Coronavirus is shaping the future of the hiring process and every business big or small is finding innovative approaches for talent acquisition. The majority of the employees are working from their home and this may stretch months into the future. This is a big challenge for recruiting teams to hire new candidates while maintaining their current workforce.

During Covid-19 companies cannot put a full-stop to their recruiting process. If a company stops hiring then it might be left behind in the competition. As a talent acquisition company, it doesn’t matter if the hiring is for a single role or a full workforce – it requires a different approach. 

Talent Acquisition Strategies For Remote Hiring

 

Devote Extra Time in the Hiring Process

 

Knowing a candidate takes a lot of time and when you consider the virtual communication & distance during remote hiring, you should consider devoting extra time to this process. You can do this by adding another step during the hiring process or having a longer interview time slot for all the candidates. This strategy is important because you won’t have any face to face interaction with the candidate, thus getting a good feel of the candidate. So, taking your time for remote hiring makes sense. 

Stay in touch with Top-Talent via Technology

During this time, the company should look to stay in touch with the top candidates, this acts as a funnel for future hiring as the process has already begun. Taking the help of digital tools can improve the search process. Your focus would be on fantastic candidates are the one’s because of COVID-19. The priority should be to capture these candidates, have a call with these candidates and make sure to leave an impression. 

 

Highlight your Company Culture

 

The company’s page and the job description is the first thing candidate’s look on. The company needs to make sure that the first impression of the candidate remains unmatched by providing ample insight into the company’s culture. You can describe the company’s values, the vision of the company. This can be done by using photos and descriptions. 

Relying on Social Media for Hiring

 

This is a no-brainer, utilizing social media is among the most used talent acquisition strategy. As a recruiter, you should take advantage of your company’s LinkedIn, Facebook and post job listings there too. It’s not only about LinkedIn, be active on other social media platforms and cover every audience possible. Create a profile on Youtube and be creative in your approach to master remote hiring. 

A Well-Organized Hiring Process is a Key

 

If you are looking for remote hiring during COVID-19, you need to build a well-organized structure to make the hiring process smooth. This helps to improve the consistency during the interviews and also the probability of biases is less. For this to work, you must have a strong team and set of remote hiring principles. For a more systematic approach, try an applicant tracking system, this helps to manage remote candidates and everything goes well during the hiring process.

Video Interview Tactics

 

This is the most important strategy for remote hiring during Covid-19. All companies are in favour of video interviews in the absence of face to face interaction. You get to know a lot about your candidates and it helps with the shortlist process. As a talent acquisition recruiter, you need to keep basic points in mind.

• Interviewers should familiarize themselves with the technology. Be sure to check simple details like audio is working, ensure that your connection is stable and device you are using for the interview is charged. If you need to share the screen with the candidate, so make sure you understand the process of how to do so before the interview. 

• Whether you use Skype, Google Hangouts, Zoom or any other video conferencing. The candidate may not be familiar with the platform your choose. Make the candidate comfortable by providing step by step instructions to access the software. 

• Setup interview in a quiet space where there is no interruption. Space should be well-lit and a professional setting can be a plus. 

• Be professional and arrive 10 minutes earlier than the interview. This makes the candidate at ease. 

 

Sharing Virtual Interview Tips with Candidates

 

A talent acquisition recruiter should send the list of virtual interview tips to the candidates. These include the demo of a video conferencing software, staying professional, choose a place for a virtual interview. The purpose of sending tips is to ensure that the recruiter doesn’t miss out on a perfect candidate.  Plus candidates having decent IT skills is a must during this period of COVID-19 in India. 

Candidate Experience should be a Priority 

 

During COVID-19, the candidate experience should be on top. Candidates are stressed and the hiring process is new to them. Good communication is vital to bridge the gap during remote hiring. During the virtual interview, focusing on the candidate becomes important. Body language is the key in the virtual environment, providing time for candidate’s doubts is vital. Getting back to the candidate’s with feedback is necessary and doing it is important. Keep the candidate’s posted on the status of their application and keep them engaged by providing the outlook of your company through COVID-19.

Ask Interview Questions that Make Sense

 

Don’t follow the same pattern of asking generic questions to the candidates. They are prepared well in advance for your common interview questions. Asking questions that show their ability to work remotely is a better choice. Ensure to make the interview process a 2-way conversation, create custom questions based on the role. Use the same question set with other candidates to have a better understanding and you can make a judgement. 

Organise a Team Interview

 

One-on-one interviews are fine but not suitable for every position. Companies prefer to have more than one interviewer in the room, mainly during the last round of the interview process. The advantage: different hiring managers bring their experience to the interview. Having a team interview helps you to define roles for the interviewer like one can ask questions, the other can help them the candidate to relax & the other one might observe & see if the candidate is ready to work remotely. 

Use Work Assignments to Shortlist Candidates

 

This step is perfect towards the end of the interview process. This short assignment helps the talent acquisition recruiter too see how the candidate will do the task during remote working. You don’t want to check lots of assignments at an early stage and put unnecessary pressure on the candidates. The work assignments help to check the skills of the candidate’s and if they can work under pressure.  Conducting work assignments at the candidate’s convenience is key. 

Close the Interested Candidate 

 

Once you are completed with the interview process and everything is fine. Don’t delay the process because candidates often interview elsewhere. Or there can be a case they have an offer in hand. If you are slow to extend an offer, this leaves a poor impression on the candidate. While giving the offer to candidates keep these things in mind: 

• Follow-up, if you don’t hear from the candidates and remind them that the company wants them.
• Be fair with the pay negotiation and provide them offer according to the market rates & their experience. 
• Finally, give them an appropriate start date after consulting them. This helps to complete their role in the current company. 

 

Conclusion

 

A company needs to adapt its talent acquisition strategy and focus on remote hiring. It’s not possible for the candidates to interview at the office during COVID-19. Using the above remote hiring strategies won’t hamper your company and help you stay prepared in future.