Over the past month, remote working has moved from being a company-specific policy to a government-led emergency policy. Employers will be asking employees to work from home to stop the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. During this pandemic, businesses will be looking for every opportunity to operate in an effective manner and drive towards “business as usual” wherever possible.
The Early Adopters
Marquee companies such as Google, Amazon, LinkedIn and Facebook were early adopters of working from home practices and rolled out many new policies that would allow them to operate effectively, not least of which affected their hiring and interview practices. Amazon cancelled most face-to-face interviews and moved to virtual interview portals for candidates to connect with recruiters via the company’s video-conferencing software; whilst Google moved all candidate interviews to Google Hangouts or Bluejeans. Over the past six weeks, the classic interview process has been replaced by innovative sourcing, scheduling and virtual interaction.
Remote Job Interviews
The Xcede Group has seen a massive shift in the way companies are now recruiting as virtual interactions are taking the place of in-person job interviews. We have seen a 62% increase in the number of companies using video interviews to hire staff over the past six weeks. This sudden shift in the process means a new set of skills is required for the employee and the employer. Hiring remotely should not detract from the quality of the hire and hopefully means a swift, accurate and comprehensive process. The early phases have exposed a number of companies who were not completely prepared for remote work and it has taken them a couple of weeks to adjust.
Innovative Solutions
Now, as many us move into our third or fourth week from home, we are seeing a new approach to hiring and this is allowing projects to begin being staffed once again. The Xcede Group has been working with our clients to support this process shift and create new innovative solutions that will allow them to hire, scale and continue where possible with business as usual.
“I’m confident one good outcome will arise from this situation and that is a cultural and mindset adjustment for many businesses on how accessible home working is and the opportunity for flexibility in the workplace,” said Adam Marsh, CEO at Xcede Group, we are already exploring how we can incorporate a long-term, more flexible working environment across our business.
