Despite recession concerns and news of layoffs, recruiters say their team can “claim a seat at the proverbial table,” according to LinkedIn’s Future of Recruiting 2023 report — and it may even go beyond that, some experts said.
“You’re going to truly change the table itself,” Brett Baumoel, VP of global talent acquisition, engineering, at Microsoft told LinkedIn.
Close to 90% of recruiting pros also said talent acquisition has become a more strategic function over the past year, particularly since talent still holds power in the market, according to the report.
Due to the nature of that market, however, funding will be funneled toward employer branding and value proposition rather than the recruiting budget, LinkedIn said. Just over half of recruiters surveyed said their recruiting budget will likely decrease or stay flat this year, while 60% said their employer branding investments will increase. To that end, companies are focused on what candidates want — including better compensation, flexible work, opportunities for advancement and skills development.
LinkedIn’s report pointed out that recruiter pitches to candidates may need re-tuning to fit shifting employee needs. Recruiters may overvalue the importance of flexible work and advancement opportunities to applicants, for example, while undervaluing employee happiness and opportunities to develop skills.
“Recruiting pros tend to get tunnel vision on the most important priorities, to the detriment of other still-important factors,” the report said. “In reality, candidates’ preferences are more diffuse and less top-heavy than a simple list might suggest.”
Skill development may be especially top of mind for recruiters; 81% of recruiters surveyed said they need to work more closely with L&D in the future to identify skill needs and place people in the right positions.
To adjust to becoming more strategic, recruiters may need to bolster their own soft skills, too, LinkedIn said — particularly adaptability, problem-solving and business acumen.