Hiring and recruiting have always been important and, quite often, challenging. Evaluating talent, reading personality and office chemistry, and making a conscious effort to promote diversity and inclusiveness take time and energy. Now, even with hope on the horizon, hiring in a pandemic economy offers even more unique hurdles. Leaders need to make the experience and the process positive and effective.
Perhaps most importantly, the 2021 hiring environment needs to be given a different, new look. The processes that may have worked for years, as well as the criteria and qualifications that have helped identify applicants for decades, need a tweak. Business leaders are learning that evaluating new team members is different because the skills, expectations, and even the role being hired for looks dramatically altered to what it may have been in 2019. We’ve put together a few important elements to look at as hiring jumps up.
Work From Home Isn’t A Benefit. If remote work was once offered as a perk or a benefit, it shouldn’t be anymore. Workers have been working from home for over a year now, and many of the most talented people have developed a process and a preference for it. If leaders decide to mandate in-office work, they may be taking themselves right off the consideration list for some of the best talent on the market. However, that goes both ways; some people prefer and benefit from walking into a workplace. Now is the time to have a policy in place for how remote work and in-person workers choose their schedule and style.
Create A Process, Stick To The Process. When it’s time to interview, decide on in-person, video, or phone sessions and stick to one format for every candidate, even locals. For starters, it’s an excellent way to see how a person presents themself remotely, which is how many business interactions will take place in the near and distant future. Just as important, however, is that everyone checks the same boxes to create a fair and equitable process.
Rethink What “Qualified” Means. Perhaps more than ever, it’s time to take a step back and really evaluate what being qualified for a job is. Depending on the role, looking at education and employment history may not be helping you discover the most talented people. That’s especially true with how rapidly business has changed in the past year. The impressive titles and accomplishments from over a decade ago may not really indicate success right now. There’s also evidence that being a stickler for education and history may bar candidates from lower income or minority backgrounds; an open mind and a wider net helps find the best fit right now to tackle what’s next.
Don’t Fill A Job. Every single hire should be picked as if that candidate will be a crucial part of your company’s future. In this economic environment, some businesses may be tempted to hire quick, fill the role, and possibly pay candidates less with the pandemic as an excuse. Remember, you get what you pay for; get the most talented person and remunerate them accordingly, They may never need to, but leaders should trust every person in the office to act like an owner when push comes to shove.
How has hiring and recruiting in the past year changed for your company? Share your challenges and successes with us!