Virtual Recruiting and Interviewing: The 'New Norm'

Recent months have been fast-paced and have required a huge practical and cultural shift for most companies, including here at Pro-Group, but recruitment and interview processes are beginning to have a clearer and more streamlined structure. Considering this, we have answered some of the important questions surrounding current interview processes and the position of both candidates and clients in the UK at the moment.

Are clients hiring?

Yes, companies still need staff to complete work! There is no one universal theme to hiring patterns - some firms have chosen to pause on their hiring objectives given the current situation, whereas some companies are continuing as usual, and are not letting changes to the market and workplace affect their hiring strategies.

We also expect the market to recover quickly once the dust settles on this crisis period, especially in professional services. Once we are through the other side, processes that have been paused are likely to be resumed, and we expect to be inundated with new roles.

Are candidates available?

Here at Pro-Group we are getting ahead of the curve but, of course, for some people finding a new role isn’t the number one priority in the current climate. Those who are still looking for their next challenge are taking measured steps and re-analysing their next move, but more often than not people are happy to continue with interviewing if the potential role is a significant step up - whether this is in pay or responsibility.

We are certainly seeing a number of high-quality, immediately available candidates who are open to moving jobs. Now, it is more important than ever to showcase your company and promote the reasons candidates should join your workforce, from key responsibilities and career progression to benefits and company culture.

How can we interview?

Many interview processes are continuing to go ahead, with companies utilising different softwares and online platforms to conduct interviews and continue hiring. Skype, Zoom and Microsoft Teams have been the most common platforms used to continue interview processes, and downloads of these types of apps have soared over the past few months.

With everyone working from home, arranging new interviews over the phone or by video call has been a relatively smooth process, due to the absence of fully booked diaries and difficulties getting time out of the office to interview elsewhere. Now is a much easier time to arrange communication between clients and candidates, for people to video-call during working hours, and for us to ensure quick and efficient interview turnarounds.

How do we onboard?

Virtual onboarding is absolutely becoming the new norm. Onboarding gives your new employee that all-important first impression of the company they’ve just joined, so it’s important to make sure you’re doing this right! The last thing you want is to have been through all the processes to hire the perfect person to join your team, just to lose them because your virtual onboarding process isn’t up to scratch.

This can include virtual meetings with all the people who would typically be involved in the onboarding process - the leadership team, HR, direct managers, and group meetings with the wider team. It can also include orientation to your company’s core principles, processes and systems.

Here at Pro, we are currently speaking to our candidates who have recently started new positions amidst this period of uncertainty and we will be providing further insights and advice on the virtual onboarding process.

If we can help you in any way, whether you are a candidate or a client looking for advice on new ways of job searching, interviewing or onboarding, please do give us a call. Here at Pro-Group we can help with any search needs or vacancies across Tax, Legal, Finance, HR, Marketing, Communications and Fundraising - permanent, interim or contract.

For help with your recruiting needs, please contact Tom Eagle on 020 7269 6349 or tom.eagle@pro-finance.co.uk.