Recruitment changes during Covid-19
With the outbreak of coronavirus globally, we are all adapting to a whole new landscape of working from home (WFH) daily while ensuring recruitment processes still go ahead as planned by putting adequate measures in place. Our objective is to continue to serve our clients and candidates during this time while ensuring everyone involved stay safe.
I would like to reach out to ensure that our clients are up to date with the current situation in terms of hiring, recruitment process, and share our market observations:
- Hiring Needs. Some of our clients continue to press on their hiring needs whilst others went on a hiring freeze. Furthermore, the hiring needs are carefully reviewed and delayed due to WFH arrangements and Covid management. Nonetheless, critical budgeted new headcounts and urgent backfills continue to be the focus. At this time, we do not see any offers being rescinded and interview processes that have already started have continued to progress. Please feel free to contact me for an update on the current roles in demand.
- Virtual Screening. Our screening process hasn’t change and the face to face (albeit virtually) interviews still allow us to screen for the right talent for our clients. We check in regularly to ensure real time update of our candidates’ travel declarations and health conditions.
- Interviews. Scheduling for interviews has become more convenient as candidates now have the capacity to speak more freely at home and will make themselves available for video interviews.
- Offer Process. Offer process is always critical and especially in times of uncertainty, we advise our clients to speed up the selection decision to allay candidates’ fear of uncertainty in making career moves whilst waiting too long during such unprecedented times. It’s a new norm to have our clients make offers to candidates whom they have met virtually only despite both being in Singapore.
- E-Signing. Many banks have adopted e-signing of offer letters; it speeds up the process and WFH candidates largely resign digitally as well; allowing notice period to kick in during this WFH virus downtime so they can start work when things return to normality.
- Locals Preferred. Work Visa takes a longer time to approve during this time and hence local hires are preferred.
- More Internal Mobility. Many institutions are encouraging internal mobility as a first option to protect employees whose jobs are at risk; they also offer a faster internal solution before external hires resume to full speed.
- Virtual Onboarding. Onboarding a new employee is not like what we have seen before, where laptops, login details and access to documents have to be pre-approved to allow WFH on first days! Orientation to stakeholders and cultural nuances for the new organisation have to be conducted virtually hence it is definitely a new experience for candidates. We are staying close to our candidates starting a new role to provide advice and support in stressful times.
It is still early to understand the implications of Covid on recruitment in the long term, but for now, we are still staying connected to support our clients and candidates through this uncertain time.
Please get in touch if you require our assistance or advice.
Meanwhile, continue adopting hygiene measures, stay healthy and safe!