Moms Network

Keep Recruiting

COVID-19 has ushered in rapid volatility in the business landscape that companies are now scrambling to address. Fear of the unknown is causing recruiting to come to a complete halt for many businesses across the globe as companies deal with internal needs, and work with Human Resources teams to craft new policies and procedures. Organizations are also struggling to nurture candidates and are looking for best practices in delaying offers or rescinding offers entirely.

The current state of the economy has dumped a surplus of top-notch candidates into the market that will be grabbed by companies with current explosive growth. Businesses can take advantage of hiring candidates that would be difficult to acquire through normal recruiting conditions, and the best time to staff your high-performing team is right now.

Online tools have changed the landscape of recruiting dramatically, and the power spectrum has shifted towards the candidates in many cases because of the rise of recruiting-based social media. Candidates that go through portions of the interview process can still make either a positive or negative impact on your brand in the digital space. Making sure to treat each candidate with respect and communicate actively is one of the most important things that any organization can do to maintain the health of their recruiting brand.

The Hardest Part About Stopping the Recruiting Engine is Restarting

It can take years for companies to build a reliable recruiting brand that is aligned both digitally and in-person with candidates. Maintaining hiring momentum is an uphill battle. Once you stop moving forward, you immediately start to lose traction and begin to move backward. A lack of presence in recruiting circles such as Career Fairs, and even digital groups starts to minimize your overall recruiting brand equity, and potential candidates quickly move to other opportunities.

Nurturing potential candidates during this time and maintaining market presence is essential in keeping your recruiting engine running. If companies do delay or freeze hiring for a short time, recruiting leaders should make sure to check-in with their team members and put together an action plan to ensure that all candidates currently in the pipeline have an active communications cadence. Offering status calls or weekly email updates to prospective candidates is an excellent way to nurture candidates and make your brand stand out. Consider using this time to put new hires through online training while your company rebounds. Being transparent and providing candidates with a short overview of how your company is functioning during this time of volatility can make a big difference, and gives potential candidates insight into your company culture.

Taking down job ads and canceling recruiting activities altogether may not be the best course of action. Building relationships and still taking the time to review resumes is a good way to prepare for a potential influx in staffing needs. Nurturing your candidate pipeline will help recruiting teams to be ready to meet hiring demands when resources are needed.

Urging people to apply for roles is a healthy product of brand behavior in itself that resonates with potential candidates. Adding a note to job descriptions that indicate you are still hiring during this time is also extremely reassuring. Social media is a great way to engage potential candidates, and is also an excellent way for companies to merge corporate brand equity with their recruiting brand.

Companies Have the Option of Leaning on the Gig Economy

There are many different dynamics at play in the current global climate as some companies are doing massive layoffs, and others are in desperate need of staff to meet market demand. A common theme for most companies is the push to meet demands without the responsibility and risk of taking on employees in an unpredictable economic climate. Organizations are looking to the gig economy to support internal teams, and safely offload work to trusted contractors without having to take on the financial risk and responsibilities of full-time employees. The gig economy is the best option for companies in need of staff, and an agile solution that safeguards all parties. Many companies are seeking out Executive Search Firm services as a means to fill these temporary positions. This shortens the process and removes many of the hassles that come with high turnover rates.

Ways to Restructure to Continue Hiring Practices

For service-based industries that have clientele, companies should be proactive in checking in on both the current and future state of projects to allocate resources across their organizations successfully. Condensing bulky teams by moving team members to more active client teams or upskilling other areas that are not as busy are good ways to maximize the members of your team to actively contribute to the growth of your organization.

For example, creating internal research projects that explore business development opportunities is an excellent way to utilize groups that may be waiting for work assignments. Doing pro-bono work can also be a good business development initiative that allows your business to give back to the community while marketing your brand in different circles that you would not ordinarily have access to. This is also a great way to keep teams busy and teach new skills while cultivating innovation during this time.

The CARES Act has provided multiple funding options for businesses such as the Economic Injury Disaster Loan and Advance (EIDL) and the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) to incentivize companies to maintain their current company populace and help to cover business-related costs. Companies should consider applying for funding to prepare for the unknown, and these programs can help to keep hiring cycles active, safeguard assets, and protect employees.

You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.