The Rise of Hybrid Recruiting: Read the infographic image or copy below.

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Virtual Recruiting is Here to Stay
The widespread adoption of remote work and cancellation of in-person events in 2020 drove talent acquisition professionals to quickly adapt in order to meet their hiring needs. Virtual recruiting technology helped many bridge the gap, offering the ability to host online hiring events, video interviews, live website chats, and more. In fact, virtual recruiting turned out to be more than just a bridge: it has become the best path forward as organizations realize the benefits of virtual for their long-term recruiting needs.
We asked if recruiters will continue using virtual recruitment as a part of their process when things return to normal.
96% of talent acquisition professionals surveyed said yes.
The Takeaway: While the pandemic may have introduced many to virtual recruiting by necessity, these virtual tools are now a critical piece of any modern hiring strategy alongside in-person tactics. Teams and business leaders are using virtual recruiting to save time and resources that can be more strategically applied in order to reach broader talent pools, reduce carbon footprint, and even drive diversity and inclusion goals.
What the Experts are Saying
“The biggest silver lining that has come out of 2020 has been cost control around travel expenses.” -- Jennifer Newbill, Director of University Recruiting, Dell Technologies
“The integration of virtual recruiting into the talent acquisition process is here to stay! Virtual career fairs, chats, text recruiting, and video interviewing have all added additional tools for talent acquisition to enhance candidate experience and hiring success.” -- Brian White, Executive Director of Human Resources & Operations, Auburn-Washburn Unified School District 437
Recruiting by the Numbers in 2020
How has recruiting been impacted by the pandemic? For one, virtual recruiting has become widespread.
According to NACE, 66% of companies planned to participate in virtual recruiting for the 2020-2021 academic year.
Virtual recruiting platforms have enabled many organizations to continue their recruiting programs and hiring practices without skipping a beat. In fact, our research found that nearly 66% of companies found their time to hire has either stayed the same this year, or decreased.
How has the average time to hire been impacted by the pandemic?
- 48% say it takes about the same amount of time
- 18% say it has decreased
- 34% say that overall time to hire has increased
What is happening with offer acceptance rates?
Since the start of the pandemic, the offer acceptance rate has been 75-100% for 39% of recruiters.
What the Experts are Saying
"Virtual hiring has enhanced our speed to market processing - it's cut our time in half. It’s helping us meet our goals in less time - for us, it's here to stay as a part of our overall recruiting strategy." -- Cathy Henesey, Executive Director, Talent Acquisition, AdventHealth
During the pandemic, finding qualified talent continues to be a challenge, especially in the white collar sector, meaning it’s critical for organizations to remain competitive and focused on finding top talent.
The Takeaway: Virtual recruiting technologies should be a part of your ongoing talent acquisition strategy to help you remain competitive and meet your recruiting goals.
Candidate Experience is Critical
The experts have been talking about it, and recruiters agree: company culture has risen to prominence among the factors job seekers most highly consider, other than salary, in choosing a new role.
Recruiters say the top deciding factors for job candidates (outside of salary) are:
- Company culture – 64%
- Company benefits – 59%
- Responsibilities/project work – 50%
- Flexible schedule – 45%
- Ability to work remotely – 35%
- Recruiter time to response – 20%
Job seekers say the top 3 things that make a company attractive are:
- Salary - 73%
- Benefits - 57%
- Work/Life Balance - 39%
The Takeaway: A competitive salary and benefits continue to be brass tacks for potential candidates. What will really set you apart in competing for top talent is a candidate experience that translates your company culture across your virtual hiring process.
Hybrid Recruiting: The Future of Talent is Now
Now is the time to build your hybrid recruiting strategy and use a hybrid approach to drive your talent acquisition goals in 2021 and beyond.
If you’d like to learn how Brazen’s virtual career fair platform works, sign up for a demo today!
About these Stats: Brazen’s recruiter survey was conducted among talent acquisition professionals in November 2020, receiving 475 responses. Our job seeker survey was conducted in partnership with Dynata in November 2020.
Enjoy this Post? Try These!
- 2020 Recruiting Lessons Learned
- 2021 Recruiting Predictions from Talent Acquisition Experts
- Podcast: Shelly Holt of PayScale: The Paradigm Shift of Remote Work
- How to Host a Virtual Career Fair
