The current pandemic has changed many aspects of HR – from terminations to health and safety – but perhaps the most touched by the current state of affairs is recruitment. It is affecting all industries but some more than others. The situation has led economy fall into recession which impacted enormously how companies recruit new talent. At an equivalent time, many familiar methods, like face-to-face job interviews, got to get replaced with more innovative methods. Your plans to require on more staff may have gone out the window, or conversely, you would possibly have to rent more people than you’ve ever had to before! Whatever situation you discover yourself in, one thing’s needless to say. How your company responds to the present unprecedented pandemic will define your relationship together with your future hires, staff, and customers.
These are the few ways in which recruitment process have been impacted by the pandemic:
- Video or telephonic interviews
All over the planet, companies are making arrangements for his or her employees to figure remotely from home. The reason behind this is to avoid unnecessary travel and physical interaction. Thus, job interviews can’t be held within the office either. It is obvious that companies did have any idea about Covid-19 scenario and the recruitment budget is not enough to cover-up the crisis. Therefore, safety aside, holding live video-based rather than on-site interviews may be a great and cost-effective way of recruiting people. Ensure your candidates receive comprehensive instructions on the way to set the interview up at their end and provides them ample time to try to to that. It’s a process they may be unfamiliar with. If you don’t have it already, investing in video interviewing software may be a good idea. It speeds up the process, avoids scheduling clashes, and allows you to connect with candidates within a matter of minutes. - Fewer available positions
Layoffs cause more people being unemployed, which may be a very unfortunate situation. Thus, it will result in more candidates to apply. Because companies are making fewer positions available, candidates will start sending more open applications. The number of job applications saw a drop throughout in February and the first half of March, when the pandemic had already conquered headlines globally and therefore the uncertainty regarding the economy started kicking in. - Less change of jobs
Sourcing candidates can become more difficult. If an individual features a full-time contract with their current employer, their willingness to vary will decline. Security will be valued by candidates more over uncertainty during the crisis. At an equivalent time, those top talents who fear their current employers’ potential layoffs could also be now more open towards new career opportunities. - Understanding human mindset will become crucial
In the better of times, candidates need trust and engagement to use for and alter jobs. In a time of crisis, these fundamental elements are magnified – challenging recruitment teams to include a better level of human-centric communication that drives compassion, provides stability, and provides hope. Understanding the human mindset is that the initiative in our new recruitment reality. By taking the candidate perspectives under consideration won’t only help recruitment teams to travel beyond the work posts, but also provide insights on the way to build trust and engagement.
The sad reality is that this represents the end of the line for businesses too slow or resistant to embrace change, and brands that have failed to look after employees during the time of crisis. As we come out of this on the other side with a newfound sense of community, clients, candidates and employees will be looking back on the relationships, both business and personal that helped support them through this era of your time. In short, brace yourself, the nature of employment and the recruitment sector has changed forever and when the recovery happens it will be in a very different world to the one we left behind.
