News & Events
Hiring Before COVID and Now
Hiring in the past 24 months has come full circle – intentional to crazed to again cautious and deliberate. Of course, this is not true for every position, in every geography with every company. But there were evolutions in the hiring process happening before Covid that were accelerated with Covid. Companies that embrace these changes and put a process in place have higher retention, more success attracting talent, and are better prepared for the evolving landscape of talent management.
#1 Trend: Demands of Candidates changed and are not returning to "normal." A new normal is being reset for each company, position, and geography. Remote work, salaries, total compensation packages, work-life balance, and amount of travel are discussed very early in every hiring discussion. While needing policies flexibility is a company's best friend when it comes to attracting talent.
#2 Trend: A hiring brand is essential and best serves a company when it is intentional. During Covid, the pressure to get someone on board became intense. Companies "dumped" their standards and made many mistakes out of fear of not having someone. As Covid is further and further in the rearview mirror, we are trending back to more measured intentional hiring. Organizations that intentionally identify their corporate hiring brand and consistently execute on the brand attract more talent and the right talent.
With the trends above pushing change in our industry, some constants need attention.
#1 Constant: We are experiencing a growing skills gap and must bring in more people from outside the industry at every level of the organization. The skills needed to run our organizations 20 years ago are very different than today. The need for more technology and technical expertise continues to grow, and we struggle to bring this expertise.
#2 Constant: Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) are critical to a sustainable, high-performing workforce. Traditionally we've identified people for roles from "the ranks.” If we continue that path, we will not have enough people to do the jobs, and we will not have enough people thinking and questioning outside the box to bring innovation to our industry. Diversity and inclusion are 1) the right thing to do, 2) ensure we have enough people to fill our jobs, and 3) bring innovation through diversity of thought. The best DEI focused companies are very deliberate about executing DEI programs.
In conclusion, while much has changed during Covid, much has stayed the same. Making talent acquisition part of the strategic plan will guide the ever-changing landscape.
If you want to discuss in more detail, please email me at debbie@ednarice.com or call 713-447-9569.
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