In the early stages of the pandemic, Gartner, a leading research and advisory company, conducted a survey of HR leaders and found that 54% of organizations delayed full-time candidates’ start dates and 31% canceled internship programs. In addition, 63% of recruiting leaders reported that more than half of their job openings were frozen.
More than a year later, job openings are starting to rise again and candidates are in the driver’s seat in many industries that are roaring back to business.
The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly changed recruiting, hiring and the way (and places) we choose to work. As we continue to inch our way out of the global pandemic and begin hiring again at a rapid pace, HR leaders and hiring managers will be navigating a market where candidates will be in high demand. An organization’s employee value proposition, options for mobility and increased flexibility will be more important than ever.
Allied Van Lines’ Corporate Relocation Services team gets to work with hiring managers and HR teams across the globe, and here are three key strategies they are deploying to win at corporate recruiting after one of the most challenging years in recent history.
Strengthen Your Employee Value Proposition
To be an employer of choice in your industry, it is important to define and promote your value proposition to your teammates and prospective new hires. This effort must be embraced and adopted across the entire organization. HR can help design and guide the employee value proposition, but company leaders and hiring managers need to bring it to life every day, making it part of the company culture.
Here are some questions to help frame or evolve your employee value proposition:
- What are compelling facets of our company culture?
- How competitive and unique are our benefits?
- How do we support continued learning and development?
- What type of work-life customization do we offer our teammates?
- What type of work location and time frames do we offer our teammates?
- How do we support teammates’ family-life/demands/flexibility needs?
- What profile of teammates excels at our organization? What are their key attributes?
- What type of reputation does our management team have, and what type of leadership do we want to be known for?
- If a candidate searches for information about our organization online, what type of impression will they have about our company and culture?
Evolving for the Work-From-Home Economy
One of the things the pandemic forced upon us is the great remote work experiment, and in many cases, it worked (thank you, Zoom). According to a Stanford University study, 42% of Americans have been working from home full-time during the pandemic and work-from-home employees now account for more than two-thirds of U.S. economic activity.
For HR leaders this means that organizations are set up to recruit and hire from a wider, much more diverse talent pool for roles that do not need to be tied to specific locations. We can now access top talent who have the infrastructure and experience to successfully work remotely from all over the world.
According to research from Alight, a cloud-based provider of human capital and business solutions, 48% of employees think working remotely will be considered the same as working at a physical company location in the next two years.
How is your organization responding to the work-from-home economy? Is it prepared to support virtual work well into the future? Is your organization diversifying its talent pool by looking beyond traditional geographies and talent pools such as colleges and technical schools? Is your digital recruitment strategy up to date?
These are important topics to address in order to ensure your organization can successfully navigate this new world of remote and hybrid work models, while also capitalizing on the broader talent pool that has become widely available to us.
Mobility Matters
Shifting to the work-from-home economy has meant that employees have had the opportunity to shift their mindset about work. For some, that has meant choosing where they want to live — closer to family, the outdoors or a place with a lower cost of living — and then finding remote career opportunities that fit their chosen lifestyle.
Architects, designers and real estate professionals are all reimagining how workspaces are built and where they are located because of the lessons from COVID-19 and the advent of the remote workforce. Offices will evolve into collaboration hubs vs. spaces designed for individual tasks.
Organizations are navigating new policies, management capabilities and infrastructure investments to accommodate our mobile workforces. Some things to be sure to review and keep up to date related to mobility options include:
- Remote office technology and tools
- Remote work policies
- Training for leaders who are new to managing remote teams
- Travel policies
- Relocation/moving benefits
In order to rebuild workforces, industries and economies around the world in the post-pandemic era, mobility will be a critical tool. Organizations with the right policies and infrastructure that recognize the importance of talent deployment to economic recovery will bounce back more rapidly.
If your workforce is on the move, Allied Van Lines’ Corporate Relocation Services can support your organization with customized relocation and moving solutions to ensure your talent gets to where they need to be safely and efficiently. We have created a helpful Moving Checklist you can share with your relocating employees to help provide a smooth transition, download below.
Allied Van Lines, The Careful Movers, supports local, long-distance and international corporate moves — large and small — and is the largest mover network in the world. With over 90 years of experience, we’re here when you need us to ensure your company and your top talent move forward into the future, together. Learn more.
