From hiring machine to COVID-19 quarantine

How to manage the consequences C19 has had on the talent pool and hiring process

(Originally posted on LinkedIn March 18, 20209

Two weeks ago, you were juggling interviews, hosting branding events, and cheering new hires on at your team time meet up. This morning you and your final bottle of hand sanitizer (yes, you know that washing your hands is more effective but “it can’t hurt”) are squeezing together in front of your laptop participating in virtual crisis meetings on how to respond to the spread of coronavirus.

Here are some tips on how to manage the consequences COVID-19 has on the talent pool and hiring process…

This is happening: If an economic downturn is here to stay or you simply have to prioritize between making business contingency plans and growing your team, you might have to realize that all of your planned recruitments won’t take place this year.

What can you do? Map out the recruitments you have planned and rank them after urgency. Which ones are business-critical and need to be placed within a certain time frame, and which ones can be postponed? What short- and long-term effects will postponing a hire have on the business and the team if your business goal stays intact? Do a proper risk analysis.

This is happening: Social distancing is a fact and it is less likely you will feel comfortable hiring a person you never met in person.

What can you do? Avoid shutting down ongoing hiring processes completely — you risk missing out on valuable talent and restarting a process at a later stage is costly both in time and money. Instead, try to slow down the pace of the process and get as much of the assessment done over VC until meetings are possible.

This is happening: In environments characterized by extreme uncertainty, people in stable roles often become highly risk-averse and unwilling to make a transition, even if they are unsatisfied with their current situation. You will risk candidates dropping out during an ongoing process and previously strong prospects turning down even the first interview.

What can you do? Backfill your talent pipeline.

• Mitigate the risk by not signing off candidates too soon, you might want to revisit them if you face a drop out at the final stage and keep the sourcing phase ongoing even if you have started interviewing.
• Spend time on being personal and catching up with your talent pool; social media, LinkedIn, texting, ATS community emails — money wise it’s a cheap way to stay top of mind, and the time spent is worth the return.

This is happening: No need to elaborate — holding f2f interviews are not optimal these days.

What can you do? Adapt your process. Many companies have already switched from physical meetings to video or remote interviews because of the benefits such as removed logistic hurdles, flexibility, and cost-saving on travels. Investigate if your company has the digital infrastructure to manage a smooth virtual interview experience, and if not, make sure you do. Google Hangouts and Zoom are free and easy to set up.

This is always happening, and you should always do it: Communicate with your candidates! It should be a constant priority and in times of uncertainty, people want to be even more informed. Are you pushing an interview, going virtual instead of f2f, changing location to facilitate meetups — let the candidates know. Even let them know that you don’t have a plan and are figuring things out, honest information always wins.