We are seeing that recruitment is progressing as normal, however it’s happening in different ways to follow the governments social distancing guidelines. Recruitment is still needed, and even more so in the coming weeks, in certain areas there will be a high impact on resources of key workers in the industry. Some of the crucial roles are needed quickly, so recruitment agencies are having to react swiftly and find ways to get people into posts successfully.
Hiring managers will be looking at ways to adjust recruitment strategies during the outbreak and fortunately, technology is available to help minimise exposure whilst still being able to recruit successfully and compliantly.
Digital recruitment already exists in the public sector, and this goes beyond posting vacancies on social media and using online job boards. It covers a range of strategies that span the entire recruitment process — from start to finish. Such tactics include:
- Digital job board advertising
- Posting on career websites
- Mobile recruiting
- Utilising online assessments
- Social recruiting
In order to ensure that recruitment can continue after the initial advertising stage, YPO have been speaking to providers to understand what is happening so far in the public sector;
- Utilising social media and job boards to advertise new roles. This happens on a regular basis but this is increasing at this time.
- Interviews are being carried out in different ways such as using telephone or virtual video assessments. This allows interviews to still take place and involve seeing or speaking to a candidate.
- Online assessment – this is a tool employers often use as part of the interview process and can continue as normal and will support in recruitment.
- Virtual onboarding to allow a new employee to still start a new role even during these difficult times.
- Utilising technology for the interview process is happening across the public sector, and there are plenty of options available such as Zoom, Skype for Business and Microsoft Teams. There has been a big uptake on utilising these tools during this time, just remember to take care with security whilst utilising these tools.
Some of the benefits of using digital resourcing methods is that it can be flexible and can reduce the time to hire as it enables quick interviews to be set up for a high in demand role or number of candidates.
Video interviews are an efficient way for hiring managers to quickly compare and contrast candidates without delaying the hiring timeline.
Social media is a reactive way to communicate and advertise jobs. There is lots of activity happening on social media right now and utilising this tool to advertise job posts is a great way to market.
Everyone is adapting as we move forward with virtual recruitment, allowing the recruitment sector to continue during Covid-19. We've also rounded up some information to provide you with an update on how YPO and the wider recruitment sector are working together in recruitment.
Our HR Services team are here to help, guide and support your organisation with any recruitment demands and challenges. Don’t hesitate to get in touch [email protected]!