Recruiting: Post The Coronavirus Pandemic

With daily operations being deeply impacted by the Coronavirus pandemic, the recruiting industry is changing in a rapid way. The way that companies and recruiters are scouting new talent and hiring new employees has flipped upside-down. It seems that standard operating procedures are being modified by the moment, causing an uneasy disconnection between employers and employees. While there are far too many people seeking employment and eager to interview than we have time for. With some industries bursting at the seams, and others cautiously putting efforts at a halt, below are several steps any organization can take for recruiting post the Coronavirus pandemic. Better yet, just start now.

Create The Ultimate Employee Experience

Focusing on your employee experience sounds like a no brain-er, but it often falls effortlessly by the wayside. Employers need to invest in making a real impact on what happens to the employee after they're hired. Selling your organization and your culture during the vetting process, while tediously using that to your advantage in building a talent pipeline, is usually the primary focus of recruiting - but what happens to that talent once they're an employee? "The reality is that in competitive markets, talent is fluid and has a lot of options. If we're not creating a meaningful employee experience—that's environmental, through development and management and all the things that make the actual experience of working meaningful—then all the efforts we've put into attraction and recruiting are for naught", said Lars Schmidt, founder of Amplify.

For the amount of energy that's put into talking about candidate experience, candidates are still feeling the impact of a lack of engagement from employers. Additionally, the sense of being "left hanging" lingers in the form of disrespect. If your business structure allows for your hiring managers to be the direct, immediate leadership support for the candidates that they hire, then you have a real advantage. In this case, the employee experience is fluid. It's personal, impactful rapport that is felt from the get-go of an initial interview, through the hiring and onboarding stages, further encouraging more of a connection and trust between the hiring manager and the new hire once they begin in their role. However, if you have a slew of active recruiters, who scout, interview and hire, and, separately, additional individuals who then oversee the team once they're brought on board, you might want to rethink how to bridge the gap. That could cause a very definite disconnection. Which then evolves into more of an 'employee-manager' exchange versus a 'teammate-leader' relationship. Further pulling your organization apart from creating a truly desirable employee experience.

Increase Recruitment Marketing Content

Let the public know if you're open, hiring, and still moving forward as a productive, or essential, business. Candidates actively seeking new opportunities will gravitate towards those organizations that are making themselves seen, creating 'up to date' campaigns, and who are attempting to outreach, actively. Companies should show the public how they are treating their employees during the pandemic with relevant social media content that says 'we care about our employees - we're still engaged'.

Aside from simply having an updated, regularly active presence, companies should be constantly refreshing their job posting to gain the most traction. Candidates are seeking positions and roles, promotions, or a foot-in-the-door, NOW. In a much more urgent way than ever before. Even a job that was posted a month ago might be looked passed and viewed as potentially not relevant any longer.

Recruit From Within

During this time, recruiting is extremely competitive. Employment in jobs such as hospitality has risen since the coronavirus, with notable earnings in retail trade, health services, manufacturing, and professional and business services. As of June 2020, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the U.S. Department of Labor, the unemployment rate is 11.1 %. Several points lower than the 14% rate in April, but drastically higher than the average of 3.5 - 4% that the nation has steadily seen between July 2019 - April 2020. Candidates are often desperate and applying for nearly any job they can get their hands on, causing an increase of job applicants. From an employers perspective, resumes coming across your desk may be higher in number, so recruiting costs may have dipped a little, but how many of those applicants are actually qualified, or, more importantly, will be retained as top talent?

If your organization regularly invests in continued training, has a strong employee brand, and, overall, your employees enjoy their place of employment, you will likely uncover the talent you're hoping to find right under your own roof. Unfortunately, there can often be a sense of possession over good talent. Many hiring managers don't want to expose other opportunities to their teams or encourage movement, even within their own organization. In the long run, this will be a detriment to your organizations overall, fundamental structure. Make sure your in-house leaders and employees understand that growth for all, in all stages, across all your divisions and portfolios, matters for the company's greater good. "If someone's hiring an employee from your team, that's not poaching," Edward said. "That's two managers collaborating for the win of the company", states Mark Lobosco, Vice President of Talent Solutions at LinkedIn.

Update Your Applicant Tracking System

Now is the time to prepare your business for a massive hiring wave that's crashing in like never before. Having a reliable system to track your candidates and manage your pipeline is crucial during this time. Like I mentioned, we're seeing a spike in applicants, which may be overwhelming for your team. This increase in having candidates eager to work for company can slow the hiring process because of the demand for your time in managing online job boards, sifting through resumes, interviewing, follow up, and more. Utilizing an intuitive applicant tracking system will streamline the process and maximize efficiency.

This is your opportunity to review how your processes really work in terms of data-driven results based off of your efforts. Factual information and statistics are the best way to effectively determine what areas need targeted. Whether that's tapping into a certain market to pull candidates from, or referring back to a strong pipeline of candidates that has already been built and is waiting to be revisited. If you're in an industry that is expanding and you are in a position to hire additional recruiters, that should be part of your strategy as well. "The right ATS partner is crucial to respond to market shifts. Your ATS should scale based on your needs with no disruption to your business", David Webb, CEO of BrightMove.

Olympus Property has advanced in this area, adding a new applicant tracking system to our arsenal. Greenhouse is the hiring software of our choice for a multitude of reasons. To learn more about Greenhouse and how they might be the right recruiting software for you, visit http://grow.greenhouse.io/.

Article Sources: SHRM, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Forbes, Talent Reef, Small Biz Daily.