The New Year started on a good note for most, we all celebrated the beginning of a new decade and looked forward to the blissful year. Individuals had aspirations and goals. Business owners had great optimism regarding the New Year but unknown to them and the more than 7.53 billion people who currently occupy the world, something big was about to serve as a hitch to those lofty aspirations and dreams. Corona Virus, which is commonly known as COVID-19 started like a mere disease whose outbreak “we thought” was effectively contained, but we were wrong.
Currently, COVID-19 has gotten to every continent in the world and is wreaking havoc on not just humans but businesses and the industry. The stock market has experienced a sudden decline, the prices of oil have dropped, and the whole world is on the brink of chaos. Businesses are developing measures to adapt quickly to thrive, and it is quite possible that the legacy of the corona may end up altering the nature of appointment and the landscape of the workplace.
The recruitment industry is, no doubt, the hardest hit by the pandemic. Most companies present in the industry have increasingly turned to recruitment software companies for recruiting tools that can enable the use of online communication tools (amongst others) to prevent face-to-face meetings where possible. Aside from the use of online communication tools, some measures have also been put in place by these companies to ensure that the appointment process doesn’t risk the lives of applicants and clients or further aid the transmission of the infection, which is currently in 162 countries worldwide.
In this article, we are going to brief you on effective tips to adopt in supporting candidates and clients during the era of this pandemic, which was caused by corona.
Video Interview
As we all know, COVID-19 is contagious; this means that it can be transmitted from one person to another through a number of ways such as a handshake, sneeze, etc. Because of this, it is important that companies who recruit employers review how they carry out their interviews and adopt a technique that requires zero or less contact without compromising the actual goal of the dialogue. One of the few and effective techniques that can be adopted without putting the lives of applicants and clients at risk is the use of video dialogue.
Unlike the manual meeting, which requires the physical presence of the applicant, a video dialogue can be done anywhere around the world at the convenience of the applicant. All that is required is a video dialogue software, and an internet-enabled device (a phone or a laptop). The use of this technique to conduct meetings would go a long way in mitigating the spread of the coronavirus, which has stifled several sectors of the global economy.
For instance, due to the spread of the disease, search engine giants, Google, has moved all interviews to hangouts for the safety of the interviewers and interviewees. Google isn’t the first to adopt such an approach in the light of the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak. Social media giants, Facebook, called off all in-person job interview for safety reasons. Amazon also put on-site job interviews on hold indefinitely due to the disease. With a huge uncertainty surrounding the development of a cure for the bacteria, adopting video dialogue is the best way to help prospective entrants and consumers during these trying times.
Postponing the interview
In everything, safety comes first. Of course, it is crucial that organisations recruits new employees, but with the outbreak of the novel corona, effective measures must be taken to protect candidates and consumers by stopping the further transmission of the disease. One of these measures is the postponement of interviews.
Since the manual appointment process requires face-to-face meetings, including other gestures like handshakes, etc., an applicant can acquire the COVID-19 in the process. So the best measure to adopt to prevent such a scenario is the suspension of the interview until a cure is developed for the virus. You can either decide to postpone the interview or keep the candidates posted on any changes. These changes can be the new date or an alternative meeting strategy that wouldn’t endanger the health of the candidates.
Disbursing helpful information regarding the virus
Ignorance kills faster than a cardiac arrest or a bullet in the head. Knowledge they say is power and an in-depth knowledge regarding the COVID-19 would go a long way in helping any individual protect his or herself from this outbreak. One effective way to support clients and entrants during this trying period is by disbursing important tips regarding how to protect one’s self from the spread of the disease that has claimed over 4,000 lives.
Encouraging participants and consumers to remain indoors and stay away from crowded areas, including other crucial information would be helpful in supporting these persons during this Coronavirus pandemic. Also, information regarding how to determine a carrier of the disease can be provided to patrons and applicants.
Being proactive
Taking proactive actions to safeguard the health of patrons and candidates during the spread of corona is an ideal way to support these set of individuals during a period like this. Necessary measures should be put in place to ensure that face-to-face meetings are reduced to the optimum. For instance, temperature scanners can be used to monitor the temperature of clients and entrants. The temperature scanners would help to identify individuals who have symptoms related to the infection, and this can help to halt its transmission.
Also there should be travel restrictions to countries worst hit by the virus. Returnees from such countries should also be quarantined as safety precaution to avoid further transmission of the infection.
Stopping the spread of misinformation
If we are to be sincere with ourselves, COVID-19 isn’t as deadly as some diseases that has plagued the human race since antiquity. If you carried out an in-depth research you will discover that COVID-19 has a low fatality rate compared to other illnesses such as common cold, Aids, cancer, etc. Sometimes, the fear is actually what kills and not the infection itself. And such fear can be developed by the spread of misinformation regarding COVID-19.
By making candidates and clients understand that this infection isn’t as fatal as it seems, you will help them remain at ease and mitigate unnecessary panicking. Not everyone who contracts the virus dies. A 48 year old woman from Ohio, United States, who was diagnosed of COVID-19 is currently stable and recovering after being quarantined. Ensuring that your clients and candidates get genuine information regarding the virus is a good way to support them and avoid unnecessary chaos or pandemonium. In a period where the world is at the brink of collapse, hope and not fear is what everyone need.
Maintaining constant communication
During a period where more than half of the world’s population is in self-isolation, maintaining constant communication with your prospects is an ideal way to show your support and care. A trying period such as this requires more than just self-isolation. Because humans are social beings many individuals would slip into depression due to the effects of self-isolation. One way to prevent this is by constantly reaching out to your applicants and clients; take the thoughts of the pandemic off their mind by showing them that there is someone out there who care about their well-being irrespective of the outbreak. Send them memos that incite hope and quell all fears regarding the infection.
Conclusion
The novel COVID-19 has affected all industries, thus making various companies and organizations revise their modus operandi to limit the spread of the infection. In-person recruitment has been halted, and a more effective measure (the use of appointment software) has been adopted by most companies. The use of a software in the enlisting of new applicants won’t only curtail the transmission of the infection; it would also make the enlisting process easy and stress-free.
