The future of work is being shaped by two powerful forces: The growing adoption of artificial intelligence in the workplace, and the expansion of the workforce to include both on- and off-balance-sheet talent.

Accelerated by the pandemic, the future of work is here. As increasing connectivity, robotics, and cognitive tools change the nature of work, new talent models and the gig economy are reinventing jobs. Now is the time to reimagine why, where, and how work gets done—and unleash the energy and endless possibilities of human potential.

According to a Fortune survey, 59% of CEOs enacted hiring freezes during the pandemic. But the situation is now changing. Wouldn’t you be interested to know what do the hiring trends look like post-pandemic?

As the world starts to collectively rebuild from the chaos that was in 2020, we’re amidst a hiring surge now. The hiring freezes, together with the rising demand for unfilled positions have led to an uncharacteristically high volume of job openings littered across top job boards like LinkedIn, which has over 5 million open positions, and Indeed, that recorded approximately 1 million job postings. Additionally, in March 2021, U.S. employers added 916,000 jobs across all sectors, including more than 16,000 new U.S. tech sector jobs created at the same time.

However, job surge isn’t the only trend brought about by the pandemic. The post-Covid era has put a reset on HR policies, employee perks, and benefits, workforce management besides leading to the inception of sophisticated hybrid recruitment strategies, hybrid workplace models, and much more. Stay with us as we touch upon a few major hiring trends

Boost to remote working

The World Economic Forum estimates that the number of remote workers is set to double in 2021. And the leaders at some of the world’s largest organizations echo this sentiment, like Facebook CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, saying his company would “aggressively” speed up remote hiring this year.

Another recent Gartner poll indicated that 48% of employees will likely work remotely at least part of the time after COVID-19 as opposed to 30% pre-pandemic. Organizations shifting to more remote operations have warranted exploring the critical competencies employees will need to collaborate digitally and be prepared to adjust employee experience strategies. This has further led to a shift in performance goal settings, and employee evaluations that are more apt for a remote workplace.

Building a diverse & inclusive workforce

Not only has a remote working world accelerated globalization, productivity, and employee happiness, but it has also helped organizations achieve diversity, equity, and inclusion at the workplace. According to a survey by The Consumer Technology Association, 86% of tech companies “have at least one current or planned diversity and inclusion initiation at their organization.” And another 43% will concentrate on hiring more employees from underrepresented backgrounds and communities within the next five years.

A diverse and inclusive workforce allows for a broad range of perspectives, creative ideas, and skills, and often drives innovation besides boosting team productivity.

Revision of employee benefits

Organizations that leverage contract talent located outside of an HQ city, save money on health insurance contributions, visa fees, salaries, tools and supplies, technology, gratuity benefits, and more. The pandemic has forced employers to act. In the wake of the pandemic, employees’ health and well-being have suffered the most. Employers worldwide have realized that care benefits are critical to employees’ productivity and success at work. In fact, 57% of senior leaders told Harvard Business Review (HBR) that their organizations are prioritizing care benefits to better support their workforce to find a balance between work and life.

As part of the same poll, 63% claimed that they plan to increase their company’s existing benefits. This revision of employee benefits can serve to encourage employee satisfaction, their happiness index, and ultimately, their retention.

Rise of nearshore, offshore, and onshore hiring

To strategically fill the skill gaps across various industries and roles, enterprises are moving toward nearshore and offshore outsourcing to focus on core competencies, and hire high-quality experts, while also reducing operating costs. This is a change from the more traditional practice of onshore outsourcing, which is where an organization hires a practitioner within their own country, state, or city.

Widening the talent pool outside of your geographic location can also help recruiters save time on finding qualified candidates, which translates into a cost-saving of $4,100 per employee. But every organization has its own needs and nearshore, offshore and onshore hiring have their own set of pros and cons.

In the post-pandemic world, organizations look to the future of work with optimism, propelled by human resourcefulness and resilience. At Infoway Group, we’re ready to help you humanize the future of work, elevate your workforce, and foster the environment needed to realize their full potential and the businesses’ desired outcomes. Explore how to re-architect work, unleash the workforce, and adapt the workplace.