Social Media Recruitment Statistics 2021

Socially Recruited began 2021 by asking this question to recruiters and hiring managers;

Since the start of the pandemic in March 2020, have you reduced your budget for Job Boards and Recruitment Agencies?

• 33% of businesses had reduced spending by over 50%
• 47% of businesses had reduced their budget, or it had remained the same
• Only 19% of businesses say their budget increased in 2021

Adapting your strategy in 2021

Employees may be thinking of moving companies this year, making retention a big issue for employers. Hiring managers may also find it harder than ever to convince top candidates into their organisations.

The belief that job seekers are in infinite supply can lead to poor recruitment marketing and poor candidate experiences. Previously, you could post an ad on a job board and expect good candidates to apply by default. In 2021, this is not the case. There is a reason that 33% of businesses have reduced their spending on job boards and recruitment agencies by 50% or more.

These are not the most shocking social media recruitment statistics for 2021.

According to studies, it is statistically just as hard to recruit in January 2021 as it was in January 2020. (Herald Scotland). This is where use of AI will give organisations a competitive edge when attracting top talent.

Digital Recruitment in 2021

Digital skills are now the main focus for businesses that recognise the shift in the working world and the way we hire.

Businesses have to adapt and focus on areas such as digital skills. Just because there is an abundance of job seekers does not mean that you will receive quality applicants for your roles.

2020 was a year where companies adopted new technology to continue working through the pandemic and social media recruitment statistics show that there was a surge in social media usage in the recruitment industry.

Covid-19 triggered a historically quick adoption of technology. During the pandemic, technology usage grew. Growth expected in 5 years took only eight weeks to reach expected levels. This new technology includes video conferencing and remote working. Technology usage hit levels that were expected as late as 2030. (Personnel Today)

How to attract employees

The candidate must have a good experience.

Focus on making it easy for them to apply and ensure that the benefits and training opportunities are clear in your recruitment material.

If candidates do not know what they can expect from the role, they will not apply. Go beyond just telling them the salary and company benefits. Recruitment material is a chance to showcase your company culture to candidates and show them what is unique about your offering.

Why should these candidates join you specifically?

Previously, this would have happened at the interview stage, and you would have had the opportunity to invite candidates into the office to impress and persuade them to join. Now you must work out how to do all of this remotely.

Does AI attract top employees?

A report produced by Sage indicated that;

• 24% of businesses have started using AI for their talent acquisition needs.
• 56% of managers plan to adopt automated technology for hiring in the next 12 months (Forbes)

CEO Greg Moran has said:

“We can expect 2021 to continue to bring major disruptions to digital hiring and recruitment. This will be particularly evident in how the process leverages technology to drive efficiency for both recruiters and applicants alike.”

HR needs to embrace the accelerated use of AI to help combat bias in recruitment and other issues.

How Vodafone and Unilever use AI

AI was already speeding up recruitment processes before 2020. Vodafone and Unilever have used AI for many years to help manage their application process.

• Vodafone uses AI to manage 100,000 graduates applying for 1,000 roles each year.
• Vodafone has contracted with HireVue to test an AI application that removes human bias from the recruitment process.
• Unilever previously took 4-6 months to manually sift through 250,000 applicants for only 800 vacancies before using HireVue. (Personnel Today)

The programme at HireView uses visual and verbal cues to compare choice, facial movements, body language, and tone to identify the best candidates groups them into categories

1. Highly Recommended
2. Recommended
3. Not Recommended

Vodafone confirmed that the AI system correlated with its internal assessment process, and they agreed on 70% of the highly recommended candidates. Vodafone took their time-to-hire from 23 to 11 days, reduced candidate dropout rates by 30%, and tripled cost savings.

AI can offer clear and tangible benefits, not just increased efficiency but increased candidate quality.

Frontline is optimistic about Recruitment in 2021

Frontline Recruitment in Nottingham has recently announced that they expect to hire 8 permanent recruitment consultants and 4 industrial business development executives after an upturn in enquiries since the end of 2020.

Frontline says the major sectors they have found are still hiring include logistics, e-commerce, and FMCG sectors.

David Essam, the Operations Director has commented:

“After an incredibly tough 2020, it’s incredibly pleasing to be starting a new year by creating jobs at Frontline.” (Insider Media Limited)

Organisations must be adopting AI and communicating effectively with candidates about their roles, company culture, and benefits.

Candidates must see how your offering differs from all of the other vacancies for similar roles. Your

Social Media Recruitment Statistics 2021 – Final Thoughts

Hiring will be taking place in 2021. The Pitch Book survey has found that 90% of private companies have said they are looking to hire in 2021.

More than 80% of employers agreed that shifting to remote working has been successful for their company. Virtual business is not just for now, but a paradigm shift, meaning the potential for a lot of new software for screening candidates, improving communication, and addressing unconscious bias. (PitchBook)

If you want to know more…

Socially Recruited has worked with thousands of different businesses across the UK and overseas. Businesses must have access to advice and support at these challenging times.

If you’re interested in learning more, just hit ‘Book Demo’ above!

Oh, and if you’re not quite ready for a demo, you can check out our blog for more thoughts and insights on social media and passive candidate recruitment.

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