Search
Close this search box.

Current Region & Language

Recruitment Strategies for a Post-COVID World

Facebook
LinkedIn

Recruitment Strategies for a Post-COVID World

Recruitment has changed significantly during the pandemic. Business changes that started as necessary responses to a crisis, including remote work, hybrid offices, and virtual interviews, are now shaping the future of recruitment. Employee values have also shifted dramatically, initiating the Great Resignation. Many industries are dealing with unprecedented labor shortages as more workers are reconsidering their priorities and reassessing their relationship with work.

Evolving business norms and employee expectations demand new approaches to talent procurement. Recruiters need a new playbook fit for this evolving work landscape. Here is a look at the recruitment strategies that are becoming the keys to success in a post-COVID world.

Build Labor Market Expertise

The move to remote work means that recruiters are no longer sourcing candidates primarily based on proximity to offices, and this completely changes the recruiting game. Recruiters and organizations that successfully attract talent in the future will be focusing less on sourcing talent near them, and focusing more on where that talent already is.

Being able to recruit from anywhere in the world can be potentially overwhelming, so it helps to know where to look. Recruiters that build their labor market expertise—helping organizations understand where to focus recruiting efforts for specific technical skills—will thrive as geographically distributed workforces become normalized.

Define an Employer Value Proposition

Many workers have embraced the flexibility associated with remote work. They enjoy the autonomy to design their own work experience, better fitting their job into their life, and are reluctant to give this up when seeking new opportunities. This shift is in part driving the Great Resignation as employees put greater emphasis on work that is in harmony with their lifestyle and values.

This flexibility for workers to have greater control over the design of their jobs is now key to a compelling “employer value proposition.” Flexible schedules, fully remote or hybrid work options, and childcare support are some of the top things that workers now look for in an employer value proposition. Successful recruiters will be selling the right fit to employees as much as they are finding the right employees for their clients.

Interview and Hire Efficiently

It’s a candidate’s market, and recruiters need to move through the hiring process with purpose and efficiency to swiftly secure talented workers for their clients. Seamless interview processes, clearly communicated next steps, and respecting the time of prospective candidates are all essential considerations, especially during a labor shortage.

Recruiters should also stay open to adopting new technologies that can accelerate their talent search. AI recruitment tools can be implemented to accurately and continuously screen candidates, giving recruiters more time for valuable face-to-face interaction with top candidates after they are identified.

Grow Talent Pools Through Diversity and Inclusion

Recruiters can grow beyond their traditional talent pools not only by expanding where they are recruiting but by who their recruiting campaigns are targeting as well. Solid Diversity and Inclusion programs can help recruiters identify and reduce biases in their talent procurement processes. Recruiting diverse candidates that may have previously been discriminated against or are not typically active in areas where opportunities arise, can grow talent pools and make your organization more attractive to prospective employees.

Employees are also looking for authenticity, so make sure that your Diversity and Inclusions plans are not “all talk” while falling short on action. Some tangible strategies to implement include:

  • Anonymized resumes and blind hiring processes to eliminate biases.
  • Online tools to make your job postings gender-neutral and feel welcoming to all.
  • Advertising your openings in less traditional spaces, including skill or community-specific job boards.

Make Recruiting a Team Effort

Nobody is better at identifying a skills gap than the people doing the work. When filling a role, recruiters and hiring managers should seek input from the team to ensure they’re hiring for current and future needs. Use this opportunity to collaborate with the team to evaluate potential skills gaps to prioritize in a new hire. It is also a good time to assess both the emerging and expiring skills on the team. Hiring for emerging skills—those that will become increasingly needed—rather than looking only to replace outgoing employees will help organizations evolve and grow into the future.

Keeping teams involved in the recruitment process may also facilitate valuable connections. Team members will be more likely to activate their own professional networks. New hires that come from referrals are more than twice as likely to be retained beyond two years compared to hires from online job boards. Although the workplace is rapidly going virtual and global, personal connection and human relationships remain as important as ever when building successful post-COVID recruitment strategies.

For more recruiting strategies to help your clients with talent procurement in a post-COVID world, download our webinar on the Best Practices for Candidate Sourcing.

Related Posts