Hiring in a global pandemic can seem like a risky move, but these tips will help you make the best recruitment decision
If you’re thinking about hiring during a global pandemic, congratulations. Your company must be doing better than most. But taking on a new hire can be a risky move at the best of times, so how does recruitment change in times of crisis? How can you make the best hiring decisions?
When you break it down good hiring decisions can be made in three simple steps, even in a pandemic.
1 – Think it through
This might be a hard one to do right now because the future is so uncertain. How can you possibly know if making a new hire is a good idea? But this is still a vital step. If you let the excitement of taking on a new co-worker sweep you away, you could end up backing out and wasting everyone’s time.
So consider having a think about your projected income, business plans and the worst that could happen. Because in a pandemic, the worst really could happen!
After you have thought through your plans, put your mind to your hiring process. A pandemic + recession = a busy job market. You’re going to see a lot of attention on your job adverts so be sure to schedule in the time you need.
If hiring gives you a major headache, why not leave it to the experts? The DigitalGrads team do all of the recruitment dirty work for you, screening applicants, creating shortlists and making sure you make the best hire.
2 – Communicate well
If you’re going to hire in a pandemic, you’ve got to be an amazing communicator. You’ll need to be comfortable talking on the phone, over email, Zoom and Slack.
But you’re also going to need to be a great communicator through the hard times. Your funding could be cut, a project could be pulled and a vital team member could fall ill, all before you’ve made your new hire. But you have to stay strong.
Your candidates will be thirsty for the job. They could have been unemployed – through no fault of their own – throughout the whole pandemic. You need to answer every email, return every call and let your candidates know if you need to put the role on hold for some time. It’s only polite.
3 – Hire for skill, not experience
We know that you can’t afford to make the wrong hire. Times are tough and you need to recruit someone that can immediately jump in and make a change.
If this is true for you, hiring for experience and not skill could be your downfall.
It’s easy to give the job to the most experienced candidate, but are they the most capable? A good way to discover who can walk the walk is to create a great application task.
Take an element of the job and test your candidates on it. If the role is customer-facing, have them complete a mock phone call. If the role is in marketing, have them create a campaign plan. Think out of the box and test your candidate’s adaptability and raw skill.
You might be surprised at who comes out on top.
If you’re looking for more hiring help…
You’ve come to the right place. The DigitalGrads team can help you with hiring in a pandemic by sifting through applicants, shortlisting candidates and arranging the interviews so you can get to the good part: making a great hiring decision. Sign up today to get started.