3 areas that will drive recruitment trends in 2024

As an employer, you already know how important it is to be tuned in with market demands, to help you not only engage the right talent, but also retain them.

This article will focus on the three key areas that candidates place significant value on when deciding to change jobs.

There are more, of course, but these three areas have come up religiously during our discussions with professionals in Malta throughout 2023 and play a key part in their career evaluation plans in 2024.

1. Automation and digital tools

Throughout 2023, professionals have emphasised, time and time again, the importance of having access to automation and digital tools to facilitate and assist them in their day-to-day jobs.

Spending hours on end on manual, laborious tasks, with a high degree of human error, is something that few candidates are willing to do, if any.

If you are hiring in 2024, prepare for this to frequently come up during interviews.

Future-proof your business by looking at each department, the tools they use, and how you can facilitate better solutions for them.

Invest in technology and make use of various grants available to help you through this transition.

Pro tip: Ask each department what would be one tech/digital tool that will make their life easier.

2. Giving back

…Or ‘businesses with a soul’ as someone I was speaking with recently mentioned.

Businesses that ‘give back’ to the community, have always won over top professionals, even when competing against tens of other firms.

If your business lacks community involvement, re-think your focus.

You can go beyond the traditional charity & volunteering initiatives, and incorporate, for example, educational webinars for the public, and so on.

Go on, think outside the box!

Pro tip: Ask your employees, if they could help one person today, who would it be and how would they help them.

3. Appreciation & recognition

Did you know that one of the main reasons candidates are looking to leave their current workplace is because they do not feel appreciated?

No one is asking you to roll out a red carpet and give awards, but making a habit of appreciating the contributions made by your employees will pay dividends.

And it doesn’t have to be staged, either.

Small gestures have a big impact, like:

Thanking people when they give you what you need or help you with something.
Asking if they are free or have extra capacity before piling more work on them.
Booking them a cab home if they work late.

Pro Tip: Ask your employees what would it take to improve their wellbeing at work.