At least in the short term, most employers are going to be using a mostly remote hiring process. Team coffee meetings and in-person group interviews are certainly less likely right now. How do you make sure both sides of the hiring process get what they need? How do you make sure you’re adequately staffed when so much is changing?

Recruiting

Since hiring during Covid19 includes mostly remote interactions, you will want to almost over-communicate. When you post on job boards and social media to find your candidates, you can begin notifying them how your current hiring practice is working. Are you adding more on-line skills assessments? Will all interviews be remote? Since many companies were already conducting initial screening interviews by phone, this change might not be disrupting at all.

A recommended best practice is to post a FAQ on your company’s Human Resources page. This webpage is a good place to explain your company’s hiring policies during Covid19. You can also answer questions about how long processes are taking. Having one central web page regularly updated saves you from having to include potentially rapidly changing information in each job posting.

Managing Remote Interviews

As part of the interview invitation, provide both the candidate and your in-house interviewing team necessary information on the technical requirements for a virtual interview. You might include internet connection requirements and the software needed. Have an internal process in place for group discussion of a potential candidate after the interview.

One gap caused by a remote interview process is that candidates won’t be able to learn about your company during an office tour. Consider making a virtual tour or slide show using co-workers photos. Or, highlight your company’s culture by sharing social media resources that show company initiatives or staff volunteer efforts.

Digital On-Boarding

Use your company’s email and social media channels to welcome a new hire. Have a template ready to go and ask the new candidate for a picture to share. You could have a team virtual first-day “coffee meeting” to celebrate the new member (and make sure everyone has contact information). Send along a virtual welcome package including an official email signature, Zoom Office background, and any internal company resource links to Slack/Hangouts channels or shared resources.

Some Positives-Hiring During Covid19

In just a couple of months, the supply of talent has completely shifted. People have lost their jobs because of business conditions, not performance. With so many unemployed, the quality of the available labor pool is very high. Also, managers are now more open to hiring remote workers. These changes give you more recruiting choices because geographic barriers are lifted.

If you’re reluctant to hire full-time staff until you’re more confident the economy will continue to improve, you can instead tap into the high-quality temporary and contractor pool to meet demand.

Finally-we are seeing most companies rise to the challenge of an all-remote workforce during Covid19 surprisingly well. Realize that your remote hiring and onboarding process might not be seamless. They might be a work in progress, and you may need some outside agency support. You can find additional tips on the Society for Human Resources(SHRM) blog here. Using some of the above suggestions will help you capture some of that new hire excitement for both your candidate and your team while you keep your business moving forward.

If you would like some support around your hiring process, please feel free to Contact Us with any questions, comments, concerns.