Blog: The near future:

The impacts of Covid-19 are still being felt across the world. The UK economy shrunk by just over 20% in April 2020 and although we are seeing some positive movements in terms of the death and infection rates as a result of lockdowns, recruitment processes across the world have been changed for the foreseeable future. Combine this with the fact that, although governments seem to have had a strong impact in terms of recovery plans, we are heading towards a recession, although not quite a depression, and companies are in a position where they have to adapt or die. Simple.

The obvious observation is that the Tourism and Hospitality sectors have been hit the hardest. Research suggests that just under 50% of employees in these industries will be furloughed or laid off, and around 11 million people across all sectors expected to be furloughed or laid off over the next few months. We are also seeing impacts across a number of other sectors as furloughs and redundancies cause heartache for a huge amount of businesses and staff alike.

Those companies that do sit on the recruitment side have a part to play in the recovery. With unemployment rates forecast to drop to around 6.5% by Q4 2020, the recruitment industry will be pivotal in not only mobilising the UK workforce, but also in providing an offering, Like Ventiro, in supporting clients to adjust to the new nature of recruiting, from the adoption of new up and coming recruitment technologies, such as video interviewing and digital onboarding & induction, to embracing flexible and remote workforces and the impact that has on the recruitment process and consequent rebuild of the workforce.

So what’s the landscape in terms of recruitment currently?

No face to face interviews for the foreseeable:

The obvious impact will be the restrictions on face to face interviews as companies invest in organisational changes that allow their employees to work from home. The safety of the staff and the candidates alike is paramount, even as lockdown restrictions are lifted. A number of our clients tell us that they are optimistic about a 50% workforce return to work by Christmas. They will focus on the critical “necessary to be on-site” staff first before allowing the remainder of the workforce to return, if they wish. Although we are still some way off a completely remote style company culture, it has been somewhat fast-tracked.

Recruitment freezes, redundancies & broader applications:

Again, the glaringly obvious impact of the current pandemic is the sheer number of furloughs or redundancies has had a significant impact on the quantity of available talent in the market. This is good news for organisation still recruiting, however almost all of our clients are implementing some form of recruitment freeze whilst they still come to terms with COVID-19 and the planning for survival phase. As with all crises - recruitment is the first to freeze and rightly so. The biggest challenge coming to those still recruiting is the broader candidate applications. This is where candidates who have gone through redundancies are less specific in their job search due to the need for a role. They have bills to pay. This is a challenge in terms of the in-house recruitment team as they struggle to filter through a broader range of candidates.

Process disruption

Another factor to consider is the wider impact of the redundancies. Although the market will be flooded with recently redundant talent, those that were in process will be more likely to remain at their current organisation out of self preservation. Although the talent flooding into the market will help counter this challenge, it does mean a number of recruitment processes will be disrupted and potentially starting from scratch.

For those still recruiting - how you can adjust:

Digital onboarding & induction mastery

This is something that will have been on the HR agenda for some time - digitisation of the pre/onboarding. So many of our clients rely (relied) on the printing out of contracts and employee handbooks to then physically send for the candidate to print, sign, scan and send back. This is just not possible with a number of HR teams working form home so the Digitisation process that seems to constantly stall/get pushed back a year is now compulsory to adhere to lock down guidelines.

So companies are looking at solutions like Adobe sign or Skribble to implement - and doing so quickly. Although we wish this didn’t need a pandemic to gain the spotlight, this is going to make the candidate experience SO much better. Click here to see some great options to digitise the contract / pre-boarding process.

Utilise Video

We’ve seen increased demand for video interviews over the last 5 or so years and as businesses have adjusted, slowly, the benefit of this input in the recruitment process is more important since the outbreak of COVID-19. It allows for the engagement, especially the two way video, which is our preferred method when it comes to a personalised video approach.

There the recorded video options that will allow CIA style AI to sit behind the recording, using the AI to measure the facial expressions and offer insights beyond measure - essentially putting the candidate through a polygraph test without realising.

Whatever your business is comfortable with, there HAS to be some form of video interview involved in order to engage your top talent and not risk losing them to your competition.

Boost your Employer Brand - We’re Still Hiring!

Believe it or not, a number of our clients have been focusing so hard on fixing an out of date process that they have forgotten to utilise the social channels to boost their talent communities and pools.

Make sure you are updating your profile and sharing with your connections that your company is still hiring and, provided you have a strong recruitment process to follow it up, you will be reaping the rewards, even in such uncertain times.

Conclusion

The fact remains, COVID-19 has really sent 2020 into a dark place in terms of the global economic and employment view with lots of businesses struggling to survive and a spike in unemployment. It is great that, as of June, we are starting to see some recovery. We wait with baited breath to see if this infamous second wave of the pandemic arrives. What can be said is that we learnt a lot from the first wave and businesses will ensure they are more future proofed for pandemics.

Strengthen your recruitment process, get the right technology in place that helps you attract the right talent, engage them throughout the process (from anywhere in the world) and convert the best with a digital pre/onboarding process.

Most of all. Stay safe.