[Phone rings]
Ann: “Cutting Edge, this is Ann.”
Customer: “Hey Ann! Ready to ring in the New Year?”
Ann (inquisitively): “Yes, but it’s only November. It’s Thanksgiving week not New Year’s.”
Customer: “I know, but this year has been so rotten. I’m ready to scrap 2020 and move on. 2021 bigger and better things, you know?”
Ann (sighs): “Sure, what bigger and better things?”
Customer: “I’m trying to figure out how to streamline my hiring process. I want to start 2021 off right and get the best applicants hired quickly. Think you can help?”
Ann: “Well, we’ve learned a lot and this year and think we’ve made our process better. Let me tell you about it…”
WINTER IS COMING… IS YOUR HIRING PROCESS PREPARED?
2020 has thrown everybody off their rhythm and this is the perfect time to review if your hiring process is adequately responding to the big changes we’ve experienced this year. Let’s make sure you’re getting 2021 started off right.
-
Everyone (yes, everyone) is working remotely, if at all possible.
It’s made us rethink the handshake, the morning meetings with the lousy breakfast buffet, interviews and even how we complete the paperwork required for hiring.
I have clients hiring everyone from executives to the people that toss pizza dough start using QuickApp to reduce interpersonal contact. It’s a paperless, touchless system that sends your applicants an email to complete the paperwork and start the background screening process.
-
Patience is key. Location matters.
Not all courts are or were closed, but…
New Jersey courts were off the grid for many months. Criminal search firms moved mountains to gain remote access to those New Jersey courts (successfully, I might add).
Jefferson County, Kentucky just reopened. Due to confluence of events–the courts were closed from March 25-June 17, no research could be conducted. The state supreme court authorized the courts to reopen on June 18 with significant social distancing requirements. There are now only two operating terminals, and research is by appointment-only in 2-hour increments. Civil unrest due to the shooting of Breonna Taylor caused the courts to close again due to demonstrations and protests. Estimates are it will take months to sift through the backlog of record requests.
We are now in the grips of the “dark winter” of COVID-19, and seeing closures again in our worlds, I expect this will further slow our access to court records that have to be pulled manually.
Patience is key.
-
Many contacts in the HR world are working remotely.
I am glad that we have options, but it also causes some delays in employment verifications and education verifications. At Cutting Edge we have become even more diligent about reaching out to schools and employers for verifications, calling at odd hours trying to catch people and emailing everyone that hasn’t picked up the phone.
-
The Workplace will have a different purpose going forward.
It’s not just a place to work–it’s a place to collaborate, to socialize. However, it’s worth recognizing that being able to work remotely may promote better work-life balance. 43% of people surveyed believe that this crisis marks the end of the full-time work in the office.
