhere. Our talent acquisition software is a springboard for faster, fairer, better recruitment for everyone.