Three Tips for Recruiting During and After COVID-19: HR Management and Recruiting
The coronavirus pandemic has dramatically altered the work landscape, and one of the areas that has experienced the most change is recruiting. To help your organizations attract and retain new hires, here are three tips for recruiting during and after COVID-19:
Don’t just offer remote work — promote it!
In ancient times (i.e. prior to February 2020) remote work basically sold itself. That is, it was enough for the words “remote work option” to appear on a job description. These days, however, remote working has shifted from bonus to expectation. As a result, organizations need to help candidates understand how they’ll be successful, engaged, and happy while working from home (either part-time or full-time). In other words, the remote option is no longer a perk — it is a program. Organizations with the best remote working programs will have a decided advantage over their less capable competitors.
Become exceptional at video interviews.
Ensure that your recruiters, hiring managers, and anyone else in your organization who holds interviews receives training on how to conduct exceptional video interviews — because it’s not the same thing as the in-person variety. For example, it is difficult (if not sometimes impossible) for interviewers to assess a candidate’s body language, and so asking meaningful questions and actively listening to answers is critical to avoid drawing the wrong conclusions. What’s more, make sure that all interviewers have the equipment they need (e.g. software, web cam, mic, lighting), and know how to use it. Few things more loudly say to candidates “we’re not a well-oiled machine” than interviewers who don’t know how to unmute, are sitting two low or too high for their webcam, are constantly being interrupted by colleagues, and so on. Remember, just as you are evaluating candidates, they are evaluating you.
Emphasize organizational culture.
The pandemic has highlighted the crucial importance of organizational culture, and the obligation that organizations have not to merely “pay people in exchange for work,” but to cultivate a community that is characterized by shared values, meaningful support, ongoing professional development, and a clear interest in the health, wellbeing, and happiness of all employees regardless of their role or experience. Organizations that can claim a truly employee-centric culture should leverage this asset throughout the recruiting process. And organizations that cannot claim this kind of culture need to make it a mission-critical priority.
The Bottom Line
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The pandemic has unleashed an unprecedented amount of uncertainty, and while things may — repeat: may — be starting to look up, there is a great deal of volatility ahead of us. However, despite the ups and downs (or perhaps make that downs and hey-this-down-isn’t-as-down-as-that-other-down-was), we can confidently predict organizations that wisely adopt all of the above tips will significantly increase their chances of winning the war on talent during COVID-19, and in the years ahead.
Learn More
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To learn more about optimizing your organization’s recruiting efforts and investments, contact PIVOTAL today. We can coach and train your hiring managers and other staff who hold interviews, and/or handle the entire end-to-end recruiting process on your behalf. Contact us to learn more:
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