It is safe to say that every business across the globe has been dramatically affected by the Covid-19 crisis in some shape or form. And the recruitment industry has certainly seen some considerable fluctuations in demand; some industries have seen a dramatic decline in hiring activity, whilst others have seen demand for their products and services soar and have needed to increase their headcount to unprecedented levels as a result.
What the Coronavirus has done is make some fundamental changes to the way we work and the way that we recruit. It is safe to say, that some of these changes are not just here until we return to a post-Covid world, but rather they are now the new ‘normal’.
The face of recruitment has changed and there are some fundamental things that hiring managers now need to take into account when considering their future recruitment plans.
Digital Recruitment
The introduction of remote recruitment on such a scale is arguably the biggest change that the recruitment industry has seen throughout this pandemic.
When we went into the first lockdown, almost overnight, businesses across the country and around the world were thrown into the modern era of talent attraction. And many of them realised how effective digital recruitment can be for increasing flexibility, improving candidate attraction, speeding up the recruitment process and reducing costs. It’s little wonder then, that digital recruitment will continue to be an important part of the recruitment process beyond Covid-19.
Now it’s not without saying that remote recruitment has its challenges and it’s also not always appropriate for the whole of the recruitment processes – as some job roles just require some face to face interaction and will need to be conducted on site.
However, the majority of businesses will embrace remote recruitment for at least part of their recruitment process as standard throughout 2021 and beyond. If it can enable you to streamline your recruitment process, it is certainly something that needs to be considered for the long-term, especially as you are likely to already have the technology and processes in place.
Globalisation of Talent
Of course, as more and more businesses begin to recruit for roles which will be predominantly, or even permanently home based, this broadens the limits of the talent pool significantly. Effectively more and more people can work any place at any time. If you are embracing this concept, then you have a wider pool of candidates with which to tap into.
It is also worth bearing in mind though, as more and more businesses begin to offer remote working and start to look for talent from beyond their immediate locations, competition for the best candidates begins to hot up. This will increase the need to have an exceptional employer brand and will have repercussions for your recruitment strategy. This heightens the need to plan your recruitment processes well, to ensure that you are ahead of the market when looking for your next hire.
Talent Shortages
It may seem as if ‘talent shortage’ has been the buzz phrase in the industry world for a while. And you would be forgiven for thinking that the position of power is now well and truly in the hands of the employer. To some extent this is true – we have seen an upturn in the number of available candidates on the market, however this is specific to certain sectors i.e. hospitality and industries which were hit harder by the pandemic than others.
It is also worth noting that candidate confidence is quite low at the moment, with a high amount of candidates putting their job search on hold and becoming extremely reluctant to move. Even where we are seeing redundancies, the best candidates get snapped up very quickly.
It is important, therefore, that employers aren’t complacent when it comes to the availability of talent. It is likely that talent shortages will continue and the market largely remains very candidate led.
Changes in Candidate Expectations
It is true that for a while, there has been a shift in focus of candidate priorities. Even pre-pandemic, more and more candidates were looking for a sense of purpose when considering their next role, and monetary compensation alone was beginning to decline in importance.
The reputation of companies, flexible working, work/life balance, company culture and corporate responsibility are just a few of the things that are becoming increasingly important to candidates in addition to the package itself.
Implications of digital recruitment on the Employer Brand
Whist virtual interviewing is likely to continue, it needs to be considered that it can be very hard to interact with a candidate in an online environment. Building trust, reputation and a distinguished perspective of organisational culture is now more important than ever. And as recruitment becomes more digitalised, businesses need to sell themselves in a more dynamic way.
Engaging career page content is vital for this. Virtual tours, video interviews with hiring managers and engaging social media content will be a really effective way of helping to improve your employer brand.
Speed of Process is Becoming Increasingly Important
With increased competitiveness in the market and sought after talent getting snapped up quickly, keeping candidates engaged is vital. It is important that recruitment processes move quickly and efficiently in order to ensure that you don’t lose good candidates to competing organisations. Lengthy processes and lack of proper communication can be damaging to an organisation’s reputation and employer brand.
Virtual recruiting offers a great way to keep recruitment processes as short as possible. It provides maximum flexibility around diaries and can be a great way to screen candidates, even if you would prefer to meet them face-to-face at the final interview stage.
Parkinson|Lee have worked with multiple businesses across the region sutpporting them through Covid-19 and the impact this has had on their recruitment processes.
If you need any further help and guidance in this area, please contact our team of specialist Executive Search consultants today.
