Is virtual recruitment here to stay?

Could virtual recruitment be here to stay? Businesses have found remote working that successful that some plan to make it a permanent move. This means recruiting virtually is likely to remain as well. Whilst many employers find it easy to manage their existing staff members remotely, they may struggle with hiring staff in a remote setting rather than face to face. The process can take time to get used to, however, HR and managers have found it to be a rather efficient way of recruiting. A poll from Milkround of 500 professionals found that only 17% of companies made use of online interviews before the pandemic. This has increased to 37% over the last year with many planning to continue to use this way of recruiting. The main benefit experienced is the flexibility of the process. Something which many of us are beginning to experience and enjoy this year.

Benefits of virtual recruitment

• Saves the candidate time and money – a significant amount of time and money is usually spent by the candidate traveling to interview.
• Saves the recruiter time – managers are likely to be part of the recruitment stage and their time is precious and limited. A remote interview via video call will not take up as much of their day as a face-to-face interview would.
• Speeds up the process – likely to be able to fit more interviews into a day, speeding up the process and filling the position faster.
• Easier to arrange interviews – with traditional recruitment there is typically a lot of back and forth when arranging a suitable date and time. A virtual interview will fit into their day a lot more easily, therefore it is easier to arrange.

Tips for virtual recruitment

• During online interviews, it is easy to accidentally speak over one another. Make the conscious effort to pause before you begin speaking to ensure that the candidate has finished their sentence.
• Use a free platform that anyone can download when conducting video interviews.
• Maintain good communication with the candidates between each stage of interviews.
• Involve team members in the interview process – especially those who will be directly working with them as it is important they integrate well with the team.
• Send them a test/task to do – to highlight key skills that they claim to have.

Onboarding Remotely

As well as recruiting for a role remotely, many are onboarding remotely too. This is especially the case for those who are planning to keep remote working. The poll by Milkround found that two-thirds of HR leaders plan to continue virtual onboarding after COVID. This suggests many have found it somewhat of a success.

Tips for remote onboarding

• Put together a welcome pack that includes all of your company’s rules and regulations which they can access easily.
• The manager should have a short call with the successful candidate on their first day welcoming them into the business.
• Introduce them to the team so that they know the team they will be working with, albeit remotely.

How can oneHR help?

oneHR provides you with the essential tools to create a smooth and effective remote onboarding process. This will help you to introduce new starters to your business and culture with ease.

The following features on oneHR will offer great value to your onboarding process:

• Unlimited cloud-based document storage – to keep all relevant documents such as employee contracts and company handbooks safe, secure, and easily accessible. The new employee will be able to access all documentation that is relevant to their role remotely.
• Employee directory – our secure online database allows you to keep accurate records of employees, with fields to track all relevant employment information.
• Task management – our task manager allows you to pre-set a number of tasks for your new employees ahead of their start date, giving them a clear process to follow during their induction process.

If you have any further questions or queries about the content above or would like to request a demo for oneHR, please don’t hesitate to contact the oneHR team today.

E: contact@onehrsoftware.com

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