2021 Recruitment and Hiring Trends in Ireland

2021 Recruitment and Hiring Trends in Ireland

In order to evaluate trends over the past 12 months and intentions for 2021, RECRUITERS sought the views and insights of more than 4,000 senior business leaders and hiring managers nationwide. The data is based on a nationwide survey we conducted in November and December 2020 from organisations of different sizes and industries in Ireland.
 
Download an infographic summary of our key findings
 
As part of RECRUITERS' 2021 salary Guide, we sought the views of more than 4,000 senior business leaders and hiring managers in HR, Operations, IT, Accounting, Finance, Sales, Marketing and Business Support across Ireland. Below, you will find the results and analysis from this nationwide survey. Download a full copy of our survey results, salary guides and gender balance report here

 

2021 Recruitment Trends and Business Outlook

Employers are optimistic about the wider economy in 2021

Despite 52% of employers saying that COVID-19 will impact business growth in 2021, 64% are optimistic about the Irish economy in 2021.
 

Companies have the skills they need to achieve their 2021 company objectives

Employers expect finding the right talent with the right skills will be the main hiring challenge in 2021. Only 40% of employers currently have the talent they need to achieve their 2021 company objectives, with 83% expecting to hire more talent in 2021.
 

Recruitment plans continue for the year ahead

Overall, most employers (83%) expect to hire new staff in 2021. Of those planning to hire, 53% of employers plan on hiring permanent staff, 4% plan on hiring all contracting and temporary workers and 44% plan on hiring a mixture of permanent and temporary contract workers in 2021.
 
Furthermore, when asked why they plan on hiring staff in 2021, the majority (57%) said they needed new staff to implement new strategies and demands. 27% are hiring new staff to meet peaks in the demand in 2021, 12% expect to hire new staff to overcome staff attrition and just 5% need to hire new staff in order to rebuild their teams from 2020.
 

Despite business activity and economic optimism, salaries largely expected to remain the same in 2021

Last year, nearly all employers (94%) expected salaries to increase. Salary growth in 2021 doesn’t look as positive with the majority of employers (64%) expecting salaries to remain the same in 2021 and 3% expecting salary decreases.
 

Despite a global pandemic, the majority of employers focused on increasing and retaining staff in 2020

In 2020, the majority of employers (51%) focused on retaining existing staff. 34% of employers focused on hiring new staff with the majority (34%) operating in the software and IT services sector and 20% within the finance sector. Only 15% of employers focused on reducing staff in 2020.
 

Salary cuts were not on the agenda for 2020 despite operational uncertainty during the year

The vast majority of employers (79%) said that their company did not implement salary cuts in 2020. For the 21% that did implement salary cuts, the majority (41%) experienced companywide salary cuts of up to 10% of salaries. Only 9% of employers experienced companywide salary cuts of 30% or more.
 

Company culture and flexible work environments remain key to staff retention in 2021

Salary aside, employers consider that company culture is the most important factor to help them retain staff (33%), a small increase from 2020 (31%). Interestingly, a smaller proportion of employers (20%) consider flexible working conditions key to retaining staff in 2021, down from 30% in 2020.
 
Perks and benefits doubled in importance from 7% in 2020 to 14% in 2021 but still remain below career opportunities. Training and development have become more key to retaining staff in 2021 compared to 2020 according to employers.
 

Attracting the right talent with the right skills remains the biggest challenge for employers in 2021 

Overall, most employers feel that attracting the right talent with the right skills will be the biggest challenge when hiring in 2021. The second biggest challenge for employers relates to a shortage of suitable applicants applying to their roles and competition from other employers a close third.
 
Despite the many operational challenges of working remotely in 2020, hiring and onboarding new staff remotely is the fifth biggest challenge for employers after the challenge of hiring budget constraints.
 

Productivity increased in 2020 with further plans to implement a hybrid working environment in 2021

Since March 2020, nearly all employers (91%) said that productivity had increased or remained the same. Only 9% witnessed a decrease in productivity in 2020 as a result of working from home. Despite 48% of employers witnessing an increase in productivity from home, 85% do not have plans to reduce their office space in 2021. Instead, employers are opting for a hybrid approach with 89% of employers planning on splitting work weeks between the home and office. Only 11% want their staff to work full weeks in the office in 2021.
 
Download a full copy of our survey results, salary guides and gender balance report here