The full scale of the impact of the pandemic on all aspects of employment is yet to be seen. With redundancies on the rise, and a lot of highly skilled and experienced individuals losing their jobs, there are arguably more qualified candidates for most vacancies on the market.
It is worth remembering however that some companies are thriving and expanding their teams during this period. Schemes such as the kickstart scheme introduced by the government also provides opportunities for organisations to employ individuals who would otherwise be unemployed.
The nature of recruitment is changing with most businesses operating remotely and with the implementation of social distancing. Companies are faced with new challenges of having to manage remote workforces and not dealing with people face-to-face. Recruitment processes have significantly evolved to cope with the new ways of working. Organisations which are critical to dealing with the pandemic such as the NHS, supermarkets and delivery services have had to adapt their recruitment processes to be able to bring employees and in some cases volunteers on board quickly to meet demands in service. Other organisations have also had to modify their processes, moving the entire process online, from initial interview to final interview. This means that most hiring managers will not have an opportunity to physically meet their new recruits and vice versa.
Certain aspects of hiring are still the same because of the Internet. The Internet has been a part of our lives for the last thirty years and businesses have been gradually updating their recruitment processes to really make use of it. In particular, it has been essential to use the Internet and virtual methods of communications to reach the younger job seekers, who have grown up knowing nothing else. Jobsites such as Indeed.com, Glassdoor and LinkedIn have created platforms for businesses to advertise their roles to farreaching audiences and enables job seekers to find a role that is perfect for them, whilst they are in the comfort of their homes, on their phone, tablet and laptop. The only real change we have seen hit this aspect of recruitment is that there are less jobs being advertised on these websites because of COVID-19. Improvement in email facilities and other communication technology such as Skype, Zoom and Teams provide opportunities for recruitment discussions, from agreeing job descriptions to hiring decisions.
Moreover, an employer’s brand and reputation as a good employer is enhanced by their ability to provide safe and viable options for socially distanced interviews (in particular video interviews), this will resonate well with candidates who are looking to work for a company that cares about the wellbeing and safety of their employees. Traditional face-to-face interviewing techniques have relied heavily on cues and body languages as well as chemistry between the candidate and the interviewers. A lot of emphasis was placed on appearance, how smartly dressed a candidate is, their firm handshake, polite mannerism and even sometimes the respect they showed the receptionist on arrival. Recruiters and managers can no longer rely on these factors.
A discussion with a director of a new estate agency about how he recruited during the lock-down brought up some interesting points. Through the use of Zoom, emails and mobile phone calls he was able to develop a job description with his colleagues and sent it off to a recruitment agency, who then got back to him with a list of potential candidates. Having read the CVs of the candidates he identified the applicants perfect for the roles and organised a phone call to talk them through the next phase of the recruitment process. He told me that he was adamant to meet the candidates face-to-face as he “didn’t feel comfortable employing someone he’d never met”. Determined to abide by the social distancing guidelines the director met with all of the candidates outdoors. He met the first candidate in the car park of a pub, the second on a train station platform and another in a car park where both parties stayed in their cars and spoke through their windows. He noted that all of the candidates had no problem meeting face-to-face because it meant the possibility of landing a job in such uncertain times. Furthermore, most of the candidates were on furlough so finding the time to have a meeting wasn’t an issue and they didn’t have to worry about their bosses wondering where they were. In addition to this, the director himself was able to get a true understanding of which candidates would fit the culture of the company.
Obviously, this is only one man’s recruitment process and it is not meant to be a template for future recruiters, however, it does highlight the importance some hiring managers still place on face-to-face meetings and the need for finding a balance between following social distancing guidelines, ensuring candidates are safe and creating a hiring process that ensures continued growth for your business. Definite benefits to online recruitment include access to a wider pool of candidates, effective use of time, cost savings and reduction in unconscious bias. We are truly something different to the normal HR and Recruitment process. We’ve changed our recruiting model- with no upfront costs- added in our HR expertise to give you more streamlined approach to the whole structure.
