Is your business coronavirus-ready? As your need to go remote becomes more pronounced, you will have to address that talent sourcing issue sooner rather than later to get ahead.
America today is experiencing economic challenges that would dwarf even the Great Depression. Not only have COVID-19 restrictions crippled thousands of small businesses, but they have also spilled over into millions of worker lay-offs that are unprecedented throughout a superpower nation’s history.
But fret not. If you want to attract the best employees to work for you, a little networking should go a long way. For one, using word of mouth can save you some precious dollars. Secondly, it makes the job less of an uphill climb for you. From the onset, you just have to know which network to tap to get the most results.
1. Tap your own employee network.
There you have it. Your number one resource: your old employees. If you think that’s odd, know that you are actually in a good position to leverage the circles of your old employees.
It’s safe to say everyone in America Inc. is caught flatfooted by the new normal the pandemic offered. Even human resource professionals admit they were not ready to go fully remote when it mattered most. But relying on your employees may give you great returns, not to mention cut your costs.
Hiring via referrals isn’t new. It’s not unusual for firms to consider 10% to 15% of hiring using an employee referral system to be a win. This time around, however, when traditional recruitment isn’t available you can use the method to its utmost. MoEngage, an Indian company, got the majority of its new hires, about 70% of total hires, using this trick.
On your part, you can make the process seamless. Using tried-and-tested software to track your employee referrals can help you make the most of such a useful recruitment method.
While using old-school methods of putting things in an Excel file for instance may sound promising, it can leave risky loopholes that could impair your talent sourcing afterward. Manual referral processes come with its largely unavoidable bottlenecks.
Chief among them is poor tracking and poor accountability. Your employee will definitely feel left out if you forget to factor your referral incentives right and on time. In the end, you’d lose more when you don’t put a priority on taking into account referrals from your employees seriously.
2. Use employer relations.
Another great resource you should be exploring is other employers in your network. As workers come and go during the COVID-19 lockdown, a good talent that may have been laid-off could be of use to your organization.
To start, you need to put a system in place. Prioritize those industries which carry similar roles you need.
Is it a customer-serving role you’re looking for? Or a tech job you want to be handled? You should be vigilant about matching the kind of role you need to be filled.
Second, before you send a list of your requisitions to partner employers, you need to ensure referred employees don’t slip through the system without being recognized. Set up your ATS so these employees from other companies can be prioritized once they apply on your careers page.
You can also have your people coordinate with the HR of your friendly employer to give the names of those top-quality employees furloughed during the pandemic. Their quality work should speak for themselves.
3. Network your story.
Now, even when you can track down the best talent in America today, the greater question is whether such a talented find will work for you. And that is a whole different ball game.
You need to tell your story. That’s because you will still face competition even in times of coronavirus. There will be other employers wanting to corner the best talent in town.
There is no doubt that virtual hiring can go a long way. But you need to be able to share your story compellingly and effectively. Are you taking care of your employees during the pandemic? Do you provide health care? Are these benefits available even to temporary ones?
While you’re at it, you should take a closer look at your onboarding process. Is it stellar? How about your company’s response to the COVID-19 threat? Are you installing preventive measures to ensure everyone is safe?
In the final analysis, your employees will do that job of networking for you. Put their story out on your website. Or make the most of your landing page by letting your employee reflect their satisfaction with their stay with you during these extraordinary times. Once you make the most of networking, getting people to want to work for you won’t be such a tall order after all.
