We may be in lockdown but the world of business hasn’t stopped. Although there have been challenges, and many businesses sadly haven’t survived, some businesses are thriving. As a result, recruitment in certain sectors has experienced a stark increase.
Although the vast majority of us are now working from home, businesses haven’t come to a halt. Instead, companies have had to adapt and change the way they work. This has meant carrying out a lot of their day-to-day business operations online, including recruitment.
The recruitment process has changed, and it’s important that you’re aware of that before you start hiring. Face-to-face interviews and site visits should be avoided wherever possible, for example.
If you need to expand your team or replace staff, here’s our guide outlining recruiting during the pandemic.
Job Ads
Before the pandemic, a lot of recruitment drives were actually already driven online, with many businesses using platforms such as LinkedIn and well-known recruitment websites to source the right people for the right roles.
If you’re looking for new recruits, you should be utilising every platform you can to get the word out such as your business social media platforms, recruitment websites and using your marketing campaigns to spread the word.
There are plenty of candidates looking for jobs right now, so make sure your ad is clear, concise and outlines exactly what you’re looking for in a new recruit.
Is your recruitment procedure ready?
The key to a successful recruitment drive during the pandemic is to be prepared! With this in mind, if you are actively looking for staff, you should make sure that you have the tools in place to complete the process online.
There are plenty of virtual meeting and training tools that will help you on your recruitment drive during the pandemic. For example, Zoom is a great way to interview potential clients and video meet and greets are a great way to introduce new team members.
You will basically be following exactly the same procedures but doing it virtually. Make sure that your interviewee is ready as they might not be familiar with working virtually yet.
So, make sure they have the right technology available to use for conference calls and meetings, provide a link to the video conference prior to the interview and make sure you email the date, time and other important info in advance.
Scrutinise applications
As unemployment continues to rise in certain sectors, you’re likely to receive a mountain of CVs which may not be relevant to the job role. So, it’s more important that, when you’re working through CVs remotely, you play even more attention to the applicant’s skillsets and whether or not they meet your criteria.
This will reduce the risk of spending time interviewing candidates that aren’t suitable for the role.
Remote working skills
It looks like the UK will be working remotely for the foreseeable future. So, when you are recruiting you should look for candidates who have sound communication skills, organisational skills and are able to self-motivate. These are core skills needed for working from home.
Onboarding
Once you’ve hired your new recruits, remember that the onboarding process will be different, especially if your entire workforce is working from home. So ensure you’ve carefully planned out your remote onboarding process so that your new recruits have the tools and support they need to succeed in their role.
If you’re recruiting during the pandemic, we can help. Get in touch.
