How Coronavirus Has Changed the Hiring System

With the global economy grinding to a halt due to the Corona virus outbreak, many businesses have shuttered, while others have started implemented mass employee layoffs to keep their business going.

But some sectors actually have shifted into high gear, doubling their hiring practices. These include supermarkets, online retailers, online grocers, healthcare companies, education firms, and fintech companies. They have increased their efforts to boost their employee count in order to deliver their services. Some companies that are on hiring sprees in the U.S. right now include:

• 7-Eleven
• KPMG
• Army National Guard
• Genentech
• Amazon
• HCA Healthcare
• Lowe’s
• Nepris
• Intuit
• Whole Foods

Online retailer Amazon, in particular, is fulfilling its ambitions of becoming the prime shopping platforms for millions, and the lockdown is not keeping it from fulfilling these dreams. “We’re hiring for 100,000 new roles and raising wages for our hourly workers who are fulfilling orders and delivering to customers during this period of stress and turmoil,” Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos wrote in an Instagram post March 21. “We hope people who’ve been laid off will come work with us until they’re able to go back to the jobs they had.”

Although the impact of the Coronavirus on industries is massive and far-reaching, in this article, we are going to explore how the hiring domain, in particular, has been affected by the virus outbreak.

Changes to Hiring Practices

1. Limiting the candidate pool

Because of social distancing, some have started pulling back from hiring global or national employees. They have started limiting their search to geography. Going by the trend, employers will keep looking locally first rather than flying candidates in from other cities.

To bridge this gap, they also may be putting their permanent roles on hold and filling them with gig roles.

2. A changed interview process

Amidst the lockdown and social distancing, the interview process also has changed. Employers now have shifted from face-to-face interviews to video interviews.

The way companies are approaching the interview process also offers a look into their culture. The biggest question in potential hires’ minds is if their new team and boss would be understanding and supportive if something other catastrophic event happened.

3. A new form of onboarding

Once a new candidate joins, the onboarding process is also held virtually. This has called for a changed management style. While some companies achieve this by having virtual meet and greets, some are more tech savvy, using virtual reality to give candidates a tour of the office and digitally meet their teammates.

What Does Hiring Looks Like in the Post-Pandemic World?

1. Usage of AI for shortlisting candidates

Businesses have started shifting their recruitment processes on virtual platforms and have started using artificial intelligence (AI) to screen the right candidates and engage with them for preliminary assessments.

2. Redesigning of compensation and deferring of annual raises

A number of companies have started relooking at their compensation structures. They have started reducing fixed compensation and have increased the variables that are paid when targets are achieved. These measures aim to lower the fixed-cost burdens on organizations.

For current employees, companies have started placing a hold on raises, promotions, and bonuses due to the economic downturn.

3. Rescaling of employees and competency mapping

Instead of hiring new people to join teams, organizations have started exploring the options of reskilling or transferring some employees from one department to another.

In addition to the financial savings, this helps employers measure the gap in their current employees’ skills and where the company envisions them to be. This can help employees align the competencies through different learning platforms.

Massive Shift

COVID-19 brought an overnight shift in how people work. In the past, there had been studies where 44 percent of companies said they wouldn’t even entertain remote working, but now remote working has become the new norm.

There has been a massive shift in how interviewing, hiring, and work is being conducted. Companies have started realizing they don’t need to worry about hefty overhead costs and the pressure for creating an engaging environment, especially since they are able to get similar levels of productivity with employees working from home.

Veronica Hanks is a tech savvy professional who loves to explore and implement the power of business applications and software. She currently works as a senior business analyst. Besides being a tech addict, she is also as avid traveler and enjoys sharing her lifestyle blog.