What will hiring look like post COVID? What can I do to capitalize on all the available talent in the marketplace? This is not the time to pause hiring. The market is flooded with available talent, so why not start building a pipeline and developing relationships with potential hires?
Where do I start?
- Start searching. Spend some time on linked in, many available candidates are posting when laid off, and you can see what they are looking for, and what experience and talents they may bring to your organization.
- Which companies have been doing significant layoffs in your industry around the country? Then, identify who was affected and reach out.
- Ask friends and family, they may know people negatively affected by all that has happened the last few months.
- If you are looking for entry level talent, speak with the colleges and universities in your area, so many first time offers were rescinded to talented soon to be grads.
- Focus on your hiring brand! Carefully managing your candidate experience might not seem like a priority at a time when companies are slowing or freezing hiring. But, how you treat candidates now will impact your talent brand down the road, and may make it harder to attract candidates when you’re ready to start hiring again.
- You may have had candidates in the pipeline since COVID hit, and they need to be proactively updated on what they should expect through your process. Good communication is key!
- Refresh or re-create any assets highlighting your company culture — whether that’s a funny company video or a deck highlighting what’s great about working at X company. Show them what life is like there as a potential future employee.
- Talk to potential candidates about how you have shifted during COVID, as a company. Positive storytelling is key to helping candidates picture what their future would look like in your organization, especially as they can’t be there live right now.
- And lastly, if are finding yourself with idle time, use it to up your skill set. Are there any courses or training you can do online to up your skill set? Make you better at recruiting metrics? Culture and branding? Learn, learn, learn. When else will you have this much time?
- Volunteer your recruiting services to those who really need it now, like the healthcare industry, consider helping them source needed talent pro bono.
- Focus on diversity and inclusion, building pipelines and identifying opportunities to create a more diverse workforce in the future for your organization is another wonderful use of your time, and should always be a priority.
- Re-evaluate the organization’s job descriptions,
- Assess the workforce to make sure the right people are in the right jobs
- Validate that your high-potentials are on track to progress into future leadership roles. Use this time getting prepared for the summer and eventual reopening, as hiring preparedness is key!
What’s happening now that will impact your success later? What changes need to take place? Each step in the talent acquisition process deserves attention. The companies that seek to understand and improve will do well, and those who don’t may find themselves behind the curve once a rebound does occur.
Need help getting started with your company’s recruitment plan in this changing marketplace? Work Friendly would be happy to help build a recruitment strategy that works for your organization. Please contact [email protected]!
