Acceleration after an economic recession affects every aspect of work and bridging employment gaps after a recession has its own set of recruitment challenges. The current economic downturn caused by the pandemic has created unique new recruitment challenges – and has enlarged existing ones.
According to Rand Corporation, in the United States, more than 38 million workers have applied for unemployment benefits last month. Some estimates worldwide show that almost 12% of employees lost their jobs because of the coronavirus pandemic. Also, current efforts to contain the virus will reduce global GDP by 2% per month, or 24% per annum, which means a rate of economic contraction that has not been seen since the Great Depression.
But while the economic situation is now bleak, the Congressional Budget Office predicts that most companies will return to the network by the end of 2020, which will cause a boom in the labor market. Companies dealing with current and new recruitment challenges will now be in the best position to get out of the economic crisis while maintaining talent continuity.
Here’s how you can overcome the recruitment challenges facing HR and recruiters today.
Preparation for economic uncertainty
Economic fluctuations dictate organizational growth. Recruiters must be prepared to develop talent pipelines, attract candidates in a challenging economy, and manage the influx of candidates after a recession. This often entails staffing changes for recruitment teams. After the recession, the recruitment of teams and resources will be much smaller.
Preparing for disruption is crucial to the recruitment strategy. Think of different economic and labor scenarios and build contingency plans. For example, spending on outbound marketing to attract new candidates should depend on the current economic climate. In a busy labor market, these costs are rising, but after the recession, these costs will go down.
Economic uncertainty introduces many challenges related to recruitment, but the ability to increase or decrease the number of recruitment strategies based on economic changes can protect your financial results.
Recruitment challenges in a remote work environment
The frequency of remote work has grown exponentially – and now that it is here, experts predict that it will stay here. Recruiters must find candidates who can thrive in this radically changed work environment. Remote work requires different skills and approaches to work, both from managers and team members.
Candidates must be self-sufficient to work from home. Identifying candidates with personality traits needed for development in a remote work environment is critical to preventing burnout and turning down the road.
If you are recruiting candidates for a remote position that requires daily telephone or video calls, consider using it for an interview. With this, you will be able to see which candidates are capable communicators and will likely develop well in a remote work environment.
You need to find the right managers to support the remote teams. They should bear the capacity to understand the dynamics of remote work, such as the increased need for communication, and be able to provide support to their team members virtually. Recruiters who understand this and know what to look for will bring added value to employers.
Adaptation of recruiters to the employment strategy
The large scale employment strategy among upper management must flow into the recruitment function – even for primary roles. However, often recruiters may get the impression that they are not sufficiently educated in the position for which they employ. This can cause more recruitment challenges and lead to poor recruitment.
Recruiters must understand both the tactical skills required for the job and the strategy for fulfilling this role. Rethinking the career path of each role is crucial. It is difficult to find the right person for the position if you do not know where the employment manager hopes to take this employee in the future. Supporting communication lines between recruiters and employment managers can help ensure much-needed transparency.
You need to understand what the Employment Manager is trying to achieve. What can this person achieve immediately? How can they grow and learn? Who do you want them to become? Answers to these questions will help recruiters find candidates who can succeed both immediately and in the long term.
Rethinking outdated recruitment processes
Many organizations still use the same recruitment processes they have been using for years. Older methods are usually not in contact with the needs of today’s candidates and recruiters, and many of them have been modified over the years to make them unnecessarily complicated. This hinders recruiters and makes it difficult to attract high-quality candidates.
We know that the recruitment function will evolve as circumstances change. Now is an excellent time to organize and streamline recruitment processes to ensure a blank space for future changes. The ever-green recruitment process is more agile and responds to disruptions.
But before changing, it is necessary to know where you come from. To do this, review and verify your recruitment processes. Find places where you can streamline the process, for example, by conducting fewer interviews or starting with an evaluation to exclude the wrong candidates at first. Recruiters should expect a massive inflow of applications coming out of recession. Such process changes can increase efficiency while reducing the load on recruits.
Managing the inflow of candidates creates new recruitment challenges.
When the economy recovers after a slowdown or recession, companies often need a quick flood of incoming candidates to increase production and services. This can create an overwhelmed recruitment team and poorly managed information about candidates. Recruiters must have processes that allow a massive inflow of candidates without sacrificing the experience of the candidate.
Maintaining a large number of candidates is difficult when overall employment is reducing. Recruiters may have difficulty finding time to communicate with each candidate in preparation, and valuable candidates may be lost. Comprehensive ATS is necessary to overcome recruitment challenges related to a massive inflow of candidates.
Using an ATS or other centralized communication tools allows recruiters to work together to look after a large number of candidates. Tracking the information collected from each candidate and when it was saved, helps recruiters manage information and ensures that the candidate’s communication line stays open.
Besides, automating repetitive, low-touch tasks can help recruiters optimize their day. The chatbot on your website can help recruiters answer basic questions and gather relevant information from candidates without being overwhelmed.
Finding candidates with the right skills
When you are looking for a new employee, you have specific skills in mind, but finding people with the right skills can be complicated. Candidates either have a little less experience or experience in the wrong area. How do you find the perfect candidate?
Sometimes you don’t need a candidate with precisely the skill set you are looking for, especially since technical skills are continually evolving. Instead, find candidates with soft skills that will be useful regardless of job changes. Look for ever-green skills such as learning ability, communication skills, or adaptability. For example, a veteran’s technical expertise may not be perfect for a civilian organization, but features such as loyalty and ability to act under pressure are much more valuable.
If you are unable to find a candidate with the perfect set of skills, consider candidates ready for the challenge. Look for training programs and opportunities that will prepare employees for the tasks required for their position. If possible, offer internal mentors and training opportunities to help them accelerate. Employers must be ready to train and train the right candidate. It is easier to teach technical skills instead of soft skills or motivators.
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