Can digital transformation solve the ‘Great Resignation’? 

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected all global industries; it’s acted as a catalyst for revolutionary changes in work life. The economy became more and more digitalized, sparking an urgent need for digital transformation if companies want to thrive.  

Talent management is one area that has experienced a large shift towards digitalized methods. Amid the ongoing ‘Great Resignation’ businesses that do not adopt strategies of the digital transformation could face a great struggle in candidate and employee acquisition, as well as staff retention.  

According to Bullhorn’s 2022 Global Recruitment Insights and Data survey of more than 4,000 recruitment professionals, 84% of global recruitment firms now have digital transformation strategy in place, compared to 43% one year ago.  

The pandemic served as a clear catalyst as in 2019 only 25% of firms reported a digital transformation strategy, showing a threefold increase in just three years.  

2022 top priorities and challenges

Bullhorn’s study indicates that talent shortage is the top priority for agencies; this is the first time in ten years that clients are not companies’ main priority. This reveals that companies are focusing on employee satisfaction over output, possibly in response to the ‘Great Resignation.’ 

46% reported talent shortage as its top challenge in 2022, followed by 41% of respondents struggling with COVID-19 impacts on jobs. 

72% of temp firms and 82% of light industrial firms reported a shortage of qualified talent. Across all firms, approximately half report a shortage of qualified talent.  

This begs the question of how are firms planning to tackle this talent shortage?  

Digital transformation has a key role to play. 29% of global respondents noted that digital transformation was their top priority for 2022 – it came in second place after candidate acquisition (35%). 

According to Matt Fischer, president and COO at Bullhorn, “The leading staffing and recruiting firms today are focused on digital transformation to unlock new levels of productivity and truly transform the way they interact with their talent and clients.” 

“With the candidate experience at a premium, firms are leveraging automation and self-service to create talent journeys that match modern expectations and put more people to work.” 

One global respondent also noted: “Rather than simply focusing on new talent, we have reached out to our database of over 50,000 candidates that we know are working within a relevant industry to check in and ensure we have up-to-date information on the types of roles they are looking for.”  

But it is much easier said than done to embrace digital transformation – 15% of respondents told Bullhorn this was a major challenge for them in 2022. 

Undoubtedly, there are challenges ahead, but to thrive you need to ready to reap the benefits of digital transformation in the ‘Great Resignation’.