TSP • @myTSPnet
While over 20 million jobs were lost at the start of the pandemic and with 33 million Americans seeking unemployment benefits, many businesses are hiring. Industries including technology, health care and financial services are hiring employees and the unemployment rate is starting to improve. While the numbers look encouraging, the current and post-pandemic economy will require hiring leaders to think and act differently. Keep reading to learn how your business can adapt to hiring challenges in a pandemic world.
CREATE A VISION FOR MANAGEMENT
Whether you’re an internal hiring manager or an external recruiter, the plans you prepared at the start of this year have undoubtedly changed. Even in pandemic-proof industries where jobs are in demand, it’s paramount to review the need for quality workers and create a clear vision for hiring moving forward.
Think about the positions that will elevate your company. Consider the tools necessary to drive current and future growth and determine how you can find exceptional candidates to fill those roles. If you prioritize your hiring plans accordingly, you’ll be able to fill essential jobs that boost your company’s efficiency.
FIND CANDIDATES WITH LONG-TERM POTENTIAL
It’s crucial to find employees whose qualifications not only do the job today, but can adapt to the skills required for tomorrow. This has never been more important as job requirements continue to evolve in a changing workplace and jobs become more automatable. Companies that hire to fill the skills needed today are missing a major opportunity for growth. Instead, hiring managers must unearth talent with the ability and mindset to be agile and adapt to new situations.
With employee turnover becoming a prevalent issue across the country, it’s crucial that hiring managers effectively screen and pursue candidates who can excel and commit to the organization for the long haul. By taking steps to hire the right employees initially, organizations can reduce turnover and save on training costs. Consider which skills required are teachable and which skills must be innate, then create your ideal candidate from there.
BUILD A DIVERSE WORKFORCE
The current social justice movement has underscored a necessity for diversity in the workplace. It's not about hiring for color, but instead building a workplace that’s well rounded and inclusive. Research shows that firms with a diverse employee base perform better financially and are more innovative than those that are less diverse.
To start, companies should be sensitive to how they are promoting positions so that job descriptions are enticing and relevant to candidates from all backgrounds. Hiring managers must pay closer attention to candidates who have potential but whose resumes may not tell the entire story. Recruiting professionals must think beyond hiring people from the usual markets and tap into candidates in a variety of markets, especially as the remote workplace continues to flourish.
HIRE FROM WITHIN
Until recently, hiring managers focused on bringing new employees in from the outside, with just 28% of recruiters reporting that internal candidates are an important source of talent to fill open positions. Today, LinkedIn reports that internal hiring is making a comeback with 73% of talent acquisition professionals believing that hiring internally is important.
Internal candidates’ value cannot be overstated. Their experience at the company allows them to understand the company culture and the expectations of the job. Assuming the employee is a good fit, promoting from within can ensure the worker’s longevity with the company and speak volumes about hiring practices to the rest of the workforce.
CONSIDER YOUR HIRING PROCEDURE
Hiring managers’ top priority is matching the right employee with the right position. However, efficiency is also the name of the game, especially as the pandemic cut budgets. You should explore different recruitment methods, including recruitment research. Recruitment research harnesses market intelligence and delivers quality candidates.
The silver lining during the pandemic is that hiring leaders will take a more vigilant approach with their talent acquisition strategies. By finding candidates with long term potential, tapping into new markets and rethinking hiring procedures, recruiting managers can hire smarter and faster while yielding high-quality, long-term employees. Though the current situation is unprecedented, it presents agile companies with an opportunity to emerge stronger, more efficient and more competitive than ever.
