In the wake of a tumultuous 2023, the tech industry braces for a year of resilience and adaptation.
With over 262,000 job losses in the previous year, attributed to a confluence of factors including the enduring impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and economic uncertainties, the tech industry stands at a critical point.
As giants like Google, Amazon, Meta and Microsoft grappled with layoffs, the echoes of these decisions reverberated into 2024, shaping hiring trends in the tech industry.
Attracting top tech talent remains a challenge in the shift towards recovery
Amidst the shadows of layoffs, a flicker of hope emerges as the hiring in the tech industry anticipates a gradual recovery in 2024.
Encouraging signs such as the projected increase in global IT spending hint at brighter days ahead.
However, the path to redemption is not without its challenges.
Despite the optimism, layoffs persist with hundreds of top tech companies laying off tens of thousands of tech workers in 2024, according to the Tech Layoff Tracker.
While experts foresee a return to normalcy in hiring practices, the road ahead remains fraught with uncertainties.
🔖 Recommended Read – Top 10 Technical Recruitment Strategies to Hire Tech Talent
Top 7 tech hiring trends in 2024
Despite the anticipation of flooded candidate pools post-layoffs, the reality paints a different picture.
90% of tech managers voice the ongoing struggle to unearth top talent.
With 61% of hiring managers gearing up for team expansions, the battleground for skilled candidates intensifies.
Moreover, the attrition rates among tech employees is at an all-time high, with a whopping 64% contemplating job changes. This injects a sense of urgency into retention strategies.
- Companies are recalibrating their compensation strategies
89% of tech workers express willingness to return to full-time office setups for a raise in base salary, marking an 18% surge from previous years.
The industry echoes with salary hikes ranging from 10% to 15%, especially in domains like cybersecurity, cloud computing, AI, and machine learning.
As the war for talent rages on, competitive salaries emerge as a top trend in the tech industry.
- Embracing agility and efficiency in recruitment processes
In an era where agility reigns supreme and top candidates are taken off the market in 10 days, companies with sluggish recruitment processes risk losing coveted candidates to competitors who are better adapted to the updated recruitment processes.
Job seekers, buoyed by a surge of opportunities, demand speed and efficiency in hiring procedures.
In order to stay ahead, companies have started streamlining their recruitment pipelines, minimizing delays and maximizing candidate engagement.
They’re achieving this through a variety of recruitment automation and candidate pre-screening
tools.
💡Pro Tip – Zappyhire integrates with top tech assessment platforms. You can now evaluate top tech candidates swiftly and effortlessly via Zappyhire’s centralized platform!
- Tech firms are increasingly turning to contract talent
In the pursuit of specialized skills and project support, 62% of tech managers turn towards contract professionals.
From software development to cloud architecture, interim roles offer a flexible solution to dynamic business needs.
Moreover, 43% of IT professionals express openness towards interim positions, signaling a change in the relationship between talent and opportunity.
- A growing emphasis on employee well-being and satisfaction
As burnout sentiments surge among tech workers (48% say they’re battling burnout), companies are called upon to prioritize employee well-being.
Amidst the shift towards flexible schedules, 70% of professionals now find themselves dedicating longer hours compared to pre-pandemic times.
However, the dialogue around burnout remains muted, with over one-third of tech workers hesitant to broach the subject with their superiors.
- A shift towards skill-based hiring
As companies pivot towards proficiency-driven recruitment, the emphasis on upskilling and reskilling gains unprecedented prominence.
In-demand accreditations such as AWS, CISSP, and Microsoft Azure signal the evolving landscape of skill requisites.
Furthermore, companies that follow a skill-based recruitment practice experience a 2% increase in revenue for every 10% increase in intersectional gender equity.
- Integration of Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) in recruitment
As AR and VR technologies continue to mature, tech companies are leveraging immersive experiences to revolutionize the recruitment process.
Global companies such as Accenture, General Electric (GE), Walmart and Jaguar Land Rover are pioneering using AR and VR in recruitment and employee training and engagement.
In 2017, Walmart introduced Oculus Rift VR headsets into its training centres, known as Walmart Academies. This innovative approach provided valuable insights into employee skills and revolutionized training delivery methods. The results have been highly promising, with noticeable improvements in employee test scores attributed to VR-based training sessions.
Andy Trainor, the company’s vice president of learning said,
"Integrating Oculus Rift VR headsets into our training curriculum led to a remarkable increase in test scores ranging from 5% to 10%. We've begun transitioning lengthy global learning management-system modules, which typically take 30 to 45 minutes, into concise 3 to 5-minute modules within the virtual reality environment."
From virtual job fairs to interactive interview simulations, AR and VR offer novel avenues for candidate engagement and assessment.
- The demand for upskilled and reskilled talent is at an all-time high
2 out of 3 tech workers identify machine learning and AI as indispensable competencies to stay competitive in their respective fields.
Tech companies are investing in robust upskilling and reskilling programs to equip employees with the latest tools and competencies.
A Gallup survey reveals that 65% of workers deem employer-provided upskilling as a critical factor when evaluating potential job opportunities.
From coding bootcamps to specialized certification courses, companies are scrambling to empower their tech workforce.
Final Thoughts
The tech industry of 2024 stands at a crossroads, navigating through the aftermath of layoffs and economic uncertainties while cautiously inching towards recovery.
Despite the challenges, there’s a glimmer of hope as hiring trends show signs of gradual improvement.
