The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted almost every industry, including recruitment. The pandemic will most likely have long-lasting effects and it will change the way companies are attracting, hiring, and retaining talent. Hiring managers and recruiters need to prepare for the changes brought by the COVID-19 pandemic to be able to successfully continue their work and hire talented candidates.
Here are some of the most important hiring trends you should consider in a post-COVID-19 world.
Recruitment will shift to online platforms
Virtual interviews and remote interactions will continue to replace face-to-face job interviews and onboarding. Most of the organizations are shifting to automated systems and provide virtual interviewing and remote onboarding.
With the help of virtual platforms, the recruitment team can stay connected to the candidates throughout the whole process. And with video interview tools and coding assessment, hiring, especially in the tech industry, is much easier and more thorough.
By incorporating these tools and platforms in the recruitment process, companies can open to new possibilities and ways to reach and communicate with the candidates and this trend will continue even after the pandemic is over.
Candidate applications will increase
With the unemployment that COVID-19 brought, companies are seeing a surge in applications for job positions. And if the trend continues, there will be even more applicants as more people will enter the market each year competing for fewer jobs.
And with remote work becoming more and more common, companies will continue to receive applications from all over the world and the candidate pool will increase. Hiring managers and recruiters need to have smart strategies to deal with the increase in the volume of candidate applications.
University recruitment will move online
The traditional methods used in university recruitment were changing even before the pandemic but even more now. Instead of attracting students through on-campus tours and events, recruiters now have to focus mainly on online activities such as social media and digital portfolios. More organizations have shifted to using Facebook and Instagram for engagement with prospects, to provide valuable tips, and share alumni stories. With physical contact being restricted, email marketing is also a great opportunity for recruiters to contact prospective students.
The number of middle-management positions will go down
During the 2008 recession, a lot of companies were pulling out middle management positions and it is expected that the same will happen in 2021. In the tech industry, a lot of these roles will be handled by tools. But with fewer managers, there will be more room for lack of oversight, error, and mismanagement.
New employee rights will appear
During the COVID-19 pandemic, local and state governments have mandated sick leaves for employees. It is expected that organizations will shift their focus to hourly workers that previously were excluded from these perks. Organizations will have to leverage all their resources to keep their employees as safe as possible.
In conclusion, the impact of COVID-19 on the recruitment industry will change the way interviews are conducted and the way hiring managers and recruiters conduct the process. The current changes are expected to last so in order to be successful, recruiting professionals will have to think ahead and change their strategies.
