It’s been 6+ months since we left our offices and contrary to what we thought at the beginning, some of us could be working from home for much longer than we originally suspected. With that said, many businesses are struggling to create a talent strategy for this virtual economy. Here are 6 tips on rebuilding your team in the face of a pandemic.
Tip #1: Know What Your Company Needs
Start by asking yourself important questions like, “Can we have a fully remote team? If not, what does that look like for us? What skill sets do we need based on our unique situation?” Try to come out of this brainstorm with the following:
- Can your team stay fully remote? Why or why not? (When making this decision be careful of confirmation bias. Confirmation bias is the tendency to seek and favor information that confirms your prior beliefs.)
- Based on our new environment, what skills do we see being more important?
- What short term skills training do we need now to bridge immediate skills gaps if they exist?
Tip #2: Consider Utilizing a Digital Hiring Platform for Talent Recruitment
There are several digital platforms to choose from, regardless of the software you choose, digital hiring platforms are essential to rebuilding your team during COVID-19. Digital hiring platforms are one of the best ways to vet candidates, especially when you have an onslaught of applicants, and they help you avoid bias during the interview process. Overall, these platforms can reduce the time spent on talent recruitment by 60%. Depending on your state’s guidelines, you may be required to purchase items such as thermometers, plexiglass, and social distancing materials to conduct interviews in person. In the long run, you’re saving time and money on materials in addition to gas and other commuting expenses. Keep an eye out for our next blog post for in-depth information on digital hiring platforms for talent recruitment.
**Digital Hiring Platform Best Practice: We recommend tying in any assessment tools with your applicant tracking system and on-demand video interviewing platforms.
Tip #3: Use an Intentional Questioning Strategy
Make sure to ask the same open-ended questions across all candidates. Asking consistent questions provides you with an apples-to-apples look at your prospective employees. Asking open-ended questions gives the candidates opportunities to elaborate and highlight their skills and experiences. If you are using digital hiring software you should have on-demand access to each interview which will give you the ability to compare answers to the same questions across candidates.
Tip #4: Create a Candidate Scorecard
Make sure to keep the questions relevant to the job. We love to talk about our favorite local restaurants- in fact, we could talk about those for days. However, it is important to avoid discussions that revolve around personal interests to save time and get to know the candidate’s skills, abilities, career desires, and background. When it comes down to it, the skills and desire to learn and grow will benefit your company more than your shared admiration of a local restaurant.
Tip #5: Get Your Team Involved
It is likely that you are conducting interviews virtually. If you are using a platform that provides you access to on-demand interviews it is encouraged to share the video with your hiring team. When interviews are shared among the team everyone can evaluate the questions and answers. The result tends to be an interview that is focused on the job description and skills needed. The extra conversation that typically happens is significantly limited. Although many of us hate to admit it, our bias is unconscious. Sharing the videos among the team adds a layer of accountability and increases the likelihood that the candidate is evaluated on analysis based on their answers rather than bias, intuition, or gut feeling. Let’s be real about this, we tend to hire people who are like us, but sometimes we aren’t the best person for the position anyway.
Tip #6: Expand Your Talent Search
If you’ve chosen a fully or partially remote work environment you now have a wider reach than you did before. No longer do you have to miss out on an opportunity for a fantastic hire because of location. All companies have been forced to become savvy enough to manage a virtual team. With that said, don’t feel like you have to limit your search to your local area. You now have access to a diverse pool of candidates anywhere in the world!
However, it is important to recognize that not every area of the U.S is experiencing high levels of unemployment. Take a look at the U.S Bureau of Labor Statistics for stats in your area and industry. Just because you have a wider reach in a remote environment doesn’t mean you NEED to recruit outside your local talent pool.
If you are looking for more tips listen to our podcast and check out our other blogs here. Visit our corner of the internet and follow us on LinkedIn, and Twitter (@ebs_growth).