The recent global pandemic has caused an economic downturn in most parts of the world. This potential downturn on the horizon can lead to several companies being affected.
For talent acquisition professionals, it’s particularly challenging since an economic crisis means fewer jobs in the market which in turn would mean less work for recruiters. So what exactly is the best way to power through such a time? Making changes to your recruitment strategies is firstly where you must start from.
However, this doesn’t mean that you need to perform a hiring freeze. As a recruiter, you have to understand how the job market is supposedly going to change henceforth. Therefore, make a plan that can help you or your agency storm through this pandemic & economic challenges while still attracting some of the best candidates.
A lot of planning should have already been in process since the start of the pandemic, however, here are 6 successful ways by which you can combat this economic crisis.
Successful Ways Recruiters Can Take Care Of An Economic Crisis
It is said that we enter an economic crisis roughly after ever 10-12 years and more so without any official warning. People at this stage get scared and conduct a hiring freeze.
This is where you are wrong!
People still need jobs and businesses still need to keep running.
It’s incorrect to believe that companies won’t be recruiting anymore but hiring top talented candidates will become more important than anything else to combat this financial fallout.
Bonus Tip: How to keep your talent pipeline warm during a hiring freeze?
1. Create A Recession-Proof Hiring Strategy
You need to develop clear recruitment strategies based on your talent acquisition needs and how you can balance your decreasing budget with the staffing demands.
Firstly, to help this fall to place you’ll have to start prioritizing the essential roles and how you can fill them with your shrinking budget. Start cutting costs wherever required without having to sacrifice your company goals. As a recruiter in times of an ongoing global pandemic, you’ll have to streamline your hiring process without any additional costs.
For instance, if you’re using several softwares and applications to ease your recruitment process like a separate interview scheduling tool, ATS, CRM and so on consider using an all-in-one software that will help you do more and will also fall into your budget.
2. Listen To What The Potential Candidates Want
You need to leverage your listening skills as soon as you start hiring during times of such market volatility. Candidates will be changing jobs during this time for a variety of reasons- they may want higher pay or better stability.
They may also have been expelled from their previous job during such a critical time or might want to change their niche. This is the best time to start actively listening to what your candidates want and why they are switching jobs. Best quality candidates are often seen applying to numerous jobs and they will join the company that best aligns with their personal reasons and values.
Knowing what your candidates are looking for can help you assess the situation and their chances of joining the company better.
3. Start Positioning Your Company Competitively
Make your recruitment agency or your personal branding as a recruiter stand strong, especially during this recession.
Make sure you include this as one of the most important recruitment strategies. While most companies will consider reducing their external or internal recruitment costs, this might actually turn out to be of disadvantage for you.
Henry Goldbeck of Recruiter.com says, “A possible recession can also present an opportunity for recruiters. Recruiting maybe even more crucial in a dire economy where companies need any and every competitive edge they can get to weather the storm and best position themselves for success after it.”
While recruiting during such times may be difficult, the actions you undertake right now can prove to be significant for the long-term success of you and your company.
You need to remember that this is the time to focus on candidate experience and quality over quantity. Quantity will automatically decrease which means that you will have to start spending time with top talents and improve their candidate experience.
4. Make The Prospective Employees Feel At Home
Candidates care about the first impressions that a company leaves. This is such a time when they want to be certain that their new employer will take care of them. Be in touch with your candidate and make sure that they feel special.
Respond promptly to any questions if they have and engage with them on LinkedIn or other social media platforms making sure if there’s anything extra that they need to know to come to an informed decision.
As a recruiter, make sure you clearly communicate the offers employees can expect during market volatility and that they understand the company’s values and mission.
5. Close Prospective Candidates Swiftly
Since this is the time to focus more on quality wins, once you have finished assessing a candidate properly, don’t keep dragging your feet. It’s believed that recessions actually create a market that is more advantageous for recruiters and recruitment agencies so don’t delay in providing an offer letter or a start date.
Candidate assessment and closing becomes much easier when they are unemployed because they are more focused on the security that comes with a job rather than the perks that it will provide them.
Express your urgency to hire and give a written offer immediately. If you wait too long, there will a high chance that you lose a top candidate to your competitive recruitment firm or company.
6. Provide Unique Coaching
The economic crisis caused by Covid-19 is considered to be the worst since the Great Depression. During this time, even the most sought-after candidates may find their popularity dwindling.
Not all candidates who are seeking a job or changing niches will be well-skilled.
As mentioned in the above point that recruiters can’t drag their feet, so if the candidate has the potential qualities and a willingness to learn, provide coaching to them. This could be in the form of online coaching, too, if the candidate feels comfortable with virtual training.
This will help them in transitioning smoothly. Recruiters have the capability to campaign for good candidates during such difficult times. So apart from providing unique coachings, pitch them to the companies and help them land an interview so that they can share their capabilities with them.
It’s never fun to plan for a recession caused by a pandemic. Nevertheless, if you remain unprepared it can lead to some serious damage and can even cause your company to lose staff.
Take the above steps as mentioned to boost employee morale and help your company stay strong during these difficult times.
Bonus Tip: Learn more about 5 important skills and strategies essential for a recruiter in the post-Covid-19 market.
