In response to the lockdown measures of 2020, virtual recruitment went from "nice to have" to "need to have" seemingly overnight. As talent teams use innovative recruitment software to transform the ad hoc solutions of 2020 into long-term strategies for the future, they are paying particular attention to virtual recruitment for several reasons:
As I'm sure you already know, recruiting and marketing have a lot in common. Both have prospects, pipelines, and leads. Writing a good job description is an artform that uses techniques directly from the marketing copy writer's playbook. The techniques recruiters use to attract candidates and the challenges they face staying top of mind are no different than what is being used down the hall in the marketing department. In the marketing world, we can leverage drip and nurture marketing campaigns to stay top of mind with our prospects and these exact same techniques fit nicely into a recruiter's tool kit as well.
When it comes to employee onboarding, the buddy system is one of the most reliable tools HR has at its disposal. Done well, it facilitates an immediate personal connection between new hires and the wider organization, and in the long term it can help drive employee engagement and improve time-to-productivity metrics. Such measures are especially critical in a work environment shaped by COVID-19, with many new hires spending their first days and weeks isolated at home.
Unfortunately, most buddy systems are not set up to support the current work-from-home reality. So what can HR professionals do to adapt their existing programs for remote hires?
Employee experiences may never return to what they were before COVID-19. But with a post-pandemic future still undefined, it will be some time before any “new normal” can be established. In the meantime, employees must continue to adjust to new safety protocols and other stressors in the workplace or continue to adapt to virtual work at home.
Thanks to HR talking about the skills gap for over a decade, companies are now working harder to address it. Yet despite these efforts, skills gaps continue to have a significant impact on the business world. A recent global survey conducted by Cornerstone People Research Lab (CPRL) found that investments in L&D, though helpful, are insufficient.1 Although employers and employees worldwide recognize the importance of skills development, a confidence gap exists: employers feel optimistic about their ability to keep up with the rapidly changing skills economy, but employees are uncertain. Mike Bollinger, the vice president of strategic initiatives at Cornerstone and current manager of CPRL, discusses how companies can overcome this confidence gap and build more dynamic, more resilient workforces.
