Author: admin

Talking about the future is always interesting, but when the present is this volatile, we can’t not talk about it!  

The World Just Changed “Overnight.” Be it healthcare, textiles, recruiting or IT consulting services, a COVID-19 shadow has enveloped all the sectors as far and wide it can.

Wherever we are in the world, COVID-19 has had a critical impact on our lives. The pandemic umbrella contains a smorgasbord of other developments that affect our day-to-day work in HR and recruiting.

“It’s easy to think that COVID-19 is the reason for everything we’re seeing in our new world of work. But it’s not so.” Says Kapil Katira Head – Talent Acquisition & Development. www.thegatewaycorp.com

As someone catering to IT consulting services, I can say without a shadow of doubt that there’s been a pretty steady evolution of digital transformation, political change, income inequality, and job change,” Kapil says. “Re-skilling, up-skilling, new job models, new job architectures, new organization models, a focus on the environment, the global climate issues, diversity inclusion equity, I mean, it’s been a ton of stuff. The pandemic just accelerated every one of those issues and added well-being and resilience and mental health to that.”

One way to think about the next year or two is shifting from a business-centered view of your company, where it’s all about the business strategy and the business goals and the business metrics and the business results to the human side of that. The same applies to challenges and problems that arise in every business. In current days, where our revenue is low, our profits are low, we have an error, we lost an account, we lost a client, we’re not making enough money, there’s always people problems underneath it. 2020 has been kind of an exciting year from that standpoint because we’ve been able to talk about the people side of the business as really a part of survival. Needless to say, IT consulting services have always been about people but this time around, it is about placing the right people with the right perks for longer retention.

We’ve learned now in this particular year, especially coming out of last year, that if we aren’t forgiving, kind, flexible, and empathetic, we’re not going to have a company. People aren’t going to come to work. They’re not going to be able to work. So this is a crucial change.

Today, employee morale is no longer just about benefits. What really matters are things that help people do their jobs in more productive ways. Most people, the reason they enjoy work is they enjoy the people at work. So the well-being agenda is moving from that of cost reduction and insurance costs to job satisfaction via employee connect and workspace benefits, which is where it started to focus on total performance. And that’s a really positive thing to me for business. In previous years, a person would stay with a company through retirement. It is no longer true. There are many reasons for employees departing. These reasons range from better pay to a closer workplace, to not enjoying their existing work environment. The best way to retain your talent is by creating an environment in which they feel important.

Lifting Employee Morale in the IT Department

More often than not, employees with lower morale do not wish to put in enough effort, let alone going the extra mile. They often feel underappreciated and overworked. The common challenges of IT staffing and causes low morale are misunderstood expectations, intimidation by the managers, and feeling underappreciated.

Recruiting High Skill IT Applicants

In this digital-first scenario, IT talent has the liberty to pick and choose where they want to work rather than settling for a position and job role that is far from their skill set. So, as a futuristic company, your aim should be to attract top talent by providing them with perks and benefits that will contribute to their productivity.

To recruit top talent, you need to make sure that you have a company that is the right mix of work and perks. Ensure that the culture is suited to their needs.

The Challenge of IT Worker Burnout

Burnout is a state of emotional, mental, and physical fatigue caused by excessive and prolonged stress. It occurs when you feel overwhelmed and unable to meet constant demands. When not kept in check, your productivity drops, and you can begin to feel helpless, cynical, and hopeless.

Maintaining Productivity Levels in IT

Low productivity is a killer in any industry. There are many reasons that an employee may be disengaged and thus not being as productive as they could be, or wish to be. A few examples of the reasons:

• Outdated systems
• Employee dissatisfaction
• The employee is going through some personal problems

To help prevent the issue from recurring, be available to your employees. Make them feel valued. Also importantly, ensure they have clear expectations lined out of what their job entails, explaining the rules and regulations of the company.

Successful IT Staffing Requires Providing Competitive Benefits

Benefits are a key driver in recruitment and job satisfaction. If a company’s benefits package fails to meet its employees’ health and financial expectations, it risks losing its best players to organizations with more of an in-depth package. Benefits don’t always have to be expensive. In case of IT consulting services, staffing should consider

It’s no brainer that 2020 was an overwhelming year. Everyone was battling at some front, be it battling the virus and struggling to retain the job. That being said, recruitment in 2021 is nothing like what we have been witnessing till now. It’s a new game altogether. The pandemic has had a profound effect on how companies procured, processed, and placed talent. As budgets were restrained, team sizes got reduced, but what’s the road to recovery?

Remote working is the evident reality right now and at least for the foreseeable future. Today, we will talk about some of the most influential trends that would redefine the hiring landscape in 2021. Let’s get started!

Employee experience matters more

The ever-evolving process of enhancing the employee experience now holds more value than ever given the surrounding chaos and crisis. Supporting and encouraging your employees leads to greater employee satisfaction. Various studies have revealed that it results in greater productivity and loyalty. That’s something employers need more than ever now.

To deliver the ultimate employee experience, companies are combining effective technology and human interference. This way, in-house recruiters are extending a more personalised yet time-efficient employee experience in the organisations. Since the recruitment process is transforming, organisations are deploying technologies such as AI and ML to keep up in the post-pandemic workspace. “This will be particularly evident in how the process leverages technology to drive efficiency for both recruiters and applicants alike,” says Kapil Katira, Head of Talent and Acquisition, The Gateway group.

Virtual is now becoming the new reality

Despite work from home being the norm, face-to-face interactions still hold significant leverage for greater independence and flexibility. Hence, it is estimated that in 2021 and platforms like Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, etc. will be at the mainstay, becoming the norm for working and interviewing.

The transition from the conventional hiring mode has already revealed many advantages such as being more efficient, cost-effective and a more intelligent alternative. With automation setting up practices like pre-recorded interviews and templates, a large number of candidates can be reached out to and evaluated in a much faster fashion.

Apparent automation

The last decade saw an unprecedented rise in the rate of digital transformation in the global recruitment landscape. Be it in-house or offshore recruiters, everyone leveraged the astronomical advantages that AI and automation brought along. This phenomenon not only improved efficiencies but also streamlined the manual internal processes.

With the advent of modernisation, 2021 will witness even higher standards and subsequent implementation of sophisticated automation solutions at every aspect of the recruiting process irrespective of the sector. However, the key to the ultimate candidate experience is striking a balance between human intervention and technology. That being said, organisations still need to deploy more technological solutions to accelerate the process, but at the same time, should refrain from becoming entirely mechanical.

Wrapping up

Everyone is optimistic about 2021 as the economy resurges and businesses rebound. Technology is the primary enabler of any transformation, and in the recruitment industry, it has even more relevance and responsibilities. These were some of the most prominent and promising trends that would help the recruitment sector scale new heights while the world makes peace with the new normal.