The start of a new year means thinking about the changes and trends that will impact your workforce. As we head into 2021, these five hiring trends will make a big impact on your employees.

1. Remote Accessibility

Remember when nearly everyone with a full-time job got into a car, bus or train and traveled to their workplace? Today, millions of those same people work from home. And that means they expect remote options moving forward. They want to see remote interview opportunities and remote work opportunities. Companies on the leading edge of remote accessibility and collaboration will have a much easier time attracting talent than those lagging behind.

2. Skills Assessments

Thanks to mobile and cloud technology, more and more employers are choosing to test candidates' skills before offering them the job. Today, there is little excuse for hiring someone who turns out to be less skilled than they claimed during the hiring process. Skills assessments verify those claims but can also help you identify other skills a potential employee has that may not have come up in the interview.

3. Diversity and Inclusion

Diversity and inclusion have been buzzwords for decades, but 2020 brought with it real change. Today, people aren't accepting lip service when it comes to diversity -- especially younger workers. Expect millennials and Generation Z to demand diversity from employers. Sixty-three percent of Generation Z feels it is important to work on a diverse team, and 20 percent think having people of different cultural backgrounds is the most important element to a successful team. Seventy-seven percent of Generation Z says a company's diversity impacts whether they would want to work there. Companies that are behind the eight ball in terms of building diverse teams will struggle to attract Gen Z talent.

4. Employer Branding

Candidates will research your company online before deciding to proceed with an application. Do you know what potential candidates will find? It takes a strong social media presence, an updated website that highlights company culture, good online reviews and a strong PR strategy to pique and keep their interest. You'll need to promote exciting projects, showcase employee achievements and paint the picture that your organization is a great place to work.

5. Candidate Experience

The number one complaint of job seekers at all levels in every single industry is lack of communication. They say they do not hear about the status of their application, communication throughout the process can be lacking, or they get far along in the process only to be dropped without ever being formally told they are out of the running. Candidates will share poor experiences online on sites like Glassdoor and Indeed. That's why it's important to not only communicate throughout the process but to streamline it and keep it organized, as well.

For more strategies on how to stay ahead of changes that will impact your workforce and your business, reach out to the experts at PrideStaff today!