If the year 2020 were a person, it would be the villain of your favorite movie. We have made it through half of the year, and so far, it is the worse. So many people have lost their lives, the economy of the world has fallen into recession, natural calamities have damaged infrastructures and what not. The Novel Corona Virus outbreak is undoubtedly the highlight of all this. In this article, we will walk you through how this pandemic has affected the recruitment industry, the biggest recruitment challenges due to COVID-19.
Effect of COVID-19 on Economy.
This year has been the worse on so many levels, but the COVID-19 pandemic has been the worst of all. According to Worldometer, more than 7+ million have contracted COVID-19 all over the world as of 15th June. COVID-19 has set its foot in every continent in the world and affected the economy of the whole world severely. This outbreak has hit the world economy hard. Many professionals are out of jobs and businesses and countries are struggling to keep up.
- According to the UN Conference on Trade and Development, the COVID-19 pandemic might cost the world economy approximately $1-2 trillion in the year 2020.
- According to the World Economic Forum, current G7 jobless totals vary widely, from 30 million in the United States to 1.76 million in Japan.
- Young people are suffering the most due to the dramatic unemployment caused by COVID-19 pandemic according to CGTN
Industries facing recruitment challenges due to COVID-19
COVID-19 has affected businesses and financials of every major industry all around the globe. The hiring freeze and layoffs are becoming a major problem for professionals and workers all around the world. According to the live updated information by Candor, the travel and transportation industry has been hit the hardest.
According to these statistics, industries like healthcare and IT are facing a sudden boom in hiring new employees. On the other hand, these statics give us a clear picture of all the industries COVID-19 pandemic has derailed. It includes the staffing and recruitment industry.
The Recruitment Scenario will change after the pandemic.
Recruiters from all kinds of industries are facing different kinds of challenges on their levels. These challenges are going to stay till post-pandemic and recruiters will need to overcome these to survive. Some sectors will have increased hiring demands whereas some will have a hiring freeze. Here are some of the biggest recruitment challenges due to COVID-19 that recruiters will come across.
Recruitment Challenges Due To COVID-19 Crisis
Social Distancing and Remote Hiring
As soon as the coronavirus outbreak started to spread social distancing policies and eventually lockdown was immediately implemented. This has posed a huge challenge to the hiring process. With the in-person meeting off the table, the whole hiring process has to be done digitally through various platforms. This means, not only does the job posting and shortlisting but also the interviewing and onboarding of employees has to be done virtually. Remote hiring is going to be the new normal for recruiters. For this, employers first need to assess their needs thoroughly. Once they know their needs, the next step is to select the right technology and platform that can effectively cater to their needs.
Mass Layoffs
With a global pandemic at hand, companies are running out of their business, resources, and finances. Many medium and small-sized companies are left with no choice but to let their employees go during this time of crisis. While some of the small and medium-sized businesses have limited resources. So instead of firing their current employees, they are on a hiring freeze. As most people are staying home, sectors like travel and tourism, and hospitality are facing serious setbacks. Also sectors like restraunts and bars, cinemas and malls are suffering badly too.
Bulk Hiring
As we can see from the statistics above, there are some industries that are experiencing bulk-hiring. Due to the outbreak of the disease on such a large scale, the Healthcare sector employment has boomed and hiring has increased rapidly in this sector. Also, with everything going digital, IT, Business Software, and the Financial sector have a pretty good hiring rate. Tech giants like Amazon are hiring in bulk to keep up with the sudden surge in demands.
Building and Maintaining a Work Culture
With this global pandemic over us, we are experiencing a radical workstyle change. With the employees working from their homes, building, and maintaining a good work culture has been a very difficult task for recruiters. Recruiters can no longer hold frequent performance review meetings or go out with their employees for some chit-chat. Communicating with the remote teams, and keeping them motivated is a daunting task. That’s why recruiters need to come with strategies to build a positive work culture for their remote teams to keep them up and running.
High Dependency on Technology
The consecutive series of lockdown implemented by governments from across the globe has led many HR professionals to hire remotely. Remote hiring is done through mobiles or laptops. So, during this crisis, recruiters need to upgrade their technical skills and understanding to make things work. Technology is the key aspect that helps recruiters to manage their teams. To establish communication and collaboration and keep up the productivity, recruiters to be fluent with the use of technology in their hands.
In these crucial times, it is extremely important to be optimistic. The most effective way of doing that is to simply accept the reality and work on bigger goals. As we come out of this on the other side, we need to accept that we will be having a new normal. Long story short, recruiters need to brace themselves because the recruitment scenario is going to change forever. Truth is, when the recovery of the loss happens, everything will be very different from what it was before.