No face-to-face interviews. No office tours. No handshakes. Remote recruitment and hiring during the outbreak faces new challenges.

If you seek to onboard and hire candidates at this most unusual time, you might have to tweak your strategy a tad.  The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the hiring and remote recruitment strategy as far as working remotely is concerned.

For one, companies must now take (a more) proactive approach.  Attracting the most qualified candidates requires you to improve how you communicate.  For example, keep applicants informed in a compassionate and personalized manner because without face-to-face interviews, this is an excellent way to establish trust.

Remote recruitment tips.

In addition to establishing trust, here are other tips to consider when hiring for essential positions in a remote setting.

• Check their skill set and see if they are open to taking a different role – The pandemic has caused many employees to question their life plans. There are those who have lost jobs and those who may have taken a different job responsibility remotely.  With the opportunity to tap top-notch talent, inquire into other roles that they may be interested in.  Robert, the accounts payable chief, may fit in better with the outbound sales position. 

• Equip your recruiters – Make sure that you (or your assigned recruiters) are prepared to keep the candidate channels flowing. This includes equipping them with the proper software, hardware, platforms, and reporting pipelines.  This way, everyone is up to date with open and filled positions. 

• Keep your remote recruitment candidates informed – Make it personal. Checking in on applicants and sharing a brief status update (on where they’re at in the hiring process) can mean the world when it comes to trust. The little things count – sending a personal note (rather than an auto-response), or addressing them by their first name (if appropriate). These gestures also enhance your organization’s reputation. 

• Establish protocols for remote or digital on-boarding – Introducing new hires to the rest of the team via virtual meetings speak volumes. If video conferences aren’t possible, a short email or Slack message will do.  Send a virtual tour of the office premises as well as presentations of the different roles in the company. On a lighter note, change your Zoom background to a picture of the office or factory to give the candidate a sense of “where” he is working. 

• Find ways to evaluate skill sets – Require written or video responses to questions as part of the process.

Why it is now time to improve your remote recruitment skills.

At least 20 million jobs were lost since April 2020, the start of the pandemic.  But companies in the health care, technology, and financial services industry continue to hire employees for good reason – they know that the talent pool now teems with applicants who have the right skill set.

The key is to improve your communication and follow-through skills to lead to successful remote recruitment outcomes. Then establish a firm sense of belonging. If you are unfamiliar with the TIGERS 6 Principles that are required for a high performing groups, you can view a sample of the TIGERS Leadership FUNdamentals course here.

Care to dig deeper into this remote recruitment topic?

The following articles and resources deepen your awareness of skills and attitudes:

• Book: Becoming TIGERS – Leading Your Team to Success
• 5 Reasons Why Employer Branding Is Important for Businesses Today
• How to Integrate Virtual Employees Onto Existing Teams
• Onboard Versus Orientation Leads To Retention

Copyright © TIGERS Success Series, Inc. by Dianne Crampton

TIGERS 6 Principles of Leadership FUNdamentals

With this simple, flexible and cost-effective solution you will learn to improve cooperation among team members, collaboration between departments, and engagement with employees, all while increasing revenue and productivity. Learn more here.