How The Pandemic Has Changed the Digital Employment Landscape in Ireland
In the latest installment of our key learning series, we wanted to examine some of the key changes to the digital landscape here in Ireland since the pandemic began. Following the government’s most recent easing of restrictions, the country seems to have breathe a sigh of relief and the general sense is that this is that pandemic and restrictions are behind us. So what lasting legacy will the pandemic leave behind on the digital sector?
89% of Organisations Offering Flexible Working Arrangements
Of course, the most obvious change has been the introduction and global adoption of the remote and hybrid working model.
If we rewind back to January 2020, we only heard murmurs of these models and their effectiveness within a handful of progressive “remote-first” organisations. The thought that soon almost every business in Ireland from Dublin to Donegal would be implementing these changes was ludicrous.
Now in January 2022, hybrid and remote working has become the new standard with many candidates not considering roles that are fully on-site. Based on research we carried out in Q4 2021, we found that 54% of people would prefer a Hybrid working arrangement while 41% would opt to work from home full-time.
We also found that 89% of organisations were planning to continue offering flexible working arrangements indefinitely. It is fair to say that the pandemic was a major catalyst for change and while these changes may have been somewhere on the horizon, it accelerated their adoption exponentially.
45% Reduction in Time to Hire
Since the pandemic began, the average time to hire has decreased by approximately 45%. The benefits of video interviewing and a virtual hiring process were quickly realised and adopted.
Scheduling face-to-face interviews was a challenge, candidates often needed to take time off work and depending on their geographic location may have needed to take a full day. Thanks to the adoption of video interviewing, employers can more efficiently interview multiple candidates in a shorter space of time.
Depending on organisational preference, the entire recruitment process can be carried out online and results in a shorter time to hire. Some organisations will opt for a face-to-face second round however, the ability to conduct the first round virtually means they can see more candidates initially and only bring the most suitable forward to second stage.
Due to the short demand of talent that has been available in the digital space, employers were also wasting less time in making decisions. The short demand also meant that candidates were often involved in multiple processes which encouraged employers to act fast and which brings us to our next point.
22.75% Increase in Digital Salaries
Since 2020, we have seen on average a 22.75% increase in digital salaries within Ireland. In our recent experience, we have found that the skills gap within the Irish digital recruitment landscape has never been more evident.
Organisations have been struggling to find talent with experience in PPC, SEO and eCommerce to name a few. During lockdowns, candidate mobility was the lowest we’ve experienced, and they were often not willing to risk changing jobs in the midst of the pandemic for a marginal pay rise.
In order to incentivise the move, employers had to pay a premium and offer flexible working arrangements.
Another contributing factor was the sharp rise in counter offers. Organisations were reluctant to lose their digital talent and counter-offers including promotions and pay-rises would often lead to candidates remaining with their employer. This trend contributed to the decrease in candidate mobility as well as the rise in salaries.
Output vs Input
From a management perspective, employers’ trust in their employees and increased dramatically as it has been proven that employees will still work hard when their manager is not monitoring and micro-managing.
The emphasis has been moved away from input to output. Once an employee delivers and their output is achieved, then whether or not they sat at a desk 9-5 ceases to be relevant.
