What Would You Change About Your Hiring Process?
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IT Jobs and Recruitment Insights
The phrase “New Normal” is banned in our household. Whilst current circumstances might be “New” to us, I think we can all agree that there is nothing even remotely “Normal” about the way things are.
We were faced with a challenge though, a challenge that brought with it a necessity and, as the proverb goes, “Necessity is the mother of invention”. We got inventive and we found solutions. Some of those solutions are keepers, some should, to put it bluntly, go straight in the bin once the necessity no longer exists.
What changes did we see in the recruitment and hiring processes?
In short, there were many. Far too many to go into here, so below I’ve highlighted just a couple from each end of the spectrum.
Video conference interviewing
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The most impactful of course was the “in-person” aspect of the process. I know it’s not as though the concept of conducting interviews via video conference is particularly ground-breaking. Interviewing for roles in other countries have been happening this way for many years now, though it was rare to not have at least one face-to-face sit down before making the hire.
Hiring this way brought its advantages:
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Scheduling was actually made a lot easier as cutting out commute times meant that candidate availability opened up a great deal.
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Much easier to find an hour to sit down in front of your computer for an interview, than 2 or more hours if you need to factor in the journey there and back.
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Candidates could also feel more comfortable in a familiar space which, in turn, allows the interviewer(s) to see a more natural side of them.
It’s not without its disadvantages though. An interview room could also be considered a level playing field. The same base for everyone who comes in. What if a candidate couldn’t necessarily find a quiet space in the house, or guarantee that they wouldn’t be disturbed for the duration? Some of us have kids, so that isn’t happening.
Speaking from experience here, too, you don’t have to be living out in the sticks to have a lousy internet connection. A great impression to make if you look and sound like a robot during your interview.
The pros outweigh the cons though, as there are at least alternatives now for the cons so, Video Interviewing - you get to stay.
Remote onboarding
So, you got the job and now your new colleagues have to get you started. They’ll no doubt send out a laptop and other bits and pieces you will need to get your work done, maybe a welcome hamper too and the obligatory mug with the company logo on it.
Advantages of this are not necessarily as palpable at the time of it happening, as they are a little further down the line. This led to many companies really assessing the way that they bring on board and train new employees and many found ways to make it more efficient and notice where things might have been outdated. This led to improvements, and surely improvements are always a good thing, right?
Right…
But…
What about the welcome lunch? Where’s the tour of the office? Workplace camaraderie feeds productivity, which makes these initial introductions to your colleagues crucial to, not only your success in your new job, but to the company’s success overall.
We also learn way more from watching and listening to our peers go about their day, than we ever will from even the most finely tuned training programs.
Sorry Remote Onboarding, in the boat and off you pop.
The point is, a lot has changed, because it needed to. Change isn’t always for the better though, and there’s no reason why some things can’t go back to how they were or change again.
The reason I banned the phrase “New Normal”, is because it insinuates that we have to accept that this is just the way things are now, and that’s simply not the case.
Why not talk to us if you’re considering your options for hiring processes going forward.
