FACILITIES MANAGEMENT JOURNAL JOBS
FM CAREERS - RECRUITMENT
VIRTUAL ONBOARDING Nicolas Speeckaert, Co-Founder and Director of skeeled, a provider of AI predictive talent acquisition
software, on the benefi ts of virtual recruitment in the ‘hybrid workplace’
The UK is forging
ahead with
its COVID-19
vaccine programme
and most businesses
and employees are
looking forward to a
return to some kind
of normality over the
coming months. But
what will this look
like and how has the
pandemic changed the world of work?
The most noticeable change has been the shi‰ to
remote working. With COVID-19 restrictions in place
for much of the past year, workers have been forced
to work at home, accelerating flexible working
trends that were already gaining momentum prior
to the pandemic.
This is likely to continue, as many workers don’t
want to return to the o„ ice full-time. A recent
survey from digital workplace firm, Claromentis
revealed that a‰ er the threat of the pandemic
subsides almost three quarters (73 per cent) of
UK knowledge workers want a ‘hybrid’ working
arrangement, splitting their time between home
and the o„ ice.
Of the 73 per cent, the average employee wants to
work from home for around two thirds (64 per cent)
of their working week and spend around a third (36
per cent) of their time working from the o„ ice.
Many companies are adopting a ‘hybrid working’
model in response, especially since working at
home didn’t seem to have a detrimental e„ ect on
productivity. Research from Mercer last year found
that 94 per cent of employers said their company
productivity was the same (67 per cent) or higher
(27 per cent) than before the pandemic.
BP recently announced that its 25,000 global
employees will be expected to work from home
for two days per week a‰ er the pandemic in a
permanent shi‰ to flexible working; and Metro Bank
has also announced that it is developing a ‘hybrid
model’ for its sta„ .
However, for companies to successfully move to
a hybrid working model, they may need to review
their processes and the technology they use to
ensure business as usual no matter where people
are working.
RECRUITMENT GOES DIGITAL
One key area where technology has proved
invaluable throughout the pandemic is recruitment.
O„ ices may have been closed and hiring halted
to begin with, but many companies soon got to
grips with hiring online - interviewing, hiring and
onboarding new recruits over Zoom or Teams
without ever meeting them in person.
In fact, there are likely now to be several thousand
employees who have never met their work
colleagues or boss in person, or even been into
their o„ ice, having been recruited since the start of
COVID-19.
The pandemic it seems was the ideal testing
ground for virtual recruitment and showed
employers that it is possible and e„ ective with
the right tools. It’s something that is here to stay,
especially given the move to hybrid working.
Last year, recruitment outsourcing company
Cielo highlighted that most employers are now
comfortable using technology for talent acquisition,
with 82 per cent of hiring managers saying they
will continue to interview using video once the
pandemic is over.
Two fi‰ hs (41 per cent) are happy to onboard sta„
virtually and 32 per cent are not concerned about
making job o„ ers without meeting candidates face
to face.
Other research in October 2020 by LinkedIn
found that 84 per cent of talent professionals in the
Europe, Middle East and Africa area (EMEA) and 80
per cent of professionals in the UK believe virtual
recruitment is here to stay, even a‰ er COVID-19.
The report also says that although video
interviewing and remote assessments have always
existed, this pandemic has pushed businesses to
formulate an end-to-end virtual recruiting process.
It has in essence forced businesses into the digital
world, something that is likely to bring significant
benefits going forward.
THE RISE OF HYBRID RECRUITING
Businesses are adapting to the new normal and
we are seeing demand grow for virtual talent
acquisition solutions. Now they have seen that
virtual recruitment can work more firms will be
continuing to use digital tools to conduct parts
of the recruitment process, alongside the more
traditional face-to-face methods.
Moving part of the recruitment process into the
virtual world can remove the resource intensive and
costly stages of recruitment when candidates are
screened and selected for the first interview. O‰ en
it can also benefit candidates who are more relaxed
being interviewed from home.
Companies can also identify best-fit candidates in
terms of ‘so‰ skills’ and cultural fit using predictive
assessments. These assess the candidates'
personality, cognitive ability and motivation which
are proven to be more e„ ective as job performance
predictors than past work experience alone.
Candidates are ranked in terms of ability to
succeed and to thrive in a position, as well as by
their a„ inity with their future manager. Being able
to do this remotely can save companies a lot of time
and negate the need to meet people face-to-face in
the early stages.
More companies are also introducing digital
onboarding programmes using online collaboration
tools, supported by adequate documents and
materials.
With more people chasing jobs and employers
seeing high volumes of applicants for each job
role advertised recruiting virtually can be a real
advantage. Technology can save companies
hours of time and cost and ensure a more fair and
objective selection process.
It can also help ensure that the recruitment
process works e„ ectively no matter where people
are based. With hybrid working likely to become
more popular in the future, virtual recruiting is
likely to become the norm for many companies too.
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