Lever, the leader in talent sourcing and relationship management software, today releases the Lever 2020 State of Recruiting Report. The report, based on the responses of 700 talent and HR decision makers in the U.S. and Canada, dives into the impact of the novel Coronavirus pandemic on recruiting practices and provides a glimpse of what the future may look like as businesses adapt to the many changes in the market across various industries.
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“The COVID-19 pandemic has transformed businesses in nearly every industry. And because nothing is more fundamental to a business than its people, rethinking people processes through the lens of this “new normal” is critical.”- #Lever CEO & Founder @nateps
Overall, the report surfaces optimism among recruiters, as only 14% of companies are on a total hiring freeze as a result of COVID-19, and 40% believe they’ll emerge post-pandemic stronger, with better strategies and tools. Some industries are even more optimistic. 48% of respondents in the software industry believe they’ll emerge stronger, followed by those in infrastructure (46%), finance (44%) and retail (43%).
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Additional key findings include:
- Recruiters have kept busy: 37% spent time rethinking their recruiting processes, while 41% cleaned up their recruiting data during slower hiring times.
- 84% of recruiters leaned more heavily on phone interviews as a result of the pandemic, while 85% of them leaned more heavily on video interviews.
- 62% agree they will need to hire workers with skills that weren’t needed before; the top new skills required are adaptability (68%), communication (60%), and technology proficiency (55%).
- 50% said diversity and inclusion initiatives will become more of a priority as companies proactively work to combat racism in the workplace.
- It’s still far too early to tell what the “new normal” will be in terms of remote work. Only 33% of respondents said remote work will likely increase with 38% saying it will decrease.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has transformed businesses in nearly every industry. And because nothing is more fundamental to a business than its people, rethinking people processes through the lens of this “new normal” is critical—from sourcing candidates and remotely interviewing them, to hiring and onboarding new employees,” says Lever’s CEO, Nate Smith. “In this report, we provide a glimpse of what that transformation may look like, with the goal of empowering businesses to adapt to—and even benefit from—these changes.”
Respondents also see the need for adaptability as a fundamental skill, as well as the importance of more personalized candidate relationships, with 71% saying it’s now more important that candidate relationship management tools be built into their applicant tracking system. Many are investing in recruiting interactions that will become more personalized and relationship-based going forward, especially in industries like infrastructure, construction and engineering (58%) and financial services (57%).
Methodology
Zogby Analytics was commissioned by Lever to conduct an online survey of 553 talent and HR decision makers in the US and 156 talent and HR decision makers in Canada for a total of 709 completed surveys conducted June 11-15, 2020.
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