What your hiring team can still do during this COVID-19 period
In any line of work, it’s always important to prepare for unforeseen changes. Forces outside our control can impact how we work & deliver value to our customers. One such force is an epidemic like the one the world is experiencing because of the Coronavirus outbreak that has killed thousands so far & rendered our normal lives halted. But COVID-19 doesn’t have to stop everything entirely. Even with your quarantine status & social distancing, here are a few tips to help you during these trying times;
- Stay motivated
It’s likely that without your office buddies & setup, your motivation could be affected. But it is important to keep yourself motivated even when working from home and with the constant news updates. Set up your home space to reflect positivity by tailoring it to your preferences. You could add flowers or put on some jazz music in the sound system if that’s what gets you going. Self-isolation does not mean loneliness as well since you can still communicate with others online & using calls. Remember to also get rid of easy distractions such as moving away from the kids or television.
2. Stay updated
Keep in touch with what’s happening by tracking reliable news sources such as the WHO website. In this time of panic, your teammates are relying on each other for credible information sharing & tips. Follow relevant HR communities like SHRM who are constantly working to provide HR teams with news & resources. Communities will help you see that others are also struggling during this time & together you can come up with ways to overcome such as this crowdsourced resource.
3. Adapt quickly
Crises do not give us years of notice to prepare. As we’ve said before, this is a time when companies, policies, leadership & teams are being tested on the future of work. Switch to online hiring & communication tools to keep hiring moving. We don’t know how long the pandemic will last although we’re seeing good progress now, you don’t want to get back to the office to overwhelming workloads that you could have tackled remotely. Using project management tools you can track your tasks' progress & those of your teams. If you haven’t tried out these tools before, this is the time to pick them up fast. Explore the various technologies that exist out there for workforce management, project management, video & communication & even hiring solutions. It will be a good time to vet these so that hopefully during these times you’re convinced to become a digital hiring team.
4. You don’t have to compromise on candidate experience
Working remotely does not necessarily mean your candidates have stopped being keen on how your hiring team is handling this crisis & treating others. In the age of social proof, every touchpoint a candidate has with your brand online & offline counts. At this time, it is better to OVERCOMMUNICATE than the reverse. If hiring has been frozen because of the economic impact of the virus, let candidates know. Did you have a position you were hiring for that has been delayed e.g. scheduled in-person interviews, group assessments, or case studies? Communicate to everyone involved. Be sure to be as honest as possible with your candidates and team. This will also help relieve candidates of the stress & depression that comes with a job search.
5. A good time to review things
Working remotely can mean less workload for most hiring teams. Use this period at home to review your hiring policies, practices & procedures. Whatever is not measured cannot be improved. It is normal to get bogged down by daily tasks that we forget to look back or forward. This may be a good time to work on how to improve your employer brand or some neglected functions like diversity & inclusion or data analytics, improve your competencies & skills through online classes & content, get new networks, adopt new HR trends such as conversational Job ads, create a blog, audio or video content, work on your talent pipeline by reaching out to your alumni or current contacts, try different hiring techniques such as this or work on your hiring deliverables & metrics. It can also be a good time to check out these core skills that are guaranteed to make you a star recruiter.
We do not control everything that happens in life, but we can control how we react. COVID-19 and any crisis do not have to weaken us. You can come out stronger on the other side if you follow the above. And remember the biggest business objective now is to survive. Do you have any other tips you wish to share with other recruiters? We’d love to hear them below. All the best.
