Keep These 5 Factors in Mind When Hiring for Your Business

As vaccines become more readily available and more tested, the world is beginning to open back up and creating some semblance of normalcy. Perhaps the biggest issues (outside of health, of course) that the pandemic caused were with orders to shelter-in-place, causing many businesses to move their operations remote or even cease to exist in the most unfortunate cases.  If you’re a business owner you need to consider the future of hiring for your business.

The end of the pandemic and the closing of many businesses mean those businesses that survived and new ones formed will be on a hiring tear in the coming months. With remote work expected to continue long after COVID is finally just a memory, some strategies to take and new traits to consider when looking to add team members. Here are 5 of the most important factors when hiring in the post-COVID world.

Tech Savviness

For many people, the biggest proverbial wrench in adjusting to work-from-home orders was not having an IT person help out when computer issues arise. With that, and especially if you’re hiring a remote employee, be sure to test their tech-savviness. Simple things like logging on to Zoom calls or using a cloud-based service to share files like resumés and cover letters are nice subtle tests for checking tech-savviness.

Cultural Awareness

Cultural awareness and inclusion are morally sound, but data has repeatedly shown that an inclusive workplace performs higher than its less-inclusive counterparts. Training is where cultural awareness begins, and your current employees should certainly be brushing up regularly. However, when it comes to potential employees, it can be difficult to see where they are mentally regarding inclusive workplace procedures, so it may be best to ask. Cultural awareness is critical in the post-COVID world, as remote work means more potential employees.

Expand Your Pool

There are more potential employees because remote work means employees don’t have to live anywhere near an office or other workplace. This allows hiring to also expand far beyond the borders of a given town. Formerly, hiring teams could still search the globe for talent, but some locales are not alluring, and even the best businesses lose potential workers due to living in a less-than-desirable place. No longer does there need to be the risks associated with relocating for individuals who want to work for a company far away. A wall-less business means a wall-less hiring pool! Take advantage of it.

Data

Data and artificial intelligence (AI) make every aspect of business more efficient, and hiring is no exception. Using programs made specifically for hiring teams, HR departments can input data and select filters to help them narrow down candidates by looking for keywords within cover letters or omitting any resumés that may contain certain language that disqualifies them.

On the other side of the data coin, it’s also great to work in some subtleties regarding potential employees’ knowledge levels regarding data usage. It will only keep getting more important when making processes more efficient in the workplace, remote or otherwise.

Consider 3^rd Party Hires (Freelancers)

The “gig life” or gig economy was already growing quickly, and COVID gave many individuals a little extra time to work on their so-called side hustles. For many lines of work, this can be achieved simply by posting your abilities on a freelance website like Fiverr or UpWork. These services are also great for the hiring parties because they do the data work for you and funnel you right to the talent they believe will serve your needs best. Many short-term freelance contracts become long-term employees!

In Addition…

These five factors are important regarding post-COVID hiring practices, but the classic intangibles are also still just as important. Politeness, respect, and hard work are still just as important in the digital world, even if human contact will be much less frequent for some individuals.

Image courtesy of Unsplash.