When COVID-19 started and the uncertainty set in, many companies went into a survival mode and cost freezing became important. A lot of employees were laid off or forced to take a sabbatical or furlough. Recruitment was the first in line that went into a freeze. Now after this period of recruitment freeze, companies are no longer able to hold off their needs for people any longer and the demand for filling in the positions is just growing. But with most of the workforce working from home and the threat of pandemic still looming over our heads it’s imperative to understand the challenges and find solutions within the limitations and constraints.
Candidates’ psychological state – In these uncertain times, candidates may get insecure and not look for a job change and similarly freshers may not be very comfortable to move far from home for new jobs leading to low application rates and hence it is essential to understand the candidate psychology and motivations and work towards building a trust and rapport with the potential candidates.
No Face-to-face Interviews – Unlike the earlier times where the interviews happened face to face now recruitment also has to change and adapt to the technologies and make use of them effectively to interview the candidates. This means that the interviewers who earlier may not have worked with technology need to learn new technology and get comfortable with the available platforms while the candidate also needs to prepare keeping in mind a virtual interview. This means a little more extra preparation like ensuring good connectivity, noise free surrounding, downloading the agreed interviewing platform etc. needs to be made for a smooth interview.
Recruitment drives – With the ongoing lockdowns and safety guidelines, it is no longer possible to organize big walk-in or organize a big recruitment fairs and face to face drives. Earlier this was one of the means where the talent gathered, and mass hiring took place. Now, with physical distancing this may no longer be possible. Companies may have to rely on headhunters, job portals and off campus drives for candidates. Virtual fairs and seeking internal referral may be another way to tap in talent.
Finding the right fit – In personal interviews the interviewers have relied on multiple senses while selecting the right candidate which may be assessing through body language, technical skills etc. To overcome this you can introduce a questionnaire based pre-screening round, a cultural fitment round, technical skill online test etc. These methods will not only help save time but also give a fair understanding about the candidate before the actual interview.
Tighter budgets – Another challenge the recruiting Industry faces is a tight budget. Even in pre COVID days many companies tried to maintain a very lean budget to Human Resources. To keep up with changing times companies need to spend on online software and recruitment automation technologies to make their online recruitment strategies more effective.
Remote hiring is well becoming the new norm and it’s here to stay for a long time. It’s time to adapt to this new model and make a shift into digital recruitment.
