Has COVID-19 changed the recruitment process for local businesses?

Finding the right talent for your business could be challenging during the best of times. While recruitment processes have become ever-more rigorous and accurate, at the end of the day, whether a new recruit is the right fit for your company still comes with a certain degree of risk.

Throw a pandemic into the mix, and you’re looking at an entirely new recruitment process which may very well lead to permanent changes to the way job interviews are conducted. So what have we learnt? And has the process become harder? Here’s what we think.

Recruiting online is possible

This option was previously reserved for foreign nationals looking to move to Malta for a job. But it’s very well becoming the norm among local companies, large and small, who prioritise safety above all else.

Conducting an interview online may seem uncomfortable at first, and it does come with its own challenges. After all, in-person interviews can reveal a lot about whether a candidate is a good fit for your business. And reading a candidate’s body language through a screen might be harder, but it’s certainly not impossible. Virtual interviews too are interactive, and if a person is being interviewed from the comfort of their own home, it might help put them more at ease.

There’s also the crucial aspect of time saving. Typically, weeks pass between one in-person interview and another due to conflicting schedules. As an employer, conducting interviews online allows you to schedule more video calls in a day, and to conclude with a candidate quicker, which serves a dual role of filling your vacancy promptly and ensuring you don’t lose a desired candidate to your competition.

Going forward, it’s expected that virtual interviews will be part of the so-called ‘new normal’, but it’s likely that many companies will adopt a hybrid model, reserving in-person interviews for management or C-level executives.

Tech up

For the process to be smooth, you need the right technology in place for conducting interviews online. The right software will keep the recruitment process moving while also showcasing the quality of your employer brand, making it more appealing to recruits.

But do bear in mind that the experience is new to many. The pandemic has thrown most of us into the deep end of everything, including being interviewed for a new job, so practice and encourage patience and empathy when recruiting online. Helping to put a candidate at ease from the outset will likely result in a better interview.

Onboarding from home

Once you’ve agreed on a deal, the next stage is welcoming a new recruit into your team. If you’re working remotely, then you’ll need to carry out an onboarding process. If possible, avoid lengthy documents and pre-recorded videos – the more personalised this process could be, the higher the chance of retention.

Start with a brief introductory video to welcome the new member and introduce them to the rest of team with a clear structure of who does what. Hopefully, it will only be a matter of time until future meetings could be held in person. Ensure the process is organised and clear, enabling a new staff member to hit the ground running with few hiccups, and be sure to speak about your company culture too, which will help new candidates align with your company’s values from the start.