At the start of 2020, in Romania, it was considered somewhat of a rarity for employees to be able to work from home. Those forward-thinking, technologically sound businesses were few and far between. Fast forward to March 2020 and this way of thinking and doing business changed overnight. Lockdown restrictions forced office workers to set up offices in spare bedrooms, dining room tables, and any corner of their home that they could find to quietly carry on with their job.

Undoubtedly, some businesses not already set-up for working from home will have struggled to find their feet and scrabbled to implement adequate technology to ensure direct communication with customers and their team could continue. However, 8 months down the line, most businesses have now fully adapted to this new way of working and many of the virtues have been praised.

People are saving money by not having to commute to work, they have more time in the morning to fit in a quick workout or a calm cup of coffee while still benefiting from the camaraderie of an office with regular conversations over channels such as Hangouts, Slack or Zoom, Workplace.

But how the pandemic affected the recruitment industry?

Less open positions

Many organizations have already found themselves in the unfortunate situation of laying off employees. Companies are experiencing a crisis due to this uncertain situation and trying to cut down costs which will help them sail through these tough times.

Online Interviews

Thanks to COVID-19, online job interviews have become the norm. While a face-to-face interview usually involves a little small talk, during an online interview it’s often kept to a minimum. There are some advantages to online interviews, though. Although it can be harder to build up a rapport, the interview itself is often shorter, doesn’t involve travel, and means you can be in a more comfortable and familiar environment, like your living room.

Onboarding Remotely

Onboarding plays a critical role in a new hire’s success and happiness. And good onboarding is especially important for remote employees since they don’t have as many opportunities to organically integrate into the company processes and culture. Remote employee onboarding is the same process, but when the new hire is going to be working remotely rather than from the office.

Employees Are Reluctant To Switch Jobs

During this time of crisis and uncertainty, people are more likely to stay with the current employer even if they are not satisfied professionally. Workers are going to seek information about job opportunities from family, friends, and former employers. They need to feel some sort of security when deciding to change their job.

On the other hand, there are employees that have been laid off. Being pushed into finding a new career or job is actually empowering. It allows workers to get curious about who they are and how they can do work that aligns with their purpose. If you have any open positions in your company, you should take a look at all the people in need of a job because they are more likely to have a more positive approach and have bigger motivation.