2023 WorkTech report: Prepare for the future of hiring

3 mins, 25 secs read time

With all the recent shifts in the talent market, what does it all mean for talent and HR leaders? Predicting trends and planning ahead for a business can be challenging, especially when you’re trying to account for economic uncertainty.

To better understand how great talent leaders are making sense of all these shifting data points, Greenhouse partnered with WorkTech Founder and Principal Analyst George LaRocque to produce the 2023 WorkTech report. Greenhouse President and Co-founder Jon Stross sat down with George to discuss the key findings and takeaways from the report and what the future of hiring looks like.

We’ll share some highlights from their discussion below. To gain access to the full conversation, you can access this webinar on demand.

Key findings from the WorkTech report

One of the most interesting findings from the report was that a full 94% of companies were still projecting growth in headcount. “Not only was hiring increasing,” George said, “but work tech and hiring work tech budgets were increasing.” According to the report, 71% of employers said they were either maintaining budgets or increasing them, and the average budget increase was 47%. Similarly, confidence in work tech is still strong in the venture capital landscape – investment in work tech was still outperforming all other B2B tech.

An impressive 94% of employers still plan to add headcount in 2023. –George LaRocque, WorkTech Founder and Principal Analyst

These numbers may look surprising when you look at recent headlines, but when you account for the bigger picture, it’s easier to see how important hiring – and the technology that supports it – will continue to be.

Key takeaways for talent leaders

George and Jon shared some of the key takeaways that every talent leader will want to keep in mind:

A great candidate experience and DE&I strategy were once differentiators – now they’re table stakes
In the past, delivering a positive candidate experience was a big differentiator. “If you were in the 1% of companies that did that, candidates were shocked,” said Jon. But now that candidate experience is getting baked into all these tech platforms, thousands of companies are able to deliver a great experience. “If you’re using an old tool and treating people terribly, you’re not going to get away with that anymore.”

It’s a similar story with diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging (DEIB). George said, “For any tech that is being rolled out or exists today – DEIB needs to be embedded. If it can minimize bias or improve the diversity of the talent pool, it’s doing that.”

Don’t forget what problem you’re trying to solve
Business leaders across industries and disciplines are asking how they can capitalize on AI. George said it’s critical for talent leaders to step back and ask what problem they’re trying to solve. “The question isn’t: How can we use that [new technology]? It’s: What are the problems that we’re trying to solve or the opportunities we’re trying to seize on and what are the technologies that are at play here?”

A hiring slowdown is the ideal time to reevaluate your tech stack
With some uncertainty in the market, you may be wondering whether it’s the right time to invest in new technology. Talent leaders might find it difficult to make the case for investment. “The typical narrative from a CFO is to spend less,” said Jon. “But the overall trend is that hiring is getting harder and we need to spend more to be able to stay ahead. If there’s ever a time to step back from the day-to-day noise of recruiting, it’s now.” George agreed, adding, “I think the C-suite would agree that in a down market, it’s a good time to evaluate your tools. The key is having the data to support the conversation.”

Want to explore more of the findings, including the total addressable market projections and hiring tech stack investment plans? Download the full report and then listen to the conversation by watching the on-demand webinar.