Addressing the hiring pain points caused by COVID-19

As the economy starts the process of returning to normal, many companies will need to hire people to fill the vacancies left by people they had to let go because of the slowdown in business caused by COVID-19. Now is a good time to look at your current application process to see how you can improve it and eliminate any pain points.

According to Beth Kempton, content strategist at Hireology, a long application form can be a deterrent for many applicants who are likely applying for a variety of jobs as they try to recover from their COVID-19 layoffs.  Keep your application as concise as possible and make sure you have a complete job description that clearly explains the requirements of the position. One trick is to allow applicants to upload resumes and cover letters in lieu of filling out a lengthy application.

A good piece of advice: make sure applications are mobile friendly. Several recent surveys indicate that 90% of job applicants use a mobile device during some part of the job search process. You want your application to be as accessible as possible.

Hireology says that on average it is taking managers 10 days to review and respond to job applicants. Do what you can to speed up that process to avoid losing out on quality candidates who are anxious to get back into the work force. Quickly determine who is qualified and move them along to the next phase of the hiring process and send rejection letters to those you are not going to move forward.

Communication is key throughout the hiring process. Consider using text messages to keep candidates appraised of the status of their application or even to schedule interviews.

There are ways to automate the referral checking process that can help speed that up. Have candidates fill out contact information or their references using a program that then will automatically send a survey for references to fill out. With its system Hireology says reference checks are taking less than two days and the average response rate is 85%.

As businesses begin returning to full staffing, having a streamlined application process can be the difference between getting the most qualified candidates and having to settle for second best.

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Jane Clark focuses on managing the member services operation at NationaLease as vice president of member services. She works to strength member relationships, reduce member costs, and improve collaboration within the NationaLease supporting groups.