After a year of cut-backs, lay-offs and uncertainty, recruitment marketers are preparing to support their companies’ growth once again.
At our RallyFwd Virtual Conference on Dec. 2, 2020, we polled attendees who work in Recruitment Marketing, employer branding, talent acquisition and HR at employers of all sizes to find out how they have fared through the challenges of 2020 and what their outlook is for 2021.
Two-thirds (66%) of attendees said that their company was planning to hire more and grow next year. This is a significantly better outlook than attendees had at our previous RallyFwd on May 6, 2020, which was relatively early on during the pandemic. At that time, 63% of attendees said their company had cut back or frozen hiring, and 13% had already taken steps to lay off or furlough workers. But now with COVID-19 vaccines on the way, and investors optimistic about the economy’s rebound next year, talent leaders are gearing up to recruit again.
66% of practitioners said their company is planning to hire more and grow in 2021.
Recruitment marketers are also optimistic about their ability to invest in new recruiting solutions in 2021. 52% of respondents said they were planning to implement new technology next year, with only 15% answering no. Compared to our RallyFwd May 2020 poll, 31% said they planned to invest in new HR tech while 36% said they were not. This could be good news that budgets are opening up again.
52% of RallyFwd poll respondents said they were planning to implement new recruiting technology in 2021, with only 15% saying they were not.
With practitioners gearing up their recruitment operations for 2021, it appears they will need to continue delivering a virtual candidate experience and remote hiring process for the foreseeable future. 72% of RallyFwd attendees said their compay will primarily operate as a remote-friendly or remote-first employer. The shift to remote work and the emergence of the Work Anywhere Workforce has been one of the most consequential changes of 2020, and we believe it will have a lasting impact on how companies attract, recruit and retain talent.
At RallyFwd on Dec. 2, 2020, 52% of attendees said their companies will primarily operate as a remote-friendly employer in 2021, 20% said their company will operate as a remote-first employer and 20% said their company will require in-person work.
With the sudden changes in 2020 to support virtual recruiting experiences and digital Recruitment Marketing tactics, many talent acquisition and HR teams were pushed into digital transformation. We asked RallyFwd attendees to tell us where they are in their digital transformation journey. The result was an average score of 5.6 out of 10, with 1 being not at all and 10 representing digital masters. As a community, we still have a ways to go to modernize our strategies.
Practitioners gave themselves an average score of 5.6 in their journey to digital transformation.
Finally, the pandemic was not the only professional challenge faced by the Rally community in 2020. The Black Lives Matter movement pushed employers to take stronger and more visible action towards achieving racial equality. We asked RallyFwd attendees to rate the inclusivity of their candidate experience and hiring process today. Poll respondents gave themselves an average score of 6.7 out of 10. Whatever the score, employers have much work to do to achieve a truly diverse, equal and inclusive workplace, and our work here has never been more important.
We hope our RallyFwd poll offers more insights on how your colleagues and peers have navigated the pandemic and what they’re preparing for in 2021.
You can still access all of the inspiring speaker presentations and product demonstrations by watching RallyFwd™ On Demand.
