Companies have found several advantages on virtual hiring.
For most companies, health crises force a transition from the office to remote work. Most of them weren’t prepared for a radical change in their work process, and forecasts were pessimistic. A survey realized by Ernest & Young showed that 72% of organizations were expecting a plummet in productivity, and they stopped hiring.
However, productivity didn’t fall, and companies started to change their recruitment process.
Many companies found the advantages of remote work, and even they started to trust in virtual hiring. According to Randstad expert Claudio Sánchez, online hiring is not only effective but also extremely beneficial. And it is that technology opened a wide range of possibilities to interact remotely with candidates and easily assess their suitability for the position.
Chilean case in LatAm
Companies throughout Chile are focused on facing the immediate effect that COVID-19 has had on their operations. Thus, Human Capital departments have focused on the most pressing challenges, such as hiring aimed at filling the current job gap and facilitating a safe return to the workplace.
But looking beyond short-term priorities, it is important to consider how the pandemic could have a lasting impact on other HR activities.
The multinational consultancy specializing in HR Randstad discusses the permanent changes that are taking place below. One of them, and perhaps the most important, is the consolidation of virtual recruitment.
The branch manager of Randstad Claudio Sánchez pointed out that physical distancing and other restrictions generated by COVID-19 led to a large number of the activities involved in the hiring process being transferred to the virtual environment.
“Although the transition was forced at the beginning, many companies found that this method is not only effective but also extremely beneficial” Sanchez pointed out.
Trends in virtual hiring
Sanchez remarked that technology opened a wide range of possibilities to interact remotely with candidates and easily assess their suitability for the position.
Sánchez mentioned the main trends on virtual hiring: automatic reference checking is gaining ground; while, on the other hand, online tests and video interviews have been key to giving continuity to the processes. They are faster, simpler, and cheaper than the face-to-face alternative, which will keep them going over time. This without counting the mechanisms for electronic signature of contracts and the platforms available for making labor and legal documents available.
Opinions on remote work are changing
The second is the strengthening of remote work. “This is because opinions on this modality are not only changing from the perspective of the candidate. PwC’s “COVID-19 CFO Pulse” survey showed that in June this year only 26% of financial leaders anticipated a loss of productivity as a result of the home office, compared to 45% two months earlier.
A study by Randstad Chile conducted with more than 400 decision-makers from different sectors, revealed that 75% of those surveyed plan to continue teleworking once the crisis is over: 63% will do so only a few days a week and 12% will implement it full time, ”says the executive.
In the same way, the health emergency showed the benefits of temporary hiring, one of them is having immediate access to talent when it is most needed. “In times of fluctuating demand or when it is difficult to find the required expertise in permanent employees, due to sick leave or any other reason, project workers are an excellent alternative to continue the operation and successfully face the production peaks, ”says Claudio. Finally, the pandemic made it clear that it is essential to put more focus on the generation of policies aimed at protecting the safety and health of people since the threat to their physical well-being was not the only problem that arose as a result of the pandemic. , but also led to stress, anxiety, and depression, “he says.