A majority of HR and technology trends forecasted by experts in 2022 didn’t come to pass, thanks to the widespread political and economic standoffs we’ve all witnessed in the last year. Generally, the once fast-paced, innovative IT industry that embraced rapid transformation post-Covid-19 is today facing new challenges and the situation could worsen. Here is a quick overview of what happened vs. what the industry expected, and the outlook of trends in talent acquisition at the end of 2022. 

The State of Remote Working Culture and the Rise of Hybrid Models

Many employers saw remote work culture as a viable strategy for a relatively affordable hiring quote in overseas job markets, or as a way of enhancing employee experience. Some experts also projected that this culture has a tremendous influence on increased productivity. 

While remote working is visibly taking root across various industries, employees are still renewing requests for flexible hybrid or complete in-office work settings. In fact, 86% of employees in the US now want to work under hybrid conditions. Companies, such as Twitter, Meta, and Microsoft are good examples of businesses that have to rethink their approach toward engagement models in 2023. 

Hiring and Staff Augmentation 

As the pandemic subsided and various parts of the globe resumed normalcy, expert trends in HR industry projected the demand for tech talents to increase across the board, citing new business opportunities and shifting market factors. However, in reality, new hires have mostly dominated IT jobs related to data and security throughout 2022. 

This is probably because the global incidences of cyberattack breaches increased by 63% after the Covid-19 pandemic. 

Like most previous HR projections, IT-driven businesses have realized the increasing need for hiring:

• Cybersecurity engineers
• Cybersecurity analysts
• Security software developers
• Network security architects 
• Ethical hackers or penetration testers 
• Computer forensic analysts 

Soft Skills and Communication Skills in Recruitment 

High-tech companies are now looking beyond strong coding skills and relevant technical certifications when interviewing candidates to join them. An evaluation of soft skills and communication competency is now becoming standard in any typical recruitment process. The ideal top talent for hire in the current job market demonstrates high proficiency in both technical and soft/communication competencies. 

IT Hiring Trends for 2023: Recession and Challenging Times for Talent Hunters or Opportunities? 

With 2022 behind us, HR departments will soon resume their busy schedules of talent retention, enhancing the employee experience, and aligning HR management with new trends. But as you’re preparing for this, which key HR trends for 2023 should you watch out for — especially if you are going to inculcate new processes that add value to employees and help them achieve various objectives over the next 12 months? Here is the likely forecast. 

More Candidates Will Prefer Hybrid/ Office Working Environments 

In the last year, 54% of hiring experts have seen candidates turning down job offers when flexibility or remote working isn’t included in the agreement. This is among the tech hiring trends that will go on into 2023 and influence how businesses restrategize their working environments. 

HR predictions for 2023 indicate that creating offline synergy to battle boredom and monotony or rising mental health issues will be back again. 

Entrepreneurs Will Be Looking for More Niche-centric Business Opportunities

Data-driven trends in HR industry indicate that entrepreneurs will be exploring alternative business options come 2023, in a bid to navigate the murky economic downturn and boost profits. While technology will be a huge defining factor in the type of businesses entrepreneurs branch out to. Some innovations that were once heralded as the future will gradually phase out. 

For instance, Meta services and NFT technology will most likely take the back seat in innovation. As of today, the average of an NFT at a secondary marketplace has fallen by 92%. Investment appetite around this field will be low. At the same time, 2023 may not be the hallmark of blockchain as the tech is still nascent and requires a lot of improvements. 

Select Industries to Grow In the Next Year

Several industries will experience profitable growth in 2023 and beyond, including: 

• FinTech in various forms: 2023 will be the ultimate year of enhancing financial inclusion across the globe, and the overall FinTech industry will grow alongside this goal. The sector will grow at a compound annual growth rate of about 20.5%. 
• HealthTech and medical research: Earning through activities surrounding HealthTech and medical research will grow by 37% over the next month. However, experts warn that long-term growth rates might be lower than the historical figures.  
• Cybersecurity: McKinsey estimates that there is a $1.5 to $2.0 trillion addressable market in the cybersecurity technology and managed services industry beginning in 2023.  
• Logistics and transport solutions: Experts forecast that the global logistics and transport solutions industry will grow at an annual compound growth rate of 7.9% and reach $18.69 billion by 2026. 

Product Innovation and Transformation are Inevitable 

In terms of innovation, businesses will be transforming or upgrading their existing products to match the foregoing market and consumer needs. This trend will be more prevalent in businesses dealing with consumer-facing products that didn’t generally perform well over the last two years. 

As this forecast takes shape, hiring trends in IT industry, especially for a typical software development team will also shift. For instance, the demand for product management specialists, such as business analysts or product managers will be on the rise. 

Business Processes Optimization Will Be a Priority 

2023 will also be a period to reflect on the mistakes learned from tech industry hiring trends of the past years, and design strategies that will help startups bounce back into business. Most companies spent the last two years restructuring and hiring candidates to fill vacant job positions that were affected by the pandemic. 

The focus will now shift to technology and how innovations can help optimize day-to-day business processes. New technologies such as artificial intelligence and machine learning will take center stage in various business processes, such as social media, customer engagement, HR functions, as well as project and portfolio management. 

Data is Still the New Gold 

Trends around data will likely remain unchanged in 2023. Latest statistics show that consumers continue to generate up to 2.5 quintillions of data every day. The reports also indicate that the global big data and analytics market will most likely hit $79.32 billion by 2028. 

However, in 2023, businesses will be spending more on IT solutions that protect the safety and integrity of their data. Cybersecurity threats will still be an issue and thorough preparation for imminent or unforeseen breaches will be a priority for many.   

Businesses to Dictate the Hiring Rules 

Businesses will take the driver’s seat when it comes to recruitment. The latest hiring trends in tech that employers want to hire value-matched candidates only, a goal that requires them to dictate the rules of the hiring process. In other words, technical talent markets will have little say given that the current landscape is driven by business needs and analyses. 

Financial Crisis Will Give Rise to New Tools and Technologies 

The average inflation rate against the end of period consumer prices in emerging markets and developing economies stood at 10.6% as of October 2022. Among the top HR predictions for 2023 is that this economic stand off will continue to drive a financial crisis among IT businesses of all sizes. 

In this situation, new technologies will emerge to help businesses optimize costs. A majority of tech companies will likely make choices on cross-platform and universal technologies that cover all needs under one package. 

HR Challenges in 2023: How to Win the Best Talents Using Innovative HR and Technology Trends 

HR challenges will also be a big part of the top hiring trends to follow in 2023 and beyond. So, what does the future of work has in store for you and what exactly should you brace for? Here are some expert insights based on HR trends for 2023. 

Employee Experience and Retention 

Hiring qualified candidates is already proving to be a challenge in many workplace settings. To avoid the risks of ending up with multiple vacant job positions by the turn of the year, employers will be strategizing ways and processes that boost employee experience, as well as retention. 

You can incorporate employee perks and benefits to curb this and ensure that your software developers are satisfied with your management and compensation styles. Bonuses will also matter a lot in determining whether new applicants will be motivated to stay at your company after a short-lived experience.  

A Human Approach in HR Management

Currently, 31% of conversations between employees and their management are either bad or basic, with little focus on the people behind various job positions. Such human resource trends point out one thing — job satisfaction levels are generally low across the board. Cornerstones that can help you take a different approach in HR management by introducing a human touch include:

• Shared commitment and accountability for building long-term mutual relationships for future success
• Public recognition of an employee’s contribution to foster morale across the board 
• Frequent in-person meetings, especially for teams working remotely 
• An inculcated culture of trust with respect for personal boundaries 

Employee Development 

It is unfortunate that 44% of workers feel side-lined by their current employers when it comes to personal development and forging compelling career paths. If this challenge is prevalent in your organization, employees might be prompted to seek growth opportunities elsewhere. 

Nonetheless, there is still room for improvement. 2023 is the time to support your team members in all ways. Help them build competitive soft and communication skills because they strongly matter in future job opportunities. Alternatively, you can make it a habit of encouraging your team to attend both virtual and physical courses, conferences, workshops, or even seminars. 

Hybrid Work Perfection 

The last two years have been a period of learning, relearning, and unlearning the cost-benefits of hybrid work. While no one has seemingly gotten it right the first time, hybrid models are here to stay as the future of work. The learning curve is over and HR professionals will be seeking ways of perfecting this trend to ensure that they get the most out of it. 

Businesses are not going to give up on the benefits they enjoy with this model, such as flexibility and cost savings. The latest HR projections show that existing systems, tools, HR technology, and structures will be improved to make this working model flawless.  

Talent Shortage

Hiring activities have spiked up again across various industries. The demand for expert recruiters has grown by nearly 7 times over the last year, with many businesses hoping that these professionals will help them find potential candidates and hire them before other employers. 

With this in mind, recruiting via traditional methods will be a big challenge going forward. New recruitment technology, such as systems for pre-screening tests will be employed to save time and costs. Job candidates who don’t get hired for the first time but come closer to making the cut, such as software programmers will be contacted again for a second consideration. 

What’s Next?

The upshot is Human Resource departments will play a more integral in ensuring business success in 2023 and beyond, than in previous years. The developer job market is still dynamic and will undergo several changes as far as global HR trends are concerned. Specialized IT talents, such as software engineers will still be in high demand as businesses rethink the transformation goals of their products.