Though we've seen unemployment dip after its sharp pandemic spike, it's still at its highest in decades. And as companies have prepared for the resulting waves of applicants, we contemplate further what should be done.
A majority of the paid workforce is hourly. As millions of these have been essential workers, that means many positions opening up again will also be in this non-salaried category. Those coming back are the hairdressers and barbers, the retail associates, the now "outdoor" waiters, the construction workers, to name a few. Truly this forgotten workforce is more important than the limited efforts in the past to create an informative and engaging candidate experience would suggest. The question is, how can we make this transition back to work as smooth as possible?
This isn't solely a question of how we can save businesses time and money while onboarding and hiring so many candidates. It's also about the candidates themselves, the people who have been furloughed and laid off, and have therefore had to focus on making do with lost income these last couple months. Therefore, I think it's important to reframe the question: how can we make this transition back to work as easy and intuitive as possible for the workers?
It starts by looking at how companies have worked to keep loyal or attract new customers during this pandemic. For example, restaurants that have been noticeably doing well during this season have had to identify solutions to make delivery accessible, quick, and appealing. Look at Chipotle. Having been around for 25 years as a highly regarded fast-casual, sit-down restaurant, they launched a user-friendly experience for direct delivery in 2018, utilizing Doordash's service to adapt. They didn't just come up with this idea in a vacuum, they were adjusting to changing consumer habits and needs. And now as restaurants have adjusted to delivery, they must readjust further. Some regions are allowing the reopening of indoor dining with restrictions, while others only allow outdoor seating. Consumers are eager to get out of their houses, so restaurants must recognize that new interest. It's an opportunity to build a competitive advantage if a restaurant can conquer this new aspect of service first.
Candidates, like consumers, will want a smooth process that takes their needs into account and feels customized to them. We need to take this into consideration when preparing for the barrage of incoming job candidates, and it's actually a two-way street. The process applicants will go through must be both optimized for their needs and the needs of the hiring managers. The hiring managers and their toolset are the other side of the formula that will make or break a company's hiring process. Hiring technologies need to be able to withstand the large volume of applicants and allow talent acquisition teams (that have likely been drastically reduced) to properly sort and prioritize those applicants while keeping their sanity. Not forgetting the application process must be candidate-friendly, to ensure top talent makes it to and through the hiring process.
To dive into these important points further, join me and the exceptional panel below for a discussion on the Importance of Candidate Experience for the Hourly Worker:
Tuesday, June 16th
2pm ET / 11am PT
