2022 review shows hiring was strong. Here's our predictions for 2023

This year we couldn’t open our inboxes or read the news without seeing newly minted labor trends - “act your wage,” “quiet quitting,” “quiet firing” - and with each new moniker we fielded question after question about whether the latest signified something cataclysmic for the future. 

But the bottom line in 2022 is that hiring was strong. Really strong.  

It became clearer each quarter that this was HireVue’s most successful year ever. We hit so many milestones, including massive increases in chat and text recruiting and our 34 millionth interview. 

To meet the demands for an increased focus on internal mobility our team deployed the industry’s first-ever agile mindset assessment to help companies identify professional candidates with a propensity for faster thinking, efficiency and flexible ways of working. And in our ongoing effort to stay at the forefront of AI ethics and regulations, we published the  industry’s first AI Explainability Statement – a living document intended to provide transparency into our process for candidates, customers, and the public. 

It was an absolutely terrific year, and we couldn't have made any of it happen without our customers. You all were very busy as shown below: 

Now that we’ve seen where we’ve been this year, let’s dive into where I think we’re going.

The year of optimization 

2023 is going to be all about optimizing. Whether it’s internal mobility or a focus on optimizing the technology you already have implemented – this is the year of the deep dive and in some cases, getting back to basics. Here’s what I think 2023 has in store for us:

Prioritizing internal mobility

Resignations aren’t going to grind to a halt, but with a recession and increased layoffs, they will slow down. This is the perfect time for talent teams to work with leadership and recalibrate resources where needed. What I mean is, maybe you have a stellar recruiter who could thrive in sales? Or an accountant who could work with customers? Use a full roster as the opportunity to build internal mobility mechanisms that keep your star players in-house and unlock their potential. 

The best way to determine who’s best suited for a change in work environment is an evaluation of past performance combined with skills-based assessments. HireVue’s Agile Mindset Assessment helps companies identify how candidates react to change. It’s an engaging, assessment that consists of video interview questions and game-based assessments, it measures:

• Mental Agility – being comfortable with the complex
• Results Agility – ability to drive results under tough conditions
• People Agility – effective emotional intelligence and communication 
• Change Agility – fluid thinking and removing roadblocks

In under 30 minutes you can identify the right people for new needs as they arise. Priorities and projects might change, but your people don’t have to. 

Tech stack  and process optimization 

So much changed overnight in 2020 (and 2021 and 2022) that we’re all sitting in a proverbial plane that was built mid-flight. Now is the time to work closely with your vendor’s customer success teams to maximize the tools you already have in place. Technology is the other team member in the room and it always will be - make sure you’re getting the most out of each system you’ve already invested in to help fill people gaps. 

And although layoffs are increasing, hiring is still strong with nearly two open jobs for every one person on the market. This means talent teams are going to need to lean into automation more than ever for external hires. For instance, using a dialed-in scheduling tool and text message reminders can give recruiters back precious time to focus on relationship building; we’ve seen firsthand how critical this time savings is for our early careers recruiters whose candidates sometimes have months between offer and start date.

Now is also the time to ensure that your processes are meeting candidate expectations for ease and communication. In 2022, 63% of applicants in our hiring survey left the hiring process because they didn’t feel engaged. It doesn’t have to be this way. By investing in text recruiting and email reminders throughout your hiring process, you can create a more positive experience for every person who comes into the process, regardless of whether or not they are ultimately hired. This is especially important for consumer brands where thousands of applicants each year are also your customers. 

Recruiting from new industries for skills over resumes

I’m preaching to the choir when I say that hiring is still really competitive right now, and to keep up, companies need to continue the momentum toward skills over resumes. The most qualified person for your open job may not have the exact experience you’re looking for, but they have the cognitive ability to quickly pick up new hard skills and already possess the necessary soft skills to thrive.  

The perfect example of these trends converging is the federal government. Now is the perfect time for federal agencies to tout their stability and snatch up Silicon Valley talent. Qualifications could look a little different on paper, but with assessments and well-designed structured interviews, you can vet what actually matters to job success, and bring people into public service who would otherwise be unattainable.

When you’re recruiting outside of your industry it is also particularly important to invest in realistic job previews so candidates gain a better understanding of what their job will entail. Remember, it’s still largely a candidate market and the interview is a two-way process where people are trying to gather just as much information as you are to make a decision about their work lives. 

Conclusion

If I had to sum up my 2023 predictions into one piece of advice for hiring leaders it would be this: the greatest upheavals contain opportunities to build stronger businesses, and the key to better business is always stronger teams. No matter what comes next, that fact will never change.

Our team is signing off for a company-wide shutdown for the last week of December to come back rejuvenated after the holidays, but if you’re interested in starting the new year with a demo to stay ahead of the trends, book time with one of our hiring experts here.