This six-part series will explore some of the talent acquisition trends to expect in 2023. A shifting job market has changed how people think about their careers and progression opportunities, putting more power in the hands of the employer. As you explore these trends, consider how you can adjust your company’s recruiting and hiring practices to adapt.
Welcome to part two of our six-part series on the talent acquisition trends of 2023. The first part of this series talked about the rise in internal movement among employees who want to progress in their careers while maintaining a sense of stability and consistency. Now we’re diving into the (further) expansion of contract work.
Contract work has been steadily rising over the past few years, with a sharp incline during the pandemic when many businesses couldn’t operate as usual. Workers found opportunities to earn income in different ways, including providing transportation or delivery, marketing, and other services.
What is contract work?
Contractors differ slightly from freelancers, although the terms are often used interchangeably. Officially, a contractor enters into a contract with a company to complete a specific project (or multiple projects) at a mutually agreed-upon rate. By contrast, a freelance worker may not have a contract for multiple projects but instead performs work for a company on an as-needed basis.
Expanding contract roles
In the past, contract work was typically only available in specific industries or markets, but that has changed. According to research performed by McKinsey, 36 percent of employed Americans self-identify as independent workers. Some are in short-term placement opportunities through temporary agencies, while others hold full-time jobs in addition to “side hustles,” or freelance gigs performed part-time.
But how this concept ties into hiring trends for 2023 is the expansion of contract roles. Some companies are bringing on high-level professionals and even executives on a contract basis to meet scaling workforce needs while adhering to budgetary concerns.
Today’s contract worker
When comparing different types of people, it’s notable that those seeking and choosing contract work tend to be more mission-oriented. This personality trait makes them more suited to temporarily fill an organization’s needs. Contract workers are also more likely to assimilate quickly into new projects and environments, as they’re likely used to doing so regularly.
Depending on business needs, consider bringing on a contractor rather than hiring a full-time or even part-time employee to fill a specific need. For example, contract workers are highly useful during mergers and acquisitions, when employees may be on edge or feeling uneasy. A contractor can also fill in on a temporary basis, such as if an employee takes a leave of absence. Higher-level contractors may be brought in to take on strategic tasks, such as those related to organizational growth and success.
Hiring contract workers
Since this hiring trend is likely to impact companies of all sizes and scopes, it’s helpful to know how to hire a contract worker for a specific project or role. Talent acquisition professionals need to emphasize nurturing relationships with those interested in contract work rather than focusing on applicants for full-time and part-time positions.
In today’s landscape, it’s best to keep approximately 70 percent of the workforce as employees. This allows companies to outsource roughly 30 percent of the workload to contractors.
Advantages of contract work
Often, those who forego full-time gigs for contract opportunities value flexibility in their professional lives. A flexible job may also benefit those raising children or managing other responsibilities who can’t commit to the traditional 9-5 schedule. Companies using contractors can also take advantage of benefits, including improved cost efficiency and staffing flexibility.
As more skilled professionals shift their career goals and take on more contract work, companies of all sizes can benefit from considering these individuals to handle key tasks and projects. It’s a trend likely to continue well into 2023 and beyond.
Other posts in series (2023 Talent Acquisition Trends):
In this six-part series, we’ll explore some of the talent acquisition trends to expect in 2023. A shifting job market has changed the way people think about their careers and progression opportunities, putting more power in the hands of the employer. As you explore these trends, consider how you can adjust your company’s recruiting and hiring practices to adapt.
Part One: More Internal Movement
The job market has shifted dramatically recently, going from “hot, hot, hot” to “somewhat uncertain.” As a result, many workers are looking at different forms of career growth. Instead of seeking work with another company, many employees are moving upward internally. By ditching the corporate ladder and seeking to climb the company lattice instead, talented professionals have succeeded in achieving their career goals while maintaining a sense of stability.
Invest in Workforce Planning
What does this mean for you? Your hiring practices might need to shift, along with your internal training opportunities. Instead of hiring from outside, consider which current employees might be a good fit for an open position. Workforce planning needs to become part of your strategy, which involves identifying and addressing employment gaps. If growth is part of your business strategy, workforce planning is a critical step in that goal.
Offer Training Opportunities
A company can also make a big difference in the lives of its workers by investing in talent development. Developing the skills and abilities of every member of your workforce is a must, and it requires careful planning for proper execution. Provide regular training and options to gain certifications in relevant topics. Ensure that your internal staff members have the chance to re-skill or upskill and use their new or improved skills to seek internal advancement.
Nurture Top Employees
Of course, nurturing your workforce is an essential aspect of building and maintaining a strong company culture. But you can keep a short list of promising employees, offering tailored career development opportunities and customized career paths based on their skills and expertise. Investing in your employees is a win-win: Your workforce is happier and more engaged while your talent acquisition efforts improve. It’s also easier to fill skill gaps and open positions when hiring stalls out or you struggle to find an external candidate who checks all the boxes.
Internal movement is sticking around for the foreseeable future, so it’s worthwhile to consider how your company can promote and support its current employees.
Next up, we’ll cover the expansion of contract work as another 2023 hiring trend.
Our Ask Me Anything webinars provide a forum for users to learn more about ApplicantStack from the ApplicantStack Account Management team and receive answers to their product questions. The webinars include a demo of a product feature(s) followed by question and answer.
AMA Recap: How to Configure Job, Candidate and Application Fields 11/10/2022
Ellen Benzine showed attendees how to customize fields to meet your specific needs.
How To Configure Job Fields in Recruit
Field configuration can be performed by account administrators.
From the Home page, open the Jobs tab on the top menu. The information in the Jobs tab is about the specific job – Job Title, Available Positions, Location, etc.
To create a new job field, click your picture in the upper right and choose Setup from the dropdown.
From the blue menu on the left, choose Configure.
From the Configure page, choose Job Fields.
A page will open that shows your current Job Fields.
Click Create Field from the gray right hand menu.
The Add Job Field form will open. Follow the prompts to add the necessary values in the form.
Select Save in the lower left hand corner.
In addition to the default fields, some ApplicantStack users add a field for Existing Job or New Position, Salary or Hourly, or Part-time or Full-time. You can create up to 30 Job Fields.
How To Work With Candidate and Application Fields in Recruit
Ellen explained that Candidate fields include: 1. Basic information about the candidate, 2. Documents and information you want to collect from the candidate and 3. Information you want to input about the candidate. She discussed customization options and showed how to edit the Application Disposition field as an example.
How To Edit an Application Disposition Field
From the Home page, open the Candidates tab on the top menu.
Your Candidate table will open showing Candidate Fields.
Click your picture in the upper right and choose Setup from the dropdown.
From the blue menu on the left, choose Configure.
From the Configure page, you can edit many types of fields.
To edit Application Fields, select it from the Configure page.
To edit the Disposition in an Application, on the Disposition row, choose Edit Options in the Type column under Dropdown.
The Configure Application Disposition page will open showing the options currently set up.
To add another option, click Add Option on the right.
Add one or more options in the window, each on its own line. These will be added to the existing options for the field.
Click Save in the lower left corner.
Account administrators can add up to 20 Candidate Fields and 40 Application Fields. Note that Application Fields are somewhat of a “catch-all.” Source (where the candidate saw your job) is an important option if you are paying for job boards and want to track performance to measure ROI.
How To Configure Hire Fields in Onboard
In ApplicantStack Onboard, select the Hires tab from the top menu.
Click your picture in the upper right and select Setup from the dropdown.
Select Configure from the left hand menu.
Choose Hire Fields from the Configure Account menu.
Select Create Field from the right hand menu.
Follow prompts to complete the form and save.
Bottom line, ApplicantStack Recruit and Onboard are highly configurable. The platforms allow you to collect the information you want to mirror your hiring process in order to hire most efficiently.
Q & A
How can I use text messaging?
We offer Basic ($35/month) and Premium Texting ($95/month).
In the Candidates tab, if Texting is enabled, you’ll have a column labeled P (for Phone).
If the candidate has provided a cell phone number, there will be a phone icon in their record.
You can text candidates individually or in groups.
To text a candidate(s), select their record by checking the box to the left of their name.
Select Text Candidate from the right hand menu.
The Text to Candidate(s) window will open with the recipient(s) listed at the top.
To create a new message, type it in the window.
If you have created a template, select it from the dropdown menu.
Add an accompanying message if desired.
Click Send on the bottom left.
To create templates, select the Library tab from the top menu.
Select Messages from the left hand menu.
You can create email and text templates.
How do I set up Text-to-Apply?
In the Jobs tab, select the Job.
From the Job page, select Summary.
From the Summary page select Launch.
In the Launch tab, the Text-to-Apply is the top section.
The phone number associated with the ApplicantStack account is the phone number applicants will use to apply by text.
Ellen gave an example of a customer using ApplicantStack Text-to-Apply. The hiring team posts jobs on their company Facebook page and includes the phone number and job code word to apply by text.
How do I text two candidates?
Select two candidate records > Text Candidates. > select a Text Template > Send.
Research reports open rates for texts at 90% compared to open rates for emails from 40-60%
Candidates will respond to texts far faster than emails.
How do I create a Job ID to track the source where the candidate saw the job posting?
This requires two functions: Job ID setup and Source option. Note that ApplicantStack tracks the source of candidates without any setup on your part.
Home page > ID column. ApplicantStack can populate the ID or you can override the default with your company naming system. In the Create Job tab, enter the desired ID in the Job ID field.
To track the Source: Click your picture > Setup > Configure > Application Field > Source > Edit Options. The Source Options page will show existing sources.
To add a Source, click Add Options on the right. Enter the Source(s) in the window and Save.
You can access source information here: Candidates > All Source dropdown > click each Source to see candidates that applied from the source.
When a candidate doesn’t receive a Paperwork Started stage email, what’s the easiest way to resend?
First of all, you have to let a hire know that their Hire Portal is ready with an email that contains their username (email address), password and link to the portal.
The best practice is to trigger all emails in a workflow. However, if the candidate says they didn’t receive an email, you can resend it manually and not trigger duplicate paperwork. (Note that you need to populate their onboarding portal first.)
Hires > Choose Hire > Email Hire (on right) > Choose Message Template > Send
Ask your hire to check their spam folder and/or whitelist emails from ApplicantStack.
Another option is to text the hire.
How do I reset a new hire’s password to their Hire Portal?
Send the welcome email again, it will generate a new password. In the candidate record, Edit > Portal Password
My Onboarding email has stopped, how do I make it automatic again?
Click your picture > Setup > Configure > Hire > Edit > View Email in various stages > Edit Workflow Stage > Message Settings > Message Template > Choose Email > Submit.
In conclusion, don’t underestimate the power of automations in ApplicantStack. For example, you can automate nurturing texts in any stage of the process and strengthen your outreach to candidates who haven’t finished their application, or great candidates who submitted a general application.
Upcoming ApplicantStack Webinars
We invite you to join us for our upcoming events. To register, click the following links:
Our Ask Me Anything webinars provide a forum for users to learn more about ApplicantStack and receive live answers to their product questions. The ApplicantStack team presents the applicant tracking webinars which include a short demo of a product feature(s) followed by question and answer.
ApplicantStack AMA Webinar 10/27/2022
Application Stack Account Manager Carol Kennedy demonstrated how to access the Knowledge Base and submit a ticket to ApplicantStack tech support.
How To Access the ApplicantStack Knowledge Base
From the main dashboard in the upper right hand corner, click the orange box with the question mark. A dropdown menu shows: 1. New Features and Updates, 2. Help Center, and 3. Ask a Question. The Help Center (Knowledge Base) contains tutorials, articles, and quick start guides – many with videos and screenshots.
New Features and Updates: Enhancements to the system and new product features
Help Center (Knowledge Base): Enter topic in search bar
How To Submit a Support Ticket
In the upper right hand corner on the main dashboard, click the orange question mark. Choose Ask a Question from the dropdown menu. It will take you to a support ticket form. When completing the form, keep the following in mind:
Enter your company name just as it is listed in your account
Add Franchise/Branch Number (if applicable)
Be as detailed as possible when describing the issue. Include Job ID, Job Title, Applicant or New Hire Name, screenshots, etc.
Q & A
How can I delete repeat candidates?
We don’t recommend deleting an applicant under any circumstances. That said, we understand that you would not want duplicate candidates in your main job applicant pool. To flag duplicates and move them out of your main job, Carol explained two options:
Create a separate job and assign any duplicates to the job
Create a stage called Duplicate Candidates and move duplicates out of the main job to this folder
When I submit a support ticket, can I get a phone call?
Our ticketing system is the best method for resolving support issues. The ticketing system retains a detailed record of the issue and resolution process. Importantly, it allows any member of the support team to be able to access all pertinent information and ticket history for faster resolution.
Once the ticket is resolved, the system retains the documentation which can be used for training, product enhancements, or other purposes. For the quickest resolution, customers should include as much detail as they can in the support ticket form.
In very few cases, if the issue can’t be resolved through the ticketing system, a support tech may call the customer. However this would only happen after the customer had initiated the process by submitting a ticket.
What’s the difference between Basic and Premium texting?
Basic Unlimited Texting allows you to send and receive as many texts as you want and store conversations in the software. Plus, you can send batch SMS to multiple applicants. If you have both ApplicantStack Recruit and Onboard, you can use Basic Texting in both modules for the monthly price.
Premium Texting includes everything in Basic Texting plus two powerful additions: Workflow Embed and Text-to-Apply. With Workflow Embed, you can include text messages in hiring workflows and trigger them with stage changes. For example, when you move an applicant to the Interview stage, trigger a personalized text inviting the candidate for an interview. With Text-to-Apply, when candidates click on Apply in a job posting, the system will send a text with a link to a mobile friendly application. If you have both ApplicantStack Recruit and Onboard, you can use Premium Texting in both modules for the monthly price.
When searching for an applicant by phone number, should I use a specific number format?
We don’t recommend searching by phone number. However, if that’s your only option, you would need to enter the phone number in the same format originally entered in the system.
Can you get open or read notifications from outbound emails?
This isn’t available right now, but possibly a great suggestion for a future product update.
When an applicant uses text-to-apply, will the system create a candidate record?
Yes. The system creates a candidate record regardless of online application method.
In ApplicantStack Onboard, how can I create a separate process for union and non-union hires?
In Onboard, you can make multiple workflows and checklists. In this scenario, create a custom workflow for each type of hire – complete with necessary new hire paperwork.
How do I stop candidates from applying more than once to the same job?
If they are using the same email, the system won’t let them apply a second time. If they use multiple emails, put a note into their history and make it global, which will ensure the note will show across all applications and jobs in the system.
Is there a way to create screening questions in applications that will block the applicant if not qualified?
When building a screening questionnaire, add KO to desired elimination questions. Keep in mind, however, that an applicant might mis-click. If in doubt, compare the questionnaire answers to their resume. Otherwise, you might eliminate a candidate that meets the qualifications.
Emails sent from ApplicantStack often end up in spam folders by default. Is there anything I can change on my end to prevent that?
In the job description, instruct candidates to whitelist emails from ApplicantStack. Whitelisting directs emails coming from the ApplicantStack domain to go into the recipient’s primary folder. If you need help with changes to an application, you can submit a support ticket. If the support tech clones an existing application and modifies it to include the whitelist instruction, be sure to use the new application.
Upcoming ApplicantStack Webinars
We invite you to join us for our upcoming events. To register, click the following links:
G2.com, Inc. recently announced their Fall 2022 awards and we’re excited to announce that ApplicantStack garnered awards in 6 categories!
Leader – Overall
Leader – Mid-Market
High Performer – Enterprise
High Performer – Small Business
Fastest Implementation – Enterprise
Most Implementable
G2 rates products and vendors based on reviews they compile from their user community, as well as data aggregated from online sources and social networks. ApplicantStack has received multiple G2 badges for the past four years based on ATS reviews.
As always, we appreciate our customers who took the time to leave ApplicantStack ATS reviews and share their experiences using our solution. While we appreciate all industry recognition, awards based on our customer’s recommendations are especially gratifying.
“It’s fantastic to earn these G2 badges as they validate how our solution truly helps small businesses thrive with the key functions of timekeeping, scheduling and hiring. The Fastest Implementation badge is the one I’m most proud of, as it demonstrates our rapid time to value and ease in use for employers as they scale.” Trish Stromberg, VP of Marketing, Swipeclock
For hiring, the most beneficial feature is their easy-to-use integration with the most common third-party job boards. The ability to have everything in one interface has been a big time saver. As far as onboarding goes, we have been able to move new hires through the process more quickly with ready-to-use paperwork checklists.
I like that multiple users can see what the other recruiters are saying to a candidate so we know where we are in the process with them. It makes it easy for others to step in and help or take over where one recruiter left off.
Simple to set up. You can create workflows for each job and pre-screen candidates much easier before ever meeting a staff person for an interview.
I can track new hires from the time they apply through hiring and Onboarding. Having all the documents done online has decreased the in-office time for training, and new employees can get on-site and train sooner.
In terms of recruiting on Applicant Stack, the pipeline page is very clear and allows you to see easily where you are with all your jobs. It keeps all your requisitions very organized.
The texting feature on Applicant Stack has been game-changing for us, as it has allowed us to cut our time trying to contact candidates substantially.
Intuitive software, Easy to post and track applicants. I like that you can assign different postings to different people within the organization. Managers can easily review applications.
About G2
G2 is the largest and most trusted software review site, helping 60 million people every year make smarter software decisions based on authentic customers reviews.
Looking for an Applicant Tracking System?
If you are interested in ATS reviews while researching a hiring solution, we invite you to start a free ATS trial with ApplicantStack. ApplicantStack can be used as a standalone platform, or as part of WorkforceHub, our small business HR solution.
If you’re interested in an all-in-one Human Resources solution, download our free Small Business HR System Buyer’s Guide for comprehensive feature descriptions and checklists.
Press Release: Software Advice Names ApplicantStack as a Leader in FrontRunners Quadrant for ATS – Applicant Tracking Software
Cary, NC February 6, 2018—ApplicantStack announced today it has placed as a Leader on the FrontRunners quadrant for ATS – Applicant Tracking Software.
“We are honored and very excited to be listed as a Leader in FrontRunners Quadrant for ATS – Applicant Tracking Systems.” Said Nathan Shackles, founder and CEO of ApplicantStack. “We continue to strive to deliver the best product and support to our customers.”
FrontRunners is published on Software Advice, a trusted resource for software buyers. FrontRunners evaluates verified product data and end user reviews from softwareadvice.com, capterra.com and getapp.com, positioning the top scoring products based on capability and value for small businesses. The FrontRunners quadrant for ATS – Applicant Tracking Software is available at https://www.softwareadvice.com/hr/applicant-tracking-software-comparison/#top-products.
About ApplicantStack
ApplicantStack: the affordable, easy-to-use, full-featured recruiting and onboarding system trusted by 2,500+ companies since 2009 to automate and streamline their recruiting and onboarding process.
We spent our careers in human resources, bogged down with paperwork and craving more time and resources. Our goal is to provide organizations the tool we always wish we had. We created ApplicantStack, a simple, gets-the-job-done software that has everything you need and nothing you don’t. It’s not another thing to manage, but the tool that helps you manage your day. Visit us at Free Trial for more information and to start a Free, no obligation trial.
DISCLAIMER: The content for the FrontRunners quadrant is derived from actual end-user reviews and ratings as well as vendor-supplied and publicly available product and company information that gets applied against a documented methodology; the results neither represent the views of, nor constitute an endorsement by, Gartner or any of its affiliates.
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