During this difficult time, many technologies have helped businesses maintain basic day-to-day operations, from Zoom meetings to remote-access desktops and other aids that enable employees to telework. But what will happen as people slowly begin to head back into the office? Following the global shutdown, unemployment spikes, and the ensuing economic fallout, the hiring landscape is vastly different than it was just six months ago. While essential workers are in high demand, layoffs and furloughs are happening across every job sector. But as businesses ramp back up, HR will have a lot of vacancies to fill and a lot of employees to re-integrate back into the fold hopeful that their current HR tech pieces will help ease the struggle. But even a historically high unemployment rate won’t mean HR has it easy in filling those vacancies.

The new reality will challenge HR to be flexible and responsive to the seismic shift that has just occurred, as we move from the tech that has been necessary in a time of crisis to the tech that can effectively accelerate business into the future. The future of work as we have always imagined it will be eased by technology and a pandemic has not changed that. Businesses will build the new normal and bounce back more quickly through adopting some new tech and relying on some of the HR tech staples already in place.

Programmatic Job Advertising

This massive pause will leave a lot of people feeling uncertain about their next steps. We typically refer to people who apply for a job but are not actively looking for a job as “passive candidates.” Now, there will be a lot of people who may be eager for a career change, or who won’t prioritize scouring job boards until things settle. These are the new “passive candidates” who will be scrolling through the internet while at home, but who may not yet be on job sites.

Fortunately, with a programmatic advertising platform job ads don’t simply sit on a single job site. Rather, they can find people where they are already—searching their favorite websites or on social media. This type of targeted advertising available through platforms like pandoIQ uses big data, artificial intelligence, and campaign algorithms, which will be vital to source quality candidates in a time of ongoing social distancing.

Post-pandemic vacancies will need to be filled efficiently and safely. Targeted advertising will speed the efficiency of hiring, find better-quality candidates, and create cost savings. This method has become a staple for efficient hiring and will be a vital tool to aid HR in rebuilding after the fallout of pandemic.

The Remote Interview

Businesses will have to determine how much of their work-from-home policies will stay permanent in this clarifying moment. The ability to work remotely may once have been a perk of certain jobs, but may now be a necessity and an expectation of future candidates moving forward. The interview process should mirror this new reality. Video conferencing tech like Zoom or Google Hangouts has enabled remote meetings for many organizations and can also be used to facilitate the digital interview, but there is also tech specifically designed for interviewing (such as platforms like Harqen) that help enable HR teams to safely interview multiple candidates in an efficient manner.

Like the traditional face-to-face interview, you will need to carefully plan out the structure of your remote interviews. Your HR team will need to prep candidates to use technology for their digital interview and assess how candidates my thrive in an environment that relies on remote work.

Engagement Software & Digital HR Tech

While many organizations have seen their offices go virtual in a short span of time, it is vital to keep teams as connected as they were in a more traditional setting. Engagement software tools can help current employees touch base regularly in a time when they may experience a real disconnect. Organizations that already use a digital HR platform that employees can check remotely will enjoy a smoother transition during this time of big change.

These same principles apply to candidate engagement. Even if an organization experiences a temporary hiring freeze, it is important to nurture talent pools and stay in contact with top-tier talent. When hiring resumes, engaging an established robust talent network will help fill vacancies more quickly, and HR can then rely on candidate engagement software to keep candidates interested and informed throughout the hiring process. Then, when the time is right, a digital onboarding process will help integrate new hires into the organization.

The time to establish the future of your organization is now. While the workforce is in flux, work with your HR team to tap into the wealth of technology currently available to stay responsive to your company’s and industry’s shifting demands.