How has Covid-19 impacted talent acquisition?

There’s no doubt that 2020 was a highly challenging year for businesses across all sectors and geographies. Employers in the UK’s capital have faced the challenges of office closures, increased remote working and furloughed staff. But things are beginning to look up again, with vaccine reports boosting positivity.

As businesses become more optimistic, planning for the future is back on the cards for many. But, the world of work now is much different than it was at the beginning of this year. So, before we can plan for the future, it’s important to take a look at the now.

In fact, AMS undertook research in partnership with Aptitude Research which revealed an interesting insight into how the talent acquisition landscape is evolving – here’s some of the top-line results.

Hiring for quality remains a priority

While it’s certainly safe to say that hiring was hit hard during the pandemic (with 38% of the companies surveyed putting their recruitment on hold as a result of Covid), those firms that were still engaging with new candidates indicated that finding the best people and quickly was a real priority.

According to the research – which analysed a mix a quantitative and qualitive research across North America, EMEA and APAC during the pandemic to ascertain the impact of Covid-19 on talent acquisition – the quality of a new hire remains a top priority for the majority (60%) of businesses. And, regardless of hiring plans, over 60% of those surveyed reported that their top priority is filling positions quickly.

This indicates that, while we may have shifted from a candidate to client-led recruitment market, competition for the best talent is only going to increase. With that in mind, it’s perhaps no surprise that the number of businesses turning to an outsourced recruitment model to best tackle the hiring challenges of today has increased. In early 2020 8% of companies used an outsourced model, but during the pandemic this number doubled.

A focus on internal talent

The report also highlighted what is perhaps an expected focus on building internal resources over buying external skills, as larger numbers of employers shifted to a truly strategic approach to talent acquisition and management. In April, 39% of businesses indicated an intention to build internal capabilities while just 9% would borrow from other parts of the company. A further 17% revealed plans to leverage service providers to fill sourcing gaps.

While there was a clear trend in building internal talent, respondents highlighted that the pandemic had increased concerns around workforce planning as more companies faced staffing challenges. As the pandemic took hold in April 2020, 30% of those surveyed stated that workforce planning was a capability gap and priority, up from 12% reporting this before the pandemic. This is likely to be exacerbated by the impact of financial restrictions that have come in to play since the pandemic. Before Covid-19, 64% of companies were increasing talent acquisition budgets, but during the outbreak this dropped to 24%.

What lies ahead for our workforces?

It’s clear from this survey that, rather unlike previous times of economic difficulty, the pandemic has created a much greater emphasis on engaging with the right talent pools – both internally and externally. The desire for strategic workforce planning to manage what is now an increasingly flexible workforce – comprising of remote workers, contingent and full-time staff, and globally connected teams – is growing and will only continue to do so.

But, while the future has never been more uncertain, planning to engage with the talent of tomorrow isn’t impossible. The concept of a resilient and diverse workforce has been explored for a while now, but the pandemic has accelerated the pace of change in workplace fluidity. Dexterity is now the primary focus for employers – where entire segments of the workforce will be multi-skilled and regularly flex and shape-shift to capitalise on opportunities.

Real success now can be achieved by standing out from the crowd and differentiating your brand from others. And in order to really achieve that, businesses need to stop focusing on how they can match and beat their competitors through talent attraction and focus instead on developing a differentiated workforce – one that is unique to your brand.

Matthew Rodger, Chief Growth & Commercial Officer at AMS