It’s not surprising that organisations are making every effort to divert their business and resources to address the pandemic. Companies are developing to ensure the health and safety of their staff whilst also finding new ways of working. Some industries and companies are experiencing the highest-ever demand that requires they quickly adapt, whilst others figure out how the world will work and follow the government guidelines. Here are some points to consider when hiring now - and to prepare for the future.

Job Description

As we start to see lockdown ease and whilst there is still the uncertainty of further potential periodic lockdowns, job seekers are now looking for security and safety more than ever. Having the flexibility to offer ‘remote’ or ‘working from home’ may increase the quality and quantity of applications. Ensure to outline that your business has strict cleaning and social distancing protocols in line with the Government guidelines. State what the company does to protect and minimize the risk to employees, this will build trust in the company from job seekers.

The Candidate

Finding the right candidate for the role can sometimes be a long and hard process. With unemployment at its highest, try to think about transferable skills. You may already have a great amount of talent with the right training to be successful in your business. However, always be fair and consider rewarding successful individuals with an increase in salary once training is completed. If not you may need to recruit externally. When reviewing external applications, assess whether they have worked from home before and think about having further discussions to find out how they found working remotely.

Recruitment Process

Once you have identified the shortlist of potential candidates with the help of your Recruiter/HR Professional, arrange an initial telephone chat. Think about sending them a questionnaire (nothing too in-depth) to reduce the numbers if necessary. Depending on the level of role you are hiring for, you could ask the applicants to record a 5-10 minute video of themselves explaining why they’re motivated to join your organisation, what their top priorities would be in the role and why they think they’re the best candidate.

Then moving onto the video interview. Video interviewing may be new to some employers, but there are already several platforms available for this including Skype, Zoom, FaceTime, WhatsApp Video to name a few. Depending on your hiring process and how many interviews you require before securing the right candidate assess whether it is necessary for the candidate to come into the workplace before making the offer. 

Offer Stage

Once you are confident you have found the right candidate and you’re ready to make the offer. As much as our working ways have changed, you must also consider adapting the Terms of Employment. In addition to the standard details, consider adding additional provisions relevant to our current situation.

At Halecroft we have successfully established a new way of working and are taking every effort to support businesses through the pandemic. 

If you are worried about how to deal with your recruitment needs during this period of time, Halecroft is offering a free 1-hour consultation to help you plan and be ready to hire the best talent over the coming months.

We have our diary ready and waiting, so just drop us a note tricia@halecroftrecruitment.co.uk or give us a call 0161 905 0526 / 07721953002