Tips to improve recruitment processes in pandemic (and post-pandemic)
Jordi Ginestà, Former HR Team Lead EMEAR at inlea:
The current pandemic has had a notable impact in the labor market on a global level. Some sectors are suffering a stoppage of their activity and growth of unemployment. Nevertheless, there are sectors that are hiring professionals, and the selection processes are remote. In this sense, online recruitment is being essential and will remain permanently.
The first consequence of this mismatch in the labor market is the increase in candidates for each job. In inlea, job offers published during the pandemic have received double or triple the number of interested candidates than before covid-19.
In early 2020, it was unusual that employees could work from home. However, the emergence of Covid-19 has caused teleworking to increase spectacularly. As an example, the teleworking rate in Spain has gone from 5% to 34% during the pandemic.
This teleworking has generated the second consequence of the arrival of the covid-19: interest of the companies by remote candidates and, therefore, by candidates far from their job. Therefore, the location of the candidate is no longer a deciding factor and therefore the human resources department can find more suitable candidates and the selection processes are resolved more quickly.
These two “novelty” consequences are really obvious because the greater the number of suitable candidates, the faster and more successful selection processes are. But watch out, now you have to convince customers or internal staff remotely and, consequently, the management of the selection process is more complicated.
At inlea we have been managing this “complication” since 2005, since we have always been able to offer the best remote recruitment service to our clients in their expansion processes to other countries, since the new candidate was thousands of miles from headquarters.
From our experience in the last 16 years, in inlea we can give at least 5 tips to improve online recruitment in human resources departments or in the companies of choice:
- Plan the entire selection process: The entire selection process must be planned from the beginning, defining phases, timing, technological means and people involved. Before, a candidate could be made to wait at the reception of the office. Now, a candidate can’t wait more than 3 minutes in a videoconferencing, therefore, everything must be planned. There is no time for improvisation.
- Select and test the technology: Technology now is not only the videoconferencing, which obviously must be accessible to all candidates and robust to share screen and video. You must have on-line channels to capture candidates synchronized with the data manager, on-line agenda shared with the candidates and your clients.
- Prepare the speech about the company: Not being able to have a face-to-face interview, the candidate does not see the facilities or life in the company. So you have to explain the company and its values (they are intangible and do not need physical support). We recommend using some visual material from the company to share during the interview; but avoiding videos. These can be suggested to the candidate to view before the interview, if they are not public.
- Be professional and polite: Once the interview begins, remember always to smile, keep eye contact, speak clearly, and be concise. Nods when the candidate speaks to show that you are following her speech. Also be flexible with the candidate and you too, if your personal lives break into the interview (children, couples, home delivery, etc.)
- Follow up and appreciate their participation: After conducting the interview, it is not finished yet. Follow up and thank the candidate for being flexible and for spending their valuable time talking to you.
There is no doubt that due to the situation we are experiencing and the establishment of telecommuting, online recruitment has become essential when looking for talent for the organization.
The candidate offshoring and the increased use of technology provides the opportunity to increase available candidates and reduce the time of the recruitment process. Therefore, from inlea we recommend accompanying these tips with a visibility strategy in the networks to attract the best candidates, which allows us to easily adapt to the new professional scenario and obtain the greatest success in the online recruitment processes.
