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Hiring Practices in 2021
We all know that throughout the last year the state of hiring has changed dramatically. We have continued to live through the COVID-19 pandemic where we have seen a shift in hiring due to the major furloughs and layoffs that occurred in 2020 as well as the switch to many companies working remotely. Because of the newly changed hiring environment, you need new strategies and tools to be able to successfully improve your hiring practices in 2021.
The Shift to Virtual Hiring
Hiring does not have to be hard. You just need the tools that will help you be most efficient with your hiring. In 2021 most hiring is happening virtually. This means that it is happening over the phone and the internet rather than in person. Applicants will find the job or be recruited to apply for a job online via ads, social media, LinkedIn job postings, and postings on job boards such as Indeed. Since the bulk of jobs are found online much of the process has also changed to be online as well. This may include video interviews and screenings, online applications, and online assessments that can all be done in the comfort of your own home.
As a company or hiring manager looking to hire applicants for open positions, it is important to understand some of the most important tools that have come about due to the migrations to hiring virtually and the effects that the pandemic has had on hiring and hiring practices in 2021. Below we will dive into some of these tools to help ease and improve your current hiring processes.
6 Useful tips to improve your hiring practices in 2021:
Remember to look at your passive candidates
Passive candidates are candidates that are not actively looking for a job. These are candidates that are not visiting job boards, they are not searching for job openings in their social media platforms, etc. Often, these candidates are top performers given they are already in a job and performing successfully. Looking for these candidates and engaging with them requires non-traditional methods. One terrific way to find passive candidates is through social media channels where links can be published outside the traditional “job channels.” Allow passive candidates to find out information about the company and the job without having to officially “apply.”
Make decisions as quickly as possible
Today’s applicants are used to almost immediate decisions in their everyday life. Many things such as texts are answered immediately. Bigger things such as credit card applications are approved in minutes rather than days or weeks like they were in the past. This is the new normal and decisions should be made in the hiring process just the same. Some online–based job applications make it possible to get answers as you move along in the process and let you know if you are not a good fit or unqualified based on each question asked and answered. When a qualified candidate is going through this process you want to make sure that you are giving answers to them as soon as possible about if they are moving forward in the hiring process. This not only helps you find the best candidates but also expand your applicant pool.
Use job advertisements
When talking about job ads some may immediately think of jobs posted in the classified section of the newspaper. But in this instance, we are talking about paid advertisements online. Using paid ads such as social media ads you can target certain individuals in certain areas to see your postings. This will help increase your applicant pool and target this pool as well. Your applicants will be better fits from the start if you make use of online and social media advertisements. This is a key way to find “non-traditional” candidates.
Use assessments
Making use of an assessment can help dramatically during your hiring process. Use a test to help see who is qualified for the job based on how well they answer questions. There are text–based and video-based assessments. Both can help you get answers on the most qualified candidates, but video-based assessments will help you find best-fit candidates through simulations. Asking job-specific simulation-based questions will help see how a candidate will react on–the–job and this will help the hiring manager see if they are able to do the job. In addition, today candidates like interacting with video over text.
Take culture and personality fit into account
It is also important to make sure the candidate will fit into the culture of the company and with the team. In other words, does the culture of the organization fit the desires of the candidate. If there is not a match, then we know turnover will exist. In order to find out if the candidate will enjoy the culture of the organization make sure they find out about as much of it as possible during the recruiting phase. This is important during the interview part of the hiring process. You must think about the team you are hiring for and whether the candidates being interviewed would fit into that puzzle.
Take working remote into consideration
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many people do not want to be in the office surrounded by other people during the workday. If the open position is a job that can be done from anywhere, the hiring manager and the company should consider offering remote jobs to allow candidates to work from home and feel safer and healthier.
Conclusion
2021 is a year where many individuals who lost their jobs are trying to get hired and many companies who had layoffs are starting to hire employees back. Due to this the job market has increased since last year. With the pandemic still hanging over us and the changes in the candidate pool, there are some easy changes and tips you can use as a hiring manager to improve your hiring practices and essentially be able to get better applicants and hires in 2021.
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