As anyone currently involved with Talent Management knows, regardless of external factors, it can be a serious challenge to hire the best employees and ensure they end up in the right seats. Throw in a global pandemic and government-mandated social distancing and things quickly become even more complicated. While these complications can surface in many ways, I believe there are two primary areas that warrant special consideration:
- Logistical challenges
- Maintaining the accuracy of the talent management process as it relates to hiring
Logistical Challenges
Logistical challenges are an obvious hurdle in this new world and thankfully solutions are becoming more straightforward as well. There is no shortage of technology options for the implementation of video interviewing and the bar for entry, both in terms of cost of software and necessary hardware, has never been lower. From the participant side, all you need is a smartphone, and from the business side, many of these options are free or bundled with existing software you may already be using. In 2018 Statista estimated 96% of those aged 18-29 and 92% of those 30-49 owned smartphones. Between this and the potential to leverage free software moving to a socially distanced, video-based interview becomes a very achievable target.
Ensuring Quality Talent Acquisition
The other primary challenge, ensuring continued quality hires, can be tackled in a variety of ways and in general, will reflect the existing talent management process. Although it can feel quite a bit different the reality is that we don’t lose that much in moving from in-person to a video. In fact, in some ways, this format can enhance interviews by saving candidates driving time as well as enabling them to interview in a familiar, comfortable environment. Beyond this, there are several other potential options for bolstering your hiring accuracy:
Leverage structured interviews
Research shows that structured interviews consistently produce more accurate interviewer impressions. While the tone of the conversation can be kept conversational, make sure the specific job-related interview questions you are using are the same across candidates.
Utilize multiple sources of data
Depending on your hiring and need for scaling this can be a lighter or heavier lift. In the end, hiring processes that leverage several points of data (assessments, interviews, work samples, resume, etc.) as opposed to a single interview or only a few data points are always going to be both more defensible and accurate.
Insist on data-driven, unbiased processes
One of the most important ways to ensure the accuracy of your process is to have it be driven by data and free of bias. This is true regardless of the environment in which you’re hiring and should always be a focus. This is also why, alongside PRADCO’s suite of assessments, we offer standalone Rater Bias training. This is used internally for our own assessors, and as a training tool to help clients do the same.
Despite the current challenges it is still very possible (and for some, potentially even straightforward) to pivot to a more technologically savvy, safely socially distanced approach to getting to know new candidates. Additionally, they are likely to appreciate being allowed to prioritize their safety while furthering their professional success. Keep an eye on PRADCO’s website as we are working overtime to provide tools and resources that can be immediately useful for leadership teams, HR, and Talent professionals in any environment.
How PRADCO Can Help
As always, we would be happy to collaborate with you and your organization to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of your employee selection process. Contact us today for a free consultation & demo.
Source(s)
https://www.statista.com/statistics/489255/percentage-of-us-smartphone-owners-by-age-group/
