In the span of a few months, COVID-19 has changed the way the world moved. Before we can freely go everywhere we please, do what we wanted, and eat the foods we craved. When the pandemic outbreak began, we slowly had to give up on those liberties.
Governments are slowly but surely easing the regulations this early in the year, but it never really is easy. In the case of employment, companies have turned to the web for employment. Employee management software has been a big help for managing companies and staff during the pandemic. Hiring is another issue that web-based employment tools had been able to reduce.
If you’re building a business during the pandemic, you should continue because work never stops even in the face of a pandemic such as this. Here’s how you can continue to hire people as if there is no outbreak happening.
Look online for possible employees
During the pandemic, there are a lot of companies that opted to shift their services online. Since people aren’t allowed to leave their homes, some companies could adapt to bringing the work to people at home. You should consider this shift and hire people who are looking to work remotely.
You’ll know the CVs of these people when you see them. They most likely have the terms “telecommute” or “remote” in their searches. Some of them may even have “work-from-home” somewhere in their CVs. You or your HR person will also be likely looking at it from home, so put yourself in their shoes and hire those who will continue to work with excellence even when at home.
These employees have remote work experience
Working at home isn’t for the faint of heart. It requires the dedication to work even if there is the temptation to slack off at home. Some employees are even dedicated enough to work way past their regular working hours. Consider hiring some of these employees through a quick review of their CVs.
Hiring people with these kinds of experience will help your company through these times, as they have already worked in similar set-ups. During the pandemic, the optimal mix for your company will have to be an equal setup of office-based workers and remote workers. They could help each other achieve goals, and you end up winning.
Use video conferencing for hiring
Video conferencing, at the time before the pandemic, was a simpler app to use. You could do meetings on the fly, or you could converse with a client that’s out of the country. This same situation can be applied to hiring people during the pandemic. You don’t need to go face-to-face with them since you’re supposed to be at home anyway.
You should both agree at the best possible time for you. If you’re an early bird, you can schedule it early, but it could also be anytime during the day. You should also set expectations like having them choose an area in their home where they’ll be able to maintain their privacy.
Keeping in line with your expectations
Hiring during the pandemic works two ways. While you’re looking for employees who can contribute to your company right away, you will find that you can empathize with your potential employees easily because you’re both in the same boat. You are working from home similarly, so you will most likely have the same experiences while working.
Even after COVID-19 lockdowns are lifted and work returns to more or less the normal experience, you should continue to be inclusive. Tell them that this will more or less be part of the new company policy.
A flexible employee is a great employee
When someone you’re hiring says that they’re flexible, try to gauge just how flexible they can really be. Workers with this ability attend to be more productive and work well with others as well. They can also work well beyond their hours or start at an hour that suits their productivity the most.
You should also be flexible as well. If hiring workers, don’t ask them whether they can work on set hours when working from home. Remote work affords the best flexibility, and it’s up to your workers to manage their own time, anyway.
Working from home is one of the challenges posed by COVID-19 to companies. If you find yourself in this situation, welcome the challenge and embrace the new grind. This might very well be the future of work, and if it is, you will want to be among those who initially embraced this kind of grind.
