Before making an offer to hire anyone, you need to go through the entire recruitment process. It starts with writing the job description and ends with making the offer. But in between, you need to do a lot of other tasks. You need to optimize your ad with the proper keywords, post it and manage the online listing, sort candidates, schedule interviews, discuss options with your time, create an offer package, and accept your final candidate.
If you’re doing all of this virtually, it can be very complicated. Here are some tips to handle virtual recruitment. With good data practices and clear communication, you can stand out and net top talent for your company. Here’s how.
Posting the Position
Once you create the initial job description, consult with a marketing and recruitment expert. This person will be able to tell you which platform makes the most sense for your industry. For instance, coffee shops don’t typically recruit on LinkedIn. Then, you’ll need to optimize the keywords in the job description to attract top candidates. Make sure to include links to your company website and any notes about residency requirements.
Post the ad online and designate someone to oversee the account. It should be their job to respond to incoming questions, schedule interviews, and take down the listing at the end of the recruitment process. If necessary, create and schedule immigration ads to target overseas talent. The best part about virtual recruitment is that you don’t need to limit your talent pool to the local geographic region. Make sure to note which percentage of the job will be done remotely, and if that percentage will change when COVID dies down. This might affect the types of applicants you receive.
Voice vs. Video Interviews
When it’s time to meet your candidates, you will need to decide whether to start with voice calls or video calls. In the early stages of your recruitment process, it’s probably fine to stick to voice calls. With overseas candidates, you can use a web conferencing platform on audio-only calls. Remind candidates that they don’t need to show their faces during this stage. This can be a great way to get to know clients while removing any implicit bias you might have about appearances or demographic data like age, race, or gender.
If they came to you via a specific marketing campaign, it’s okay to ask them. You’ll want to know if your PERM advertising was effective and which platforms reached the best talent. This can inform future marketing campaigns for additional talent.
In the latter stages of recruitment, it might be wise to switch to video interviews. This allows your team to get a sense of how the person interacts face-to-face. If this person will be working directly with customers, for instance, you might want to see how they express themselves. Since much of the business world will continue working remotely in the next year, you need to be able to assess how comfortable the candidate is with technology.
Virtual Candidate Experience
You’re halfway there! You now have great candidates in the running, thanks to your permanent labor certification ads. Now it’s time to focus on retaining their attention throughout the process so you don’t lose top talent to competitors. In a virtual hiring experience, it can be difficult to give each candidate individual attention. However, it’s even more critical to do so in a virtual environment.
Assign an existing employee or HR person to stay in constant communication with your candidates. Keep them in the loop with regular emails and additional information about the company. Check in with them to confirm they are still interested in the job. They should feel connected to your company and in the loop.
Tracking Analytics
As a side note, make sure that someone on your team is tracking analytics. If you invested in immigration ads, ask your marketing partners to present initial findings about the effectiveness of different ads. Ideally, you should have several different descriptions and platforms working for you. If one is working better than another, you can pull resources from the ineffective one and redirect them to the better option.
The best marketing teams are constantly tracking analytics, so this should not be a problem. Ask them about how many clicks, views, and engagements each post is getting. Make sure you ask them to prepare a cost-benefit analysis to understand if the amount you paid is worth the result. From digital banners to physical billboards, you should be getting a powerful return on your investment. Ask for analytics related to the types of people who are replying to the campaign, too.
Keeping Data Secure
Finally, a crucial part of the virtual recruitment process is the secure handling of candidate data. From contact information embedded in resumes to delicate video calls with candidates who are currently working for a competitor, it is important to think ahead about how to protect the data of your candidates.
Make sure that only essential team members have access to candidate files. Encode your folders with passwords for extra protection. Use a password for your video conferences so that no one can “Zoom bomb” you and secretly record or listen in without your consent.
Virtual recruitment presents many challenges, but it’s an opportunity for your company to impress candidates with fluent technical skills and personable communications. From impressive and well-thought-out immigration ads to well-designed and competitive offer packages, take this opportunity to stand out from your competitors. Nail your PERM advertising, stay in constant communication, and make sure your data practices are squeaky clean. You can always outsource these tasks to an outside agency if desired, but make sure you set out clear expectations around privacy and reporting before making any arrangements. Best of luck with your virtual hiring process!
