Remote working and virtual employment are here to stay. And, companies that consider employees as their most valuable asset are proactively working on establishing a robust remote work policy.
The world witnessed a dramatic shift in the job market due to the coronavirus pandemic, with remote work becoming the norm for most businesses. While 2020 may be considered the year of remote work, it is just the beginning, with the enterprises continuing to adopt the trend in 2021 as well. By 2025, an estimated 70% of the workforce will be working remotely at least five days a month.
Even though the pandemic has forced organizations to accelerate this switch, many have since realized that the flexibility offered by remote practices works better for them. According to McKinsey research, many employees feel they have been more productive since working from home.
Sachin Gupta,
CEO and Co-Founder of HackerEarth, says, “Even when the world goes back to the new normal, it will not be the same normal like in 2019. But whatever the new normal is, it will be a hybrid world where a part of us will be working remotely, and part of us won’t be, and I think the stages of interviewing and screening will continue to be the way they are today.”
Organizations across the world have had to adjust their recruitment and onboarding practices to ensure they can identify key talent and deliver a great candidate experience online. In-person interviews were quickly replaced by video conferences. According to LinkedIn’s recently published ‘The Future of Recruiting: Asia-Pacific Report,’ 78 percent of companies in the APAC region will continue virtual hiring in the post-COVID world.
Listen Podcast an: Interview with Sachin Gupta CEO and Co-Founder of HackerEarth
Online hiring is clearly not just a temporary reaction to the current situation but a longer-term shift in how enterprises will conduct the recruitment process, with many similarities to the continued remote working trends.
While many organizations will likely fall back on the traditional “test followed by interview” model of evaluating applicants, this approach may be ineffective in the remote-first world. Instead, the focus will shift to evaluating a candidate’s capabilities as demonstrated by their contributions to open source technology platforms. Diversity and inclusion will also become a crucial part of the recruitment strategy, and remote work will enable many companies to improve their workforce diversity.
Preparing Enterprises for the New Digital Processes
Lack of human interaction has been one of the most challenging aspects of the shift to remote working, which poses real challenges for onboarding new hires. While existing employees have formed social relationships, which can be continued digitally, new hires may struggle to make meaningful connections and feel like part of a team.
Sachin Gupta says, “There are efficiency gains in remote hiring; enterprises need not spend a vast amount of money flying in candidates. Moreover, scheduling is harder when companies need them to walk into the office and meet multiple people.”
“One stage in the hiring process that has been impacted for the worse is candidate engagement and experience during the recruiting process. There still needs to be work done for this particular aspect. Enterprises need to get better at engaging candidates through the remote interviewing process”, he adds.
Onboarding New Hires
When new hires do not get a chance to meet the team in person, it can result in ambiguity. The confusion of remote work, along with the newness of the situation, can make onboarding overwhelming for anyone. New hires have to make extra efforts in initiating casual conversations with their teammates, and it can be challenging when people are working remotely and balancing busy schedules.
Also Read: The Rising Need of Employee Experience Platforms in a Digital-First World
Hence, managers and teammates should take that extra effort and help new hires get acquainted with the team and play a role in the culture. Organizing casual team meetings and informal team-building events conducted over video can go a long way towards helping new hires feel like they’re part of a team of real people rather than a collection of faces on a video call.
Prangya Pandab is an Associate Editor with OnDot Media. She is a seasoned journalist with almost seven years of experience in the business news sector. Before joining ODM, she was a journalist with CNBC-TV18 for four years. She also had a brief stint with an infrastructure finance company working for their communications and branding vertical.
