Businesses looking for a competitive advantage when it comes to attracting top talent need to start thinking about the challenges ahead post Covid-19 and start adapting their recruitment processes says Nicolas Speeckaert, Managing Partner at skeeled.
This comes as research from XpertHR[i][i] in the USA reveals that recruiting and hiring are HR professionals’ top concerns for 2021; and a global survey by jobs site, Monster[ii][ii] highlights that the top recruiting challenges this year include the skills gap, virtual recruitment and the recruitment process.
Nicolas Speeckaert says, “HR departments have played a key role in building an innovative and proactive culture to help businesses respond to COVID-19. We’re still navigating uncertain times, so HR leaders and recruitment teams need to have strategies in place to attract talent with the right skills to help their business recover and for many, this will require a fresh approach to talent acquisition.”
Six tips to help HR leaders set up a new talent acquisition strategy & ensure hiring success:
- Identify New Hiring Goals – Many organisations have digitised their businesses, creating new roles that didn’t exist before. What was once the ideal candidate may not suit the current needs of the business. Companies need to identify the roles needed, the skills required to succeed in those roles and the ideal candidate profile, taking into consideration possible changes in the company culture since the start of the pandemic.
- Review Recruitment Process – Running a recruitment audit will fine-tune the hiring process and highlight changes needed, making sure they are aligned with the new recruitment goals. This should include evaluating everything, from how easy it is for people to apply for a role, to how candidates are being screened and assessed. HR should update communication protocols and improve the selection process to attract and hire the best candidates.
- Improve Job Diffusion – Recruitment marketing is key to attracting the right talent. HR leaders should make sure they are using a talent acquisition tool that allows them to easily create and run efficient job campaigns, reaching and engaging with the ideal candidates through the most effective sourcing channels for their business.
- Boost the Candidate Experience – Unfortunately, some organisations still don’t give the candidate experience the importance it deserves, however, providing a seamless experience and creating meaningful connections with candidates is even more essential now. Companies must deliver a clear message to candidates that promotes trust in them as a future employer. This may require fine-tuning the current recruitment process, giving recruiters the chance to develop a more thoughtful, engaging, empathic and transparent process, which will remain valuable even after the pandemic is over.
- Leverage Technology in the Interview Process – Technology can improve the interview process in many ways. Online video interviews allow the recruitment process to progress even if recruiters and candidates cannot meet face-to-face. A talent acquisition suite also gives recruiters additional tools to improve the process, such as interview scorecards so they can conduct structured interviews and evaluate candidates with the same criteria. The one-way video interviews also offer the chance to see the candidates before meeting them, so recruiters can assess basic skills and company fit – making it a great screening tool.
- Use Predictive Assessments – Predictive pre-hire assessments allow companies to be more strategic and run an efficient selection process, by moving from traditional experience-based assessments to selecting candidates with the right attitude and potential. Soft skills are in high demand, and recruiters can now make great use of AI-based assessment technology that uses algorithms to predict desirable traits and future performance, to discover a candidates’ true potential and identify the perfect fit for a given role.
