The current unexpected situation in the world has provoked many changes in our plans. In the field of recruitment, there seem to be more questions than answers available. To bring some clarity into the hiring activities, we have listed some questions that our clients and candidates have asked us during past weeks. We analyzed them with our expert team and hereby share with you our responses.
1. Is the recruitment still possible during the current emergency situation? What should I take into consideration?
Yes, recruitment is indeed possible in the current situation. You should, however, take in account that: (1) active job searchers are mostly arising from areas that are affected negatively by the crisis, such as tourism, aviation, hospitality, entertainment, etc, (2) employees who currently have a steady job position are not easily willing to change jobs, and (3) the hiring process should be conducted via technical solutions without any physical contact with the candidates.
2. Does the rising unemployment rate bring relief to the organizations who have steady hiring needs?
Yes and no. You should take into consideration that there will be more active job searchers coming from the fields that are currently suffering the most from the crisis. In these fields we find people with skills that are universal and therefore can be applied to other areas, such as secretariat, accountant, HR specialist. However, there will be also people with more specialized knowledge and experience. They might not be able to convert their skills that easily and may therefore require additional training. This means that we will see an increase in structural unemployment – the employees coming from the areas that have fallen into difficulties will have skills and qualifications that might not correspond to the needs of the organizations who are actively hiring.
3. If and how easy is it to hire people from areas that the current emergency situation is affecting little or moderately?
Employees who currently have a steady job position will less likely be willing to change job – as there is a lot of uncertainty in the emergency situation, people are looking for security and stability more than ever. However, this does not mean that recruitment in some areas will become impossible, rather, you should adapt the hiring processes and the way you approach the candidates – instead of using passive hiring activities, such as public job ads, you should contact and communicate with candidates personally, share the information about the organization and the job vacancy, and provide support to the candidate to help them overcome the fear and uncertainty.
4. How are the candidate interviews taking place?
Indeed, in the current situation interviewing the candidates must be conducted by using technical solutions and without having any physical contact. At the same time, the growing popularity of remote work and globalization during the past few years has successfully prepared us to handle the current situation – conversations, including work interviews, have been already conducted virtually over many years. However, the biggest challenge will be making the final decision, as the employer and the candidate would most probably like to meet each other face-to-face before deciding whether or not to close the deal.
5. Should we wait until the end of emergency situation before closing the job offer with a chosen candidate?
Of course, it would be easier to make the final decision once you have met with the candidate in real life. Unfortunately, we do not know yet when the current crisis will be over and how far should we postpone our decisions. Therefore, if the organization continues its activity in almost the same volume as earlier and the effect of the crisis is rather marginal for them, then we suggest not to wait with taking the final decision – the candidate on hold may lose their interest after a while and might accept another offer from an organization who has better adapted to the circumstances.
6. Should we postpone the starting date of the new employee to avoid them to work remotely?
No, you should not postpone the starting date just because the new employee will have to start working remotely. As with many other work processes, we must adapt to the current situation and it applies also to the onboarding program of the new employee. The onboarding program should be adjusted so that it can be done virtually / remotely, allowing the new employee to settle in fast and smoothly, and help them get productive from day one, which is highly essential in the current situation.
In case any important questions regarding the recruitment have been left out, please get in contact with us – we will happily help you find the answers to your questions and assist you with any hiring and onboarding activities.