If anything taught businesses about the importance of anticipating crisis (and getting adequately prepared), that’s the Covid-19 pandemic. Away from that, businesses face different kinds of crises every day, including market shifts, cash flow challenges, product failure, PR issues, regulation trouble, and, of course, labor shortage!
Whichever the case, you can’t afford to ignore the fact that human capital is key to the success, growth, and sustainability of any business.
Since most types of crises may force a business organization to resort to layoffs or send some of their employees temporarily, the need for recruitment often follows once the crisis is over. But this often requires a solid strategy from HR, which is all this article is about.
Here are five tips for building a strong recruiting strategy after a business crisis.
1. Get the Right Recruiting Technology
As we all know, it takes a lot of time and effort to find great talent and the right people for a specific role. Recruitment technology, which encompasses tools like professional networking tools, job boards, recruitment portals, applicant tracking systems (ATS), etc. will help employers find qualified candidates for openings more efficiently and even faster.
Besides social platforms like LinkedIn and Facebook, there are several professional recruitment tools available to consider these days, including tools for online event registration and ticketing.
The right recruiting technology can make the entire process seamless.
In a nutshell, some ways you can use technology to your advantage during recruiting may include:
- Placing job ads
- Screening candidates
- Conducting interviews
- Offering remote training
2. Prepare To Adjust Your Hiring Process
Not every crisis comes in a pre-configured package. There will be both positive and negative consequences associated with any crisis, and you have to be ready for them.
It’s paramount to face reality and consider your prospective candidates’ expectations when placing job ads, descriptions, and requirements. Apart from rethinking your recruitment criteria, this may also mean reevaluating the platforms you utilize to find suitable candidates.
3. Use Incentives Where Necessary
Building loyalty is a huge deal in the HR world these days. If you can offer employees tangible benefits such as yearly bonuses, ensuring their wellbeing, and paying their health insurance fees, or onboarding and perquisites, you can secure loyalty from current and prospective employees.
It can also be a sure way of attracting and retaining talent in your organization, making it a worthwhile consideration during post-crisis recruitment.
4. Create an Employee Referral Program
In-house (or past) employees who have gained success in their careers can share their expertise with others, including the business executives. With this said, an employee referral program is one way of positioning your workforce as ambassadors in the company.
Your existing employees can be a valuable resource when it comes to hiring. Apart from helping find new talent, the pre-existing staff can also assist your HR team with ideas, and information that would help the organization make critical hiring decisions.
5. Consider Remote Workers
If you haven’t done so already, your organization could be missing out on a lot. Many of the jobs that involved sitting in an office all day can now be done remotely or even from home.
Recent findings also show that even after the pandemic is over with, many workers will prefer working from home as opposed to commuting to the workplace daily
It is beneficial to both the business and the employee in terms of the costs involved. Remote employees also get to enjoy some extra freedom and flexibility, plus it’s easier for them to have a work-life balance.
Having a strong recruiting strategy is important, especially after a crisis like the pandemic that erupted around the world in 2019. Hopefully, the tips above will help your company bounce back after a crisis as far as recruitment is concerned.
