Most industries are experiencing a hiring freeze as a result of isolation orders and social distancing requirements, and although certain essential industries have actually seen an uptick in hiring, many people are left to wonder how they can most effectively spend their time to prepare for the new world that will evolve over the coming months? 

Here are 5 tips to effectively prepare for the return to normal hiring practices and ensure you have the quality support you need during the recovery period. 

5 proactive steps to prepare for the next wave of hiring

1. Examine and evaluate your tech stack for areas of improvement

Recent events have highlighted the need to establish a robust list of technologies to support your remote and frontline staff. Are there any processes that are being performed manually today that could be streamlined or automated? For example, automating recruitment processes has been shown to be an effective method to increase hiring satisfaction for candidates and hiring managers, reduce turnover rates, and decrease hiring costs. By re-examining and automating your recruitment processes now, you can hit the ground running when hiring practices return to normal.

2. Gain a new skill

Many professionals are using this time for personal development by expanding their skill sets with online videos and courses, as well as cross training to new departments to support other key areas within their organizations. Others are taking the time to learn mindfulness meditation or other techniques to help reduce stress and anxiety caused by recent isolation. 

3. Branding to attract qualified candidates 

For many organizations, branding is a key initiative which has seen renewed focus now that additional time is available. Organizations are re-evaluating their social media presence, leveraging their employees’ networks while they work from home. Similarly, some teams are using the downtime to create relevant branded content for their audience, or even branding aspects of their hiring process to enhance the candidate experience.

4. Plan for backfilling key positions

Just because hiring has frozen does not necessarily mean that turnover will freeze in kind. It is important to come up with a plan for business continuity in the case of an employee’s sudden departure, illness, or other mitigating factors. Gaining visibility into employees who are at risk of leaving is an important step for maintaining stability in your organization during this period of change. Similarly, helping your employees foster new skills with cross training will ensure that someone is always able to pick up the slack when necessary. In certain cases, you may need to be prepared to outsource key roles temporarily.

5. Fostering a robust candidate pipeline 

In order to effectively prepare for the gradual return to normal hiring practices, recruiters and hiring managers are spending a larger portion of their time on strategies to foster new candidate pipelines. Reaching out to, and staying connected with, potential candidates can give your organization a head start when the world returns to business as usual. One method to organically develop your candidate pipeline is by passively sourcing potential hires from your existing candidates extended networks. Tools like Checkster’s Reference Insights can effectively create an average of 5 new candidates for every candidate screened, by leveraging their former co-workers with similar skill sets.