Background Verification During Covid-19 | Challenges And Initiatives

With the unparalleled crisis of the Covid-19 still in play, it has hit our economy hard. The outbreak resulted in putting a vast number of professionals out of their jobs and businesses. On one hand, many enterprises had no choice but to freeze their hiring processes, furlough, or even let go of employees. These industries mainly included hospitality, tourism and travel, restaurants, IT, entertainment, and more. On the other hand, certain industries such as healthcare and e-commerce experienced a sudden hike in the need to hire new employees.

In these unprecedented times, business verticals need to undertake appropriate measures to recruit new employees safely and effectively. In this article, let's take a look at some of the major challenges faced by recruiters during the pandemic. Consequently, we'll discuss how recruitments and employee background verification are conducted in the post-pandemic era.

Major Hiring Challenges Due To The Covid-19 Crisis

Mass Layoffs

One of the many repercussions of the pandemic is that companies ran short of business, finances, and resources. Most of the companies, especially the SMBs had no choice but to let a major portion of their employees leave the job. Only a small fraction of employees were retained to carry out the business ventures. Some small and medium-sized businesses, that could sustain the resources they had, didn't fire their workforce. However, they had to freeze their hiring processes as long as no clear picture came out.

Mass Recruitments

While some sectors had to face major cut downs, some others experienced a rapid rise in labor demand. It includes retails, e-commerce markets, supermarkets, healthcare, and sanitation department, online learning facilitators, and more. With the lockdown in play and health threats imposed by the pandemic, hiring was as difficult as carrying out the jobs assigned.

Onboarding Process

Another major issue during the pandemic was the onboarding process of recruits. Candidates willing to join were offered jobs, but the recruiters weren't prepared for the crisis. They didn't have enough resources to facilitate the remote onboarding of the new employees. Some companies had to keep these recruitments on hold while some others went on with remote onboarding processes. It meant additional tasks for the HR department in ensuring a regular and smooth onboarding of new employees.

Adapting To The New Normal

The coronavirus outbreak gave rise to several challenges for recruiters. However, employers needed to adapt to the changing market demands and take initiatives to stay afloat, if not thrive in the current circumstances. Let's discuss some of the major changes taking place in the talent acquisition process across various industries.

Remote Hiring

Recruiting employees remotely has significantly become the new norm. It is not just the demand for the current situation, but also a much-needed upgrade to the recruitment process. Most companies including Amazon, and Nestle, that understand the growing demand for remote hiring have already started implementing it. Moreover, due to the social distancing guidelines, the need for video interviews and online skill assessments have increased rapidly. Pre-employment background verification and skill assessment services also assist recruiters in administering hygienic recruitments during desperate times like the current situation.

Also read: Importance of the Right Employee Screening Vendor

Shifting To Online Employee Screening Methods

To survive in the current circumstances, recruiting credible applicants has become even more crucial for organizations. If you are still wondering how to maintain the talent screening processes effectively during this period, shift to online methods. They are highly efficient, cost-effective services that can assist you in finding suitable recruits for your enterprise. Besides, top background verification companies enable you to customize your tests as per the job requirements. You can receive real-time, evidence-based checks to help you with your recruiting process. Opting for these methods can enable you to maintain a strong, reliable workforce.

Also read: Evaluating Employee Potential With Psychometric Testing

Conclusion

The recruitment process across all industries are facing the brunt of the pandemic. However, it’s high time to get ahead of the crisis, take innovative measures, and adapt to the new normal. This might as well be a great opportunity to inculcate a new company culture with innovative ways to build an engaging and credible workforce.

At Flink, we help our clients embrace remote hiring practices with our IT-enabled employee background check services. Give us a call at 080-4687-2477 or drop us a line at email@flink.in to learn more about our services and ensure trusted, credible, and verified recruitments for your enterprise.