If you’re one of the millions of HR and recruitment professionals across the world working from home in the wake of COVID-19, you’re probably aware of the challenges that remote hiring can present.
Although recruitment has been paused in some industries, others are seeing a huge rise in demand for staff. Luckily, if you fall into the latter category, working from home doesn’t mean that your recruitment process needs to be impacted; you just need a solid remote hiring strategy in place.
Webrecruit strongly believes that your recruitment process should carry on as normal, no matter where you are. As such, we’ve put together some top tips to help you navigate hiring when working from home:
1. Utilise technology; it’s your new best friend
Take advantage of all the technology you currently have in place. Use communication tools, such as Slack, to keep in contact with your teams throughout the day. You should also make sure you have video tools in place, such as Zoom or Skype, to allow you to interview candidates remotely; just because you’re social distancing, it doesn’t mean that your interview process needs to stop.
Most importantly, using a cloud-based applicant tracking system (ATS) ensures that you’re able to keep track of any new applications, as well as screening and shortlisting candidates as quickly as possible.
(If you’re concerned about your hiring managers not using your ATS and bypassing processes while working remotely, download our latest guide, Engaging Hiring Managers with Recruitment Technology).
2. Candidate communication is everything
Clear communication with your candidates has never been more important. If you have interviews already lined up, contact all candidates to explain whether their interviews will still take place and, if so, what the alternative arrangements will be.
If candidates are unsure of how to conduct themselves on a video interview, provide tips and send them helpful resources; do everything you can to make them feel at ease. It’s a time when anxiety is generally high and you should aim to provide the best possible candidate experience.
Additionally, if you find yourself in the position of inducting a new starter remotely, keep checking in with your new hire in the days leading up to their employment. Starting a new job is daunting enough, let alone starting it remotely, so make sure they have everything they need and be on hand to answer any questions they might have.
3. Clearly signpost any changes in your hiring process on your website and in your job adverts
There’s a great deal of activity in the jobseeker market right now, with some employees sadly being made redundant and others using the downtime as an opportunity to re-assess their career options. With this in mind, there’s a good chance your adverts will attract more attention than usual.
It’s important to signpost any changes in your recruitment process on your website and within your job adverts, including precautionary measures in the face of COVID-19.
For example, some applicants might query whether the start date of the role would be ASAP or whether they’d need to wait until the pandemic was over. You can address this by stating the desired start date within your advert, explaining that the candidate would be inducted remotely if necessary, with the details to be discussed.
Additionally, try and include as much information as possible about the rest of the recruitment process. If there will be a telephone interview and then a more formal interview that will take place via video software, let the candidate know. This gives them the chance to prepare and makes them aware of what’s to come.
4. Don’t lose sight of your recruitment marketing
When processes are shaken up and you’re under pressure to hire staff quickly, it might feel like you’re working reactively all the time. However, it’s important to continue being proactive and focus on your recruitment marketing efforts so you don’t lose momentum.
Get creative with the types of content that you’re sharing. Sure, you might not be able to post photos of your office environment or your team socialising together but why don’t you share photos of your team working from home to show how adaptable your business is and how quickly you can move to remote working.
Alternatively, you could ask your colleagues to record short clips of why they like working for your business that you could compile into a longer video. The opportunities are endless and now is the time to be creative!
Want to make your remote hiring easier? Book a demo of Webrecruit’s cloud-based ATS.
