Keeping Talents Engaged During the Covid-19 Pandemic

The Coronavirus crisis has made 2020 a challenging year, and the pandemic hasn’t ended just yet. Nevertheless, many organisations are still hiring; it is a fact that quality candidates are hard to find regardless of the situations. Hence, the focus of successful hiring now is keeping talents engaged. Here are three useful tips for improving your candidate engagement during the pandemic.

 

1. Improve your communication with candidates

Poor communication, lacking information and time-consuming recruitment process are the most significant concerns damaging candidate engagement. A report from Talentegy affirmed that 69% of candidates with a negative candidate experience wouldn’t apply for a job with the same company again. Trust is an important driving factor. Once the trust from candidates towards the employer brand is broken, it is when they will lose interest in the job application even if they liked the role. 

Have clear hiring criteria and process

When faced with tough times, especially now, the last thing applicants want from an employer is to experience a complex and dreadful recruitment process. Preferably, be clear about the expectations of the position in the job description. Let candidates know what to expect, share with them the key skills or experience are required to win the job. Tell them the levels of the interview they have to go through and how long the entire process will take. Be clear and transparent with the time required, so that candidates can plan their job-hunting schedule.

Upgrade your video conferencing tools

As much as we want to enhance that “face-to-face” interview contribute the most accurate hiring, we know that it won’t be an ideal option for a very long time. Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Google Meet and other reliable video conferencing applications have become many organisations’ new best friend. They are continually upgrading and improving their user experience, even the features of their free version are satisfying enough to meet the necessities of conducting quick meetings, discussions and interviews.

Saving cost on expenses is most organisation’s focus right now. Still, it is worth the consideration to purchase the paid version as moving forward, many in-person activities will be conducted virtually. For example, and apart from virtual interviews, video conferencing applications can be used as a tool to conduct meetings, webinars, training or used as internal staff’s communication tool. Ultimately, we want to have the maximum engagement time with potential candidates, with the paid version, interviewers wouldn’t have to skim through questions and cutting time short to meet the call time limit. 

Consistent updates, follow-ups and asking for feedbacks

According to Finances Online, 52% of applicants shared that a lack of response from employers is their greatest disappointment. Understandably, interviewers and hiring managers have a lot on their plate, and time-consuming at times to keep in touch with every job applicant. But when companies invest in strong candidate experience, it improves the quality of their new hires by 70% according to G2.com. Keeping candidates in the know help them gauge and manage their time better. We have to keep in mind that we are not the only ones who are interviewing top candidates; these candidates might already have a list of interviews scheduled. Let’s be mindful and let them know roughly about how long it will take to complete the recruitment process, to get a feedback after an interview, as well as the expected time to close the position. 

It also makes a considerable difference when an employer initiates follow-up. Candidates will feel appreciated when you check on them. Employers who incorporate this step in their recruitment process shows the candidate that their opinion is valued, giving them sneak peek that open communication is practised. Not forgetting, always keep in touch with top-tiered candidates, consistent engagement shows them that you are thoughtful and genuinely care about the people you hire. 

 

2. Invest in a mobile-friendly career site

The mobile phone has become part of our daily life, and this includes job hunters who rely on the convenience of job application through their mobile devices. Today, speed is a criterion that job hunters are focusing on. Apart from getting easily accessible information about the company, culture, salary and benefits, they are expecting their job application to be seamless. According to Glassdoor, there are 35% of job hunters prefer to apply for jobs via their phones as compared to desktop. Aside, they have also shared that career sites get 11.6% more applicants when they are mobile-friendly. Perhaps this is something necessary that we should look into now.

 

3. Virtual onboarding

The primary goal of onboarding is to help new employees to get familiarised with their new work environment, colleagues and professional expectations so that they can seamlessly integrate into their new roles effectively. However, it has come to a time where remote working is the new normal, and many companies face challenges in providing a similar experience as in-person onboarding. But this doesn’t mean that onboarding should be dismissed. It is still an essential part of the recruitment process as a reliable onboarding process to improve new hire retention by 82% and productivity by over 70%, according to research by Glassdoor. 

Here are a few examples of virtual employee onboarding and integrating them into your company culture.

Virtual tour and team introduction

If you can’t bring the new hires to the office, you can undoubtedly bring the office to them, virtually. Video conferencing applications have made communications quick and convenient. Just schedule a time and date and invite the team to join the meeting for a short meet and greet. In case not all members can meet at the same time, split the session into a few days with different departments. This way, it will ensure no one will be missed out. 

If time and situation allow, pre-record a virtual tour and introduced each department functions and team members, then incorporate the video into an onboarding kit. Taking photos of the office would be just as helpful. New hires must get a sense of how your organisation look and operate because we have to keep in mind that one day everyone will be resuming work in the office to work. 

Set clear expectations

Ensure new hires are correctly informed on their tasks and expectations before their work commencement. Prepare several onboarding sessions through a video call with them over the course or 4 – 8 weeks to ensure sufficient time is given to them to adjust to their new environment. Also, to provide them with clear guidelines and documentation of the onboarding process for easy referencing. 

One-on-one with the hiring manager or direct report

The worst kind of onboarding experience is having to go through the feeling of being excluded and unwelcomed. Hiring managers or direct reports and immediate team members must be well introduced. By doing so, new hires are aware of who they should report to and count on. It would be helpful to established time frames for training, one-on-one reviews, and milestones on behalf of new hires as it can help track their progression and attend to feedback immediately. 

 

Summary

1. Look into improving your communication with candidates by giving clear hiring criteria, swift recruitment process, maximise the usage of video conferencing tools and stay connected with candidates throughout the candidate recruitment journey.
2. Ensure to provide a mobile-friendly career site for seamless job application experience for job hunters.
3. Look after new hires even when working remotely by prioritising virtual onboarding. Ensure they feel supported and prepared to work in the office when the pandemic ends.

 

Adecco Malaysia provides contract and temporary staffing, outsourcing and executive search services. To learn more, drop us an email at marketing.my@adecco.my or ring us up at 603- 2781 0000. We care and are ready to help you!