Capturing Quality Talent in the Midst of the Coronavirus Pandemic
By Alison Porter
I have worked as a recruiter for just about two years now. I quickly learned that a recruiter’s success relies heavily on factors that are outside of a recruiter’s control. Many of these factors are largely affected by the health of the economy. During the initial stages of the Coronavirus, I was very unsure of how everything would play out with our clients in their hiring processes. Many businesses were having huge lay-offs and furloughs, so I was anxious to see exactly how long companies would be impacted by the pandemic. Although many businesses, especially small businesses, have continued to struggle with maintaining their employees, there have been a lot of businesses who are interested in hiring remote employees because they were successful in cutting down costs and adapting with newfound approaches to the virtual work life.
During this new time, I have observed several pros and cons from the changes in the recruitment life cycle. Some of the pros include an increase in applications, a more diverse applicant pool, people who are eager to work again, and a more rapid hiring/interview process. It has also been very rewarding to help a jobseeker find a new position after being let go and facing backlashes as a result of the pandemic. On the other side of the coin, I’ve dealt with applicants who are more interested in getting a position just for the pay rather than a cultural fit, an uptick in unqualified applicants, and a large applicant pool to sort through resumes (which may or may not include qualified candidates for the position).
As always, it is difficult to break the news to someone who did not get the position, especially when the applicant had gone through several steps in the hiring process. It has been a bit harder than usual in letting down candidates because so many people are desperate for a job during these hard times.
To find a great candidate for your company who is a cultural fit and well experienced, it is good to keep a few things in mind throughout your hiring process.
Know what your hiring process looks like. If your company is working from home, define who will be part of the interview process. Will these be one-on-one interviews, panel interviews, or a combination of both?
Ensure access between the recruiter and the interviewer’s calendar to ensure a smooth scheduling process.
Determine your video interview platform – Zoom, Google Meet, etc.
Specify what the applicants should expect in their new roles in the job advertisement.
Spell out work hours, if there will be a future need to return to the office, and any other unique requirements that your company may have adopted due to the pandemic.
Maintain a recruitment tracking spreadsheet or utilize an applicant tracking software to maintain applicant information, application stages, days to hire, and decline reasons.
Many companies are struggling to keep their hiring process on track as a result of the rapidly changing and unpredictable pandemic effects in the business world. If you are experiencing an overwhelming amount of applications to your job posts, or simply getting the wrong applicants, I strongly recommend investing in improving your recruitment process to ensure a smooth recruiting process for candidates and an efficient onboarding process for new hires.
If you are interested in receiving tailored advice specific to your company and working one on one with an HR professional to develop the best recruitment plan for your organization, JLM HR Consulting offers customized recruiting solutions that will enable your company to identify and hire and retain quality talent.
Call us today @ 240-407-5071 or email info@jlm-hrconsulting.com