Recruitment after lockdown – what role will CSR play after the crisis
COVID-19 has introduced a number of challenges for businesses over the last few months, but also a great deal of opportunity, for both organisations and employees. Companies have been ‘thrown in the deep-end’ with forced remote working and have had to adapt quickly, but some, if not most, are realising that they can successfully operate and even experience more efficient growth with a large percentage of employees working remotely. This shift in working style is also something many people seek in a job; the 2018 Global Talent Trends study found that 51% of employees wanted their company to offer more flexible work options. How will recruitment after the lockdown look?
What is CSR’s role in recruitment?
Companies have drastically changed how they operate since the COVID-19 pandemic impacted the world, and this new reality is likely to have a significant impact on how they attract and retain top talent, now on a global scale. Over recent years, people have been more interested in the type of companies they work for; their reputation, actions to support the community, environment and their employees. Bolstering CSR efforts is, therefore, becoming key to remaining competitive, especially in the response to this crisis. This intense competition and CSR’s role in the shift of how talent strategy is developed will be based on promoting and championing 3 key themes:
1. Workforce Diversity
By capitalising on the full range of benefits remote working provides, companies will be focused on broadening the range of backgrounds and ethnicities within their workforce when recruiting after the lockdown. It’s realistic that companies will be able to recruit for roles across the globe, bringing even more diversity of skills and experience. Due to the much larger pool of talent to recruit from, prioritising the unbiased evaluation of talent will be key; requiring a more refined focus on skills relevance, fit within both the role and organisation and being able to utilise an individual’s strengths to optimise their engagement.
2. Employee Wellness
Where candidates previously focused on ‘in-office’ benefits, they may now turn their attention to how companies support agile working.
As many of us have experienced, the success of remote working is highly dependent on the flexibility of the company and it’s working styles, as well as having the right supportive facilities. While companies are likely to see a decrease in spend on renting office space, they should expect to increase spending on equipment and services to support their employees in working from home. This is directly linked to maintaining employee wellbeing and will certainly be another area candidates will consider when applying for remote roles, thus becoming an area of competition in the market. This will be an important factor when recruiting after lockdown.
3. Environmental Sustainability
Efforts to reduce their environmental footprint is already on many organisation’s priority list and has been a key focus for candidates when searching for jobs. The recent pandemic and increase in remote working have meant a significant reduction in the need to travel to office locations, resulting in less transport-related emissions and many other ecological benefits. Organisations willing to use this period of drastic change as a springboard into a more efficient and environmentally-friendly way of working are much more likely to attract and recruit top talent if they continue to adapt their business model in this manner.
In summary, how an organisation responds to COVID-19 and continues to incorporate positive changes into their business model will have a significant impact on both their recruitment strategy and general business strategy success. Adopting an increased level of business agility and supporting their employees with such changes will ultimately give rise to a more diverse workforce in skills, background and ethnicities, providing a distinct competitive edge in recruiting top talent from across the world.
By Michael Boham
Co-Founder and CEO of Skillsize
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Recruitment after lockdown – what role will CSR play after the crisis
COVID-19 has introduced a number of challenges for businesses over the last few months, but also a great deal of opportunity, for both organisations and employees. Companies have been ‘thrown in the deep-end’ with forced remote working and have had to adapt quickly, but some, if not most, are realising that they can successfully operate and even experience more efficient growth with a large percentage of employees working remotely. This shift in working style is also something many people seek in a job; the 2018 Global Talent Trends study found that 51% of employees wanted their company to offer more flexible work options. How will recruitment after the lockdown look?
What is CSR’s role in recruitment?
Companies have drastically changed how they operate since the COVID-19 pandemic impacted the world, and this new reality is likely to have a significant impact on how they attract and retain top talent, now on a global scale. Over recent years, people have been more interested in the type of companies they work for; their reputation, actions to support the community, environment and their employees. Bolstering CSR efforts is, therefore, becoming key to remaining competitive, especially in the response to this crisis. This intense competition and CSR’s role in the shift of how talent strategy is developed will be based on promoting and championing 3 key themes:
1. Workforce Diversity
By capitalising on the full range of benefits remote working provides, companies will be focused on broadening the range of backgrounds and ethnicities within their workforce when recruiting after the lockdown. It’s realistic that companies will be able to recruit for roles across the globe, bringing even more diversity of skills and experience. Due to the much larger pool of talent to recruit from, prioritising the unbiased evaluation of talent will be key; requiring a more refined focus on skills relevance, fit within both the role and organisation and being able to utilise an individual’s strengths to optimise their engagement.
2. Employee Wellness
As many of us have experienced, the success of remote working is highly dependent on the flexibility of the company and it’s working styles, as well as having the right supportive facilities. While companies are likely to see a decrease in spend on renting office space, they should expect to increase spending on equipment and services to support their employees in working from home. This is directly linked to maintaining employee wellbeing and will certainly be another area candidates will consider when applying for remote roles, thus becoming an area of competition in the market. This will be an important factor when recruiting after lockdown.
3. Environmental Sustainability
Efforts to reduce their environmental footprint is already on many organisation’s priority list and has been a key focus for candidates when searching for jobs. The recent pandemic and increase in remote working have meant a significant reduction in the need to travel to office locations, resulting in less transport-related emissions and many other ecological benefits. Organisations willing to use this period of drastic change as a springboard into a more efficient and environmentally-friendly way of working are much more likely to attract and recruit top talent if they continue to adapt their business model in this manner.
In summary, how an organisation responds to COVID-19 and continues to incorporate positive changes into their business model will have a significant impact on both their recruitment strategy and general business strategy success. Adopting an increased level of business agility and supporting their employees with such changes will ultimately give rise to a more diverse workforce in skills, background and ethnicities, providing a distinct competitive edge in recruiting top talent from across the world.
Co-Founder and CEO of Skillsize
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