Things have changed. Spend less time worrying about a return to the past and more time on developing the recruitment best practices you will need to accommodate the present and the future. Easy to say, hard to do!
Get Set
Hopefully you have made the move to technology. If not, do it now. Be a model for your constituents. If you have made the move, look at ways to refine your methods. Get a paid subscription to Zoom or MS360, or Webex. Zoom offers a custom site address that makes it easier for employer and candidate contacts to find your meeting location. Start using online meeting/calendar scheduling tools. This allows people to connect with you without all the back and forth on picking a time and date. If you are using video conferencing to meet clients and candidates, get set to look your best. Pick up a green screen and a light to light your face. LumeCube is cheap and easy lighting tool and there are lots of green screen options on Amazon. Recruiters need to model best practices for their team and for the candidates and employers they work with.
Increase Flexibility
You are likely working different hours now than in the past; so are others. Make times available to people that work for them. We are all at home way more, so work early evenings when needed and not just traditional office hours. If you are around on Saturday or Sunday, make it an option for the really tough-to-get contacts.
Go Virtual
Maybe you used to go to job fairs or engage in small trade shows to get exposure. Get back at this virtually. Can you offer a collection of candidates a 4-hour virtual job fair where they pick a 20-minute slot on your calendar for a quick video screen or phone screen? For them, the “price of admission” to your fair is a resume in advance. Remember that the phone is the original virtual meeting tool. A conversation is sometimes less threatening and difficult to make happen than a video meeting. Use the phone as an option for those less inclined to use video. Engineers, accountants, and scientists come to mind, but we all have our preferences. The phone is a great and underutilized tool!
Use Chat
For teams, look to chat features and tools to stay connected. Slack and BaseCamp are two such connection tools that might work for your small team. Facebook Messenger, WeChat, and WhatsApp are great options too.
Onboarding
Looks for ways you can assist candidates and employers who need to virtualize the onboarding process. Your placements will fail if you do not help make the transition effective, so invest time in supporting a best practice virtual onboarding process.
Stop visualizing a return to the past and start thinking about the new way you will work in the 2-3 years ahead. Create recruitment best practices that you can share with others.