The Covid-19 pandemic is sending shockwaves all around the world and causing people to live and work in ways that they have never done before. For businesses, the landscape has changed drastically. Many companies have had to switch to home-working, set up online or start delivery services almost overnight. Is online business and working going to be the ‘new normal’? We’ve always known that being online is important for any business in this digital age but given the current situation it now seems vital to survival.
If history has taught us anything, it’s that the human spirit is resilient. Perhaps the current situation is providing senior management with an opportunity to rapidly develop a new trust-based culture for years to come? It is also causing businesses to review (or introduce for the first time) flexible working policies and consider how they will carry out recruitment and conduct interviews remotely. If companies do not act now, they may well miss the chance to move with the times (and remain an attractive company to work for).
As time passes, workers that used to be solely office based may find they like the flexibility of not driving into work every day and are just as productive, if not more so, when working from home. On the flip side, there will be employees who still wish to attend a place of work each day. Therefore, companies should have the right processes and incentives in place to allow for that flexibility.
We know that having a mix of working remotely and on site is very effective as long as companies structure the processes for communication, socialisation, and coordination. The sharp rise in the last few weeks of businesses scrambling to implement tools such as Slack Zoom, Microsoft Teams and Google Drives will stay helpful even if employees choose to go back to the office when the virus is gone, and will only bolster a new effective flexible working policy.
Managers should try to use this time to draw some positives. Perhaps the realisation that we all need far fewer face-to-face meetings than we thought? The productivity benefits of this could be huge, as well as cost and time saving through less travel.
When it comes to recruitment, the availability of tools such as Skype allow video interviews to take place removing the absolute necessity for face to face interviews. Video can also speed up the process, especially in areas where there is a talent shortage or if candidates don’t live nearby. Furthermore, video interviewing is a powerful way to engage with, and open conversations with applicants much sooner. Being able to effectively video interview candidates within days of receiving a CV saves considerable time and resources, enabling a company to identify and offer jobs to the best candidates faster.
Talent Search would like to assure all our current and prospective clients and candidates that during the Covid-19 crisis we are able to provide continued recruitment support. Our team are on hand to help you in any way we can, so please do email us at info@talentsearch.careers.