Hello! A warm welcome to our blog. The pandemic has changed all our lives and especially the way people interact, work, and communicate. In this article we go over how hiring and retaining workers has been impacted by COVID-19. We also provide you with helpful tips on how you can best hire and retain employees as the pandemic continues to impact businesses.
While 2020 has been tough, 2021 is still challenging as people are still having to make adjustments on how they carry on their personal and professional activities. Changes and a ‘new normal’ have taken place at home and in the workplace.
One of the key aspects of the pandemic has been lockdowns and remote work. It is found that 60% of the UK’s adult population are working from home. Out of those 26% say they will continue to work from home after lockdowns are lifted. About two thirds of employee’s state that they are more productive working from home.
Despite the challenges, more than half of UK businesses wish to hire new employees in 2021. As some of the lockdown’s ease, businesses have to keep going and get stronger to survive the impact the pandemic has had on their services. This means they have to hire new employees and retain their most valuable talent with all the new conditions we face today.
Beyond this, businesses are having to review how they open and run their offices. They must decide how many workers can or should work in person vs remote, how to implement physical distancing with desks, kitchens, and open spaces.
How can you stay on top of the hiring process?
COVID-19 has changed the recruitment landscape. The way businesses advertise jobs, search for, interview and select candidates are now different and will continue to be so for the foreseeable future. Employers can implement the following strategies to stay ahead of the curve.
- Advertise virtually. Now that people are spending more time at home and online, you will best recruit talent if you target job adverts to where most job
- seekers spend their time online.
- Adapt the hiring process. A well thought out and detailed process on how to engage and select candidates is the key to hiring new employees during difficult times. This involves planning and scheduling digital interviews as well as establishing remote ways of assessing talent and skills.
- Put forward a clear offer for candidates. As uncertainty looms, many candidates have a need for stability and more opportunities to work from home. You can attract top talent by putting forward clear and attractive offers for candidates considering the job.
- Make new employees feel welcome. Now that personal communication has decreased or disappeared entirely, you will need to find creative ways of ensuring new hires feel welcome and connected to your business. This may mean digital incentives and ongoing communication about tasks and workflow, office updates and regular opportunities for digital peer bonding.
How do you keep your most valued employees?
Once you have successfully hired a new employee during COVID-19, you also have the challenge of retaining that employee and your best talent. Businesses face a higher risk of turnover as the pandemic creates an increase in the need for remote work, a better work life balance, the desire for better health care coverage and greater responsibilities for employees at home. Here are some keyways you can retain employees as a business operating amidst the pandemic.
- Develop and adapt new ways of management. As more work is being done online with fewer meetings, it is vital to ensure that you have digital tools to help you monitor work progress and keep employees engaged whether they are working remotely or socially distanced in the office.
- Support employees and your team to regularly connect. During a time of distance and less peer-to-peer communication, it is helpful to ensure your team gets timely updates and a regular chance to communicate. This can be done with weekly group video calls or chats to keep up team spirit and work motivation. Happy hours and pastimes can also be arranged online to help invigorate your employees.
- Keep employees engaged with the mission and vision. At this time of disconnection, it is important to help employees feel passionate about the mission and vision of your business. This will keep employees motivated to work as they face challenges and uncertainty in their lives.
- Provide digital training opportunities and ways to grow. Although in person training may take a while to restart, you can empower employees to take on digital training that keeps their skills up to date. This will make employees feel that they can keep growing in your business even during these challenging times.
How do we support you through COVID-19?
We at AJ Connect have continued to provide our top services through the pandemic to ensure we meet your recruitment needs especially through this difficult time. We help businesses find excellent candidates and talent in this shifting market where skills can be of shortage. Our team of experts work around the clock to provide you with new creative and effective ways to hire and retain your employees through the pandemic.
We deliver quality employees to meet the brand and heart of your business whether your hiring needs are in person or remote. Most importantly, we work to build first class relationships with the businesses working with us to ensure we are with you through every step of the way – in the good and difficult times.
Like what you’ve read?
Subscribe to our blog by adding your email address to the form on the right. You’ll be the first to hear about our updates.