Post-pandemic Recruitment: Market Knowledge Essential for Successful Partnerships

Now that it’s determined that the COVID-19 era will not have a definite ending point, our professional lives have started to adjust rules and standards. People have recognized the importance of work-life balance and demand home office and hybrid opportunities from employers. To answer the new pressures, companies need new tactics to attract and retain talent.

After almost a decade of experience in the recruitment industry, IseeQ’s business unit is well prepared for the new challenges and changing circumstances. Our colleagues notice several surprising trends and have exciting expectations for 2022-23.

“Despite the initial enthusiasm towards remote work, most candidates are now looking for hybrid opportunities rather than 100% home office. They usually express the need for separated spaces for work and personal life and promise improved focus in exchange,” says Dóra Világosi, business unit manager at IseeQ.

“Employees seem to have had enough of the distractions they experience at home and are eager to explore flexible options to have the best of both worlds.” The changes are not only visible in attitude, but in practice as well.

“Job descriptions are changing, and expectations tied to a certain role adjust to digitalization and remote conditions gradually. New positions requiring unique skill sets also emerge constantly,” say Boglárka Visi and Nikolett Horváth, recruiters at IseeQ.

“New compensation forms are also making their way into all industries. The popularity of cryptocurrency continues to rise, resulting in an exciting mix of payment methods.”

Companies are often torn between the cost of maintaining an office and the responsibilities of supplying their employees with everything they need for work at home. However, forward-thinking leaders keep their colleagues’ best interests at heart and re-design organizational structures, cultural models, and bonus packages to accommodate renewed needs.

On the other hand, there are still businesses that demand a physical presence in the office five days a week, just as they did pre-pandemic. This may be an unattractive feature in candidates’ eyes.

In these uncertain times, expectations towards recruitment agencies have changed too. The importance of business advice and salary benchmarks is growing since they can help companies create competitive packages for candidates. We asked our partners about these expectations and their opinion on the post-COVID market.

Máté Gulyás, CEO of Datapao, believes in flexibility. In a hybrid model, employees don’t feel isolated (since they have the chance to visit an office), and they can work from the comfort of their own homes too. In the post-COVID market, he thinks recruitment agencies should realize the increased value of efficient communication and a quick recruitment process.

Istyle’s CEE regional manager Csaba Gyarmati highlighted the growing significance of understanding organizational culture and the characteristics of the ideal candidate. All agencies should focus on understanding customer expectations and finding a proper cultural fit. In his opinion, IseeQ’s recruitment strategy for them was successful because “IseeQ is professional in both selection and agreement. They excel at managing the candidates’ expectations with appropriate information in the waiting process and mediating more difficult decision-making processes, if necessary.” Gyarmati also considered the “fast premium service” crucial.

Updated standards fit for today call for resilience in a renewed context, with a tight commitment to accepting the only permanent thing in our world: change. We are excited to see what the future holds and even more excited to evolve constantly to remain competitive.

This article was first published in the Budapest Business Journal print issue of April 22, 2022.