Covid-19 turned into a global pandemic from an outbreak in a short span of time making people confine themselves to their homes.The pandemic has affected industries at large to varying degrees. With the economy falling into a recession, there has been a huge impact on the recruitment industry and a dip in the employment rates. This blog post discusses the changes in recruitment.
Remote onboarding process
The need for social distancing has forced many employers to conduct virtual interviews instead of face-to-face as calling an applicant to come in for the interview can cause potential safety issues. This can be a challenging task as it would require employers to make sure that correct information is shared with the interviewer and the applicant through effective communication in a virtual environment.
In case of new hires an onboarding process has to be set up using digital tools and remote collaboration facilitating commencement of work from home without any delays.
Fewer vacancies and more open applications
Many companies are having to layoff their employees, unfortunately, leading to more people being unemployed. This means there are more candidates applying for jobs. But there isn’t a rise in available positions to balance the number of candidates due to the companies hiring less in the global crisis.
Remote job offers in demand
Remote work applications have faced a drastic rise in number during quarantine as people are restricted from movement and physical interaction at workspaces. Hence remote work has become a societal necessity. Applicants proven to be productive in a remote environment gain an added benefit in the hiring process.
People getting more susceptible to change
Sourcing candidates has become difficult especially if they have signed full-time contracts with their employers. This reduces their chances of changing jobs. But the crisis has made people more courageous driven by their fear of potential layoffs. People who previously valued security in their workspace are now more open towards taking up new career opportunities.
The Covid-19 crisis will pass eventually but it is important to note that recruitment hasn’t come to a halt and candidates are still actively looking for placements. The pandemic has given an important insight to crucial transformations in recruitment and made the hiring managers to be prepared for similar situations. Taking necessary measures to protect people in the workplace and maintain their welfare is a high priority. Companies that do not want to risk hiring until the virus has been put down still need to prepare for an altered reality. This includes digitizing certain recruitment processes, encouraging virtual meetings, promoting a culture of hygienic practices in the workplace, and maintaining contact with promising talents for future placements.