During a recession, businesses will always have an eager pool of applicants to choose from. And this high supply level enables hiring managers to be pickier, to ensure the candidates they are choosing have the skills necessary to complete the job at hand. While Covid-19’s total impact on the global economy is still unknown, we are likely to see these recession-like effects on hiring to come into play moving forward.
Looking back to 2008, we know that recessions have a lasting impact on the number of qualified workers, often leading to a shortage in the following years. In order to find qualified candidates in the giant haystack of applicants that will exist, companies need to make sure they are implementing the correct tools today. On the other hand, candidates can expect the laundry list of skills they need to have to get longer after an economic downturn. Here are a few steps companies can take to ensure they are finding candidates with the right skills for the job:
A dynamic process. Make sure your application process gives the candidates a chance to fully explain their skills and what they can bring to a specific role. This extra information gives your recruiting team enough information to make the right call. Dynamic data-capturing recruitment systems offer an overall better experience for job seekers via increased responsiveness.
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Use AI to thin the haystack. For some companies, the pool of candidates is going to be quite daunting for a team of human recruiters to handle. Using an AI tool can help sift through the information originally gathered to make the selection process much quicker. The combination of high unemployment rates and an urgent need to fill essential positions in certain industries has created the perfect storm to highlight that AI hiring tools are not a “nice to have,” but a “need to have.” Conversational AI does not have the capacity limitations of humans, enabling employers to effectively communicate with not just a few, but ALL candidates. And this pandemic crisis will be the catalyst that makes CAI an essential part of recruiting teams for years to come. This is one fundamental way incorporating CAI staffing tools can augment an organization’s current and post-pandemic plan.
Don’t sleep on a quality hire. If an applicant doesn’t meet the needs of one role, using a system that can cross-reference candidates across all open roles will ensure quality employees won’t go to waste. If a candidate is ultimately not deemed fit by the hiring team due to a missing requirement for one role, these systems can re-engage to help that candidate connect to a role that is more suitable based on their profile, interests, and availability.
While the state of the world economy is still uncertain, one thing is clear: There are steps that can be taken by organizations right now to determine how to best move forward when they have the capacity to do so. By focusing on candidate engagement and using the right tech to augment your team, your organization will be primed to make the high-quality hires it needs.