Coronavirus (COVID-19) is having a huge impact on all areas of our lives, including work. Many companies are shifting to remote working, utilising technology to communicate and online platforms to continue business as usual.
In order to support your current employees, you're embracing change. Let's extend this positive attitude to hiring and onboarding your new employees.
1. Candidate Engagement
It's unfortunate that some companies have been forced to make redundancies. However, this means the market is now seeing a surge in highly skilled candidates that you might not have been able to access before, so it's a great time to engage them.
While some industries have seen a downturn, others are seeing increased demand and are ready to hire. If you're hiring, it's likely your industry competitors are hiring too.
The right engagement means you don't miss out on the best talent.
A CareerBuilder survey found that 80% of candidates use the quality of the hiring process to determine how a company will treat its employees.
Engaging candidates remotely doesn't need to be difficult. Think about your own positive recruitment experiences, the type of people you want to attract and how they would like to be approached. 66% of candidates believe interactions with employees are the best way to get insight about a company and engaged candidates can be 'off the market' within 10 days.
How to improve candidate engagement remotely:
Think about positive interaction styles
Build up your employee brand and online presence
Create an engaging pre-selection process
Regular communication is key
Utilise different channels (Video/Social/Text)
What can you make interactive?
Consider using a chatbot
Can you make your job descriptions more exciting?
Showcase culture with employee testimonials
Outline a robust hiring timeline
Send reassuring confirmation emails
Provide feedback between touchpoints
Ask for feedback on your process
A compelling job description is very effective for increasing candidate engagement. Here's how to make yours stand out:
Mission & Values
Benefits
Company culture
Role information
Role requirements
Your awards
Links to your website & social media
Recent press & project info
Images & video
2. Video Interviews
Video software is now crucial for remote workers to communicate and it makes a great addition to your remote hiring purposes. It's an excellent way to meet and interview potential employees and far more engaging than a phone interview.
These are some of the most popular video platforms that you could use for interviews:
Benefits of video interviews include being able to invite multiple colleagues to interviews or sharing recordings for feedback, you get more context and detail on candidate skills and experience and you can see their personality, communication style and read their body language.
Follow the below checklists for a great video interview experience...
Internal set up:
Outline questions tailored to each candidate
Prepare information about company culture
Anticipate common questions from candidates
Find a quiet place to conduct the interview
Invite relevant colleagues
Make video software and logins available
Look at ways of recording the interview
Define a clear follow up and onboarding process
For the candidate:
Schedule a time and date
Detail the video platform information
Include any logins/passwords required
Include a link to a demo of the video platform
If more than one interviewer, list of any other interview attendees
Detail the structure of the interview
Ask permission to record the interview
Outline what happens after the interview
3. Remote Onboarding
According to Glassdoor, great employee onboarding can improve employee retention by 82%!
For companies that haven't had remote employees, the concept of shifting to a completely remote onboarding process can feel intimidating. However, there's a variety of online tools available that enable you to create a smooth process, including 'pre-onboarding' options to help put new employees at ease.
Before they start:
Send a welcome email a week or two before their start date
Get your paperwork completed with electronic documents and signatures
Define the process so new employees know what to expect on Day 1
Provide access to FAQs to answer common queries & assign a point of contact, mentor or 'buddy' for when they start
Review your onboarding process and make improvements including:
Platforms & Tech:
Map a generic onboarding process flow to highlight areas for improvements and identify needs
Set up online systems and associated logins so anyone can work anywhere
Personalisation:
Create a personalised onboarding process for each new employee, based on their role and individual needs
Communicate the benefits and culture
Set out a plan for development, e-learning and where possible assign a mento
Interactions:
Set up regular one to one contact with their line manager and video introductions to team members
Set dates and times for regular check-ins and ask for feedback on the process
Expectations & Management
Outline expectations in regard to the role and behaviours
Help them structure their day and activities
Support them in managing mental health and well-being
Useful Resources
Team Collaboration Platforms:
Video Software:
Onboarding Platforms:
We're here to help!
Hanover offer solutions to support engagement, remote interviewing and remote onboarding. In these uncertain times, you're busy helping existing employees and doing your day job, so at Hanover we manage the entire recruitment process including:
Candidate Engagement - Job Advertising, Interactive Job Descriptions, Content Marketing
Video Interviews - Online Video Interviews. Share, shortlist and feedback in a few clicks
Remote Onboarding - Data Insights to tailor remote onboarding to individual needs