Expert guide to recruitment during Covid-19

As we are deep in the midst of the largest scale health pandemic in living memory, the knock on effect of sickness and self-isolation means businesses are entering a period of the unknown.

Business survival has suddenly come out of nowhere to become the top commercial priority for many business owners, meaning forward planning is even more essential to ensure a business can survive the interim period and reach the other side as in-tact as possible.

Prior to the Covid-19 epidemic, many businesses in the Sheffield City Region will have been part way through a recruitment drive. So, how can you, Chamber Members continue with your recruitment plans during this period? Glu Recruit take a look at this in more detail.

Here’s our top 5 tips

1. Your recruitment plans don’t have to stop

Many local businesses are still proceeding with their recruitment plans as some industries are less affected than others. Whilst this is a stressful time for many, it is also a good time to reflect on long term plans for your business, of which your recruitment plans should be a top priority. There are still plenty of job seekers who are actively seeking a new role, so rest assured large parts of the candidate pool are still active.

Like many other businesses, Glu Recruit will remain fully operational and we are here to help take the recruitment burden away so you can concentrate on what you need to do right now – running your business.

2. Consider temporary staff

Businesses should continue to operate as normal as possible during this crisis; however, it is likely you will have never had to deal with a situation like this before, and hopefully won’t have to ever again. With staff having to self-isolate and be unexpectedly absent on sick leave, this could leave gaping holes in your business that you need to fill.

Hiring a temporary member of staff is an ideal solution, as they will be able to come into your business in a pre-defined role to provide cover during this time to ensure business continuity. To help ease the burden currently placed on employers, we have a large pool of immediately available candidates to help with any short term cover that is required.

3. Try before you buy

If you are currently in the process of recruiting for a permanent position, you may be concerned about the timing of making an offer. With key people in your organisation most likely working remotely now, the induction process for permanent staff may not be as streamlined as you would like it to be.

Hiring on a temporary basis once again is a logical solution to this problem. It will ensure you have someone in place to undertake the urgent requirements of the role, but it is also an opportunity to put a temporary member of staff on trial with one eye on them becoming a permanent employee when the timing is right.

4. Consider different interview techniques

The traditional way of interviewing is likely to be different for most businesses for the next few months. With technology evolving everyday it is making it a lot easier for interviews to be conducted on a remote basis, minimising risk to yourself and those around you.

At Glu Recruit, we already hold virtual interviews with our candidates as part of our registration process. It can be difficult for candidates to attend interviews if they are working full time, and as recruiters we have adapted our approach to ensure we can offer more flexibility to our candidates.

Video interviewing is now more popular than ever and some of our clients have already started to adopt this process. There are a variety of ways a business can do this using different technologies without any associated costs.

5. Be conscious of offering a permanent role without a start date

Under the current circumstances, offering a definite start date for a permanent position could prove tricky. With key members of staff likely to be working remotely during an induction period for a new recruit and the length of time the economy could take to recover, it can be difficult to confirm a start date.

The risk associated with this tactic is if the candidate receives a job offer with a definite start date elsewhere, this gives them more security during this challenging time, and you run the risk of them accepting another offer.

Candidates are in the same situation as employers here, and will understand if an induction period, training and onboarding has to be conducted differently to what would normally be expected. Good candidates can be hard to find, so you need to make your recruitment process as accommodating as possible if the right one comes around for you.

We advise working closely with your recruiter so you can understand your candidates position and any associated risks to them accepting your offer.

If you need more strategic advice on recruitment and retention during this difficult time please get in touch with our team on 0114 321 1873 or [email protected].