Hiring in 2025
3 trends to watch
Candidates are re-setting flexibility expectations, while employers are flexing their approach to remuneration and qualifications. What will this mean for you in 2025?
Economic headlines might suggest it’s still a job-seeker’s market, with Australian unemployment staying steady at 4% in November 2024. Yet we’re seeing the reverse. Active job listings are down, and 39% of candidates told a Gartner survey it’s difficult to find work.
Many sectors are starting to see a candidate-rich market. So does that abundance make the hiring process any easier? Unfortunately, the short answer is no. More people are applying for more roles than ever before – and AI makes it easy for them to tailor multiple responses at the speed of light. At the recruiter’s end, filtering through that volume of applications can be a cumbersome process.
As every business leader knows, finding good people isn’t that difficult. It’s finding great people – the stars who can be empowered to reach their full potential – that can transform your business.
And in 2025, that’s the big opportunity.
Here are three ways to attract (and retain) those star performers in a recruitment market filled with choice – especially when some skills are still hard to find.
1. Find the balance in flexibility
To hybrid or not to hybrid in 2025? That is the question. Just a few years ago, it seemed clear that flexible work from home policies were the only way forward. But now we’re seeing a global push for return-to-office mandates in major organisations, especially for senior leadership and executive teams. And among candidates, flexibility is still a key consideration – but it’s no longer a fundamental demand.
For better or worse, I see that trend growing in 2025. It’s understandable from an employer’s perspective: working on site can foster a closer collaborative culture, is more effective for mentoring and training younger staff, and encourages connections around the water cooler. And of course, many roles – such as healthcare providers – have never had the option to work from home.
But being tied to a desk is not proven to impact productivity or performance. And when you start mandating requirements, you risk losing a connection to what matters most to your people. That can undermine your employee experience and culture for the long term.
We’ve worked with major law firms, accounting practices and business services providers who have mandated everyone on site. We’ve also supported businesses in the same sectors who are highly flexible. They focus on measuring a person’s effectiveness on their outputs, rather than their time.
In 2025, I believe flexibility should be considered through a more balanced lens. What’s right for the individual, their role, their team, and the business as a whole?
Flexibility also means more than work from home policies. We’re seeing diverse options – even for frontline roles. Job-sharing arrangements, flexible shifts and compressed work weeks can help people at different stages of life achieve the work-life balance they’re looking for.
This balanced approach could significantly help address labour shortages in sectors like aged care and healthcare, and help to fill diversity gaps.
.png)
2. Personalise the whole package
Candidates are experiencing other pressures beyond work-life balance, with financial strain now the most common trigger for employee burnout.
Financial remuneration matters. It has an impact on the employee’s lifestyle, future security, and the choices they and their family can make. But there is only so much employers can do, because businesses are also feeling the margin pressure of cost rises.
Creating a compelling benefits package is about more than salary. Working within the restraints of your financial budget, you could include support with tax or retirement planning, or employee assistance programs, or cost-saving subsidies on the things that matter to your people – from parking and gym memberships to professional development.
And that’s the key: making the offer matter at a personal level. People typically don’t leave companies to chase a higher salary. They want to be seen and recognised for their contribution. They want to make a positive impact.
For example, we know it’s a challenge for not for profit organisations to onboard commercially-savvy board members and executives. They can’t match corporate remuneration packages. But every time I’ve seen a candidate make that transition into the for-purpose space, they’ve never looked back. They've gained a sense of contribution, of making a difference in the lives of vulnerable people, which they can't quantify in dollar terms.
In 2025, employee engagement means getting the basics right. Do what you say you will, and take the time to connect with each individual so you know what's important to them.
3. Look beyond qualifications
Many larger organisations are shifting to a skills-based hiring model, where they evaluate candidates based on their practical skills and competencies rather than degrees or certifications. This recruitment process includes robust assessments of a candidate’s ability to perform the job, including verifying their demonstrated experience.
This could be a game-changer in sectors where there is a chronic skills shortage, because it widens the talent pool beyond traditional channels and recognises the many pathways to career development. For some sectors and roles, including tech, customer service, and healthcare, skills may be more meaningful than academic credentials.
For smaller businesses, making the right hiring decision with a limited budget is a make-or-break moment. If you get it wrong, the ripple effect is outsized and could restrict growth opportunities. Filtering through candidates with a skills lens can help you draw from a more diverse talent cohort. For example, if you’re hiring a coder, they might not need a computer science degree – the applied experience they’ve gained building their own technology could be far more valuable.
Optimism in the year ahead
With so much uncertainty still defining the wider economic and political environment, there will be opportunities to take market share from competitors in 2025. Those more likely to win already have a strong foundation: they know what they do, they do it well, and their culture creates an environment that enables ordinary people to do extraordinary things.
It has never been so important to make sure your strategy is being executed by the right people in the right roles. And that takes the same rigorous recruitment principles we’ve perfected over the last 20+ years.
For help identifying the high potential performers for your business in 2025, please get in touch with the team at BWS Recruitment.