Recruitment dilemma: when home becomes the office - where do you work happy?
It’s just over a year since I posed the question, “Where do you work happy?” and at that time it was to provoke a light-hearted conversation. Here we are just 12 months later and it’s a far more serious health conversation. Those of us who can are now expected to work from home and of course, there are many of us who can’t. It’s our health and social care workers, as well as businesses in related manufacturing and the food supply chain (including retailers) who are still braving face to face contact. They are putting their lives on the line to support the vulnerable and we’re all so grateful for that.
In the wake of covid-19 thousands of new jobs are being created, although for some employers the sheer volume of need is hampering progress. Recruitment processes are not always keeping up and many applicants feel ignored and confused. It’s easy to rationalise, “we simply weren’t set up to hire so many people so quickly” although accurate and timely communications remain key to job seekers.
Technology continues to revolutionise recruitment and many businesses already value on-line profiling. Video clips and remote interview options via Zoom or Skype are not unusual, yet managers still prefer the comfort of a final face to face meeting. For many, right now, that’s simply not possible. It’s time to re-evaluate recruitment from advertising to onboarding and colleague orientation. What changes can you make? How can remote options add speed without compromising quality?
Let’s reassess our recruitment priorities while this pandemic continues to test us. There’s much evidence out there to support the elimination of duplication in recruitment. If the evidence suggests that the candidate will do a great job for you, then why not discount the white noise that sometimes gets in the way? What is the perceived value of delaying progress and insisting on a face to face interview? Particularly if that face to face meeting will duplicate evidence already gathered on-line.
Do you really need to assess the suitability of potential new hires over protracted periods? And then, why delay their start date until “things get back to normal”. Get them settled at home, stay in touch and encourage them to recognise where they work happy. Manage the new normal and stay connected. Embrace the change and celebrate the loyalty of colleagues who continue to balance business objectives with home commitments to deliver great outcomes.
There are a few success stories out there right now. New recruits who didn’t expect to be home-based receiving laptops and welcome packs, along with a schedule of “meet the team” and other remote events delivered to their homes. Objectives and measures of success have been agreed, and support networks clarified. This is a very different kind of on-boarding and orientation although for many traditional businesses it signals a loss of control as employees are somehow at arm’s length.
Working from home is not without its challenges. Insightful business leaders are getting creative about how they manage their team’s and individuals’ performance. Creating virtual teams with shared values and taking time to consider individual needs, they are recognising that this is not about presenteeism, it’s about managing the outputs: what did you expect to see and to what extent was it achieved? The approach is not yet common across all sectors.
It's great to know that many businesses are promoting greater flexibility and celebrating family. There have been positive news stories of academics and other professional advisers, including lawyers and bankers, who are alternating their long days between supervising their children’s schooling and managing their team’s development. Many are learning to work alongside their children or spouses while others are adjusting to seclusion and finding their own ways to connect. Bit by bit individuals are recognising where they work happy and learning to live with a new set of distractions and working norms, including their wardrobe options.
This pandemic wasn’t planned, and it hit many businesses like a tsunami. But will the firms which have hitherto resisted remote working ever be the same again? How will they sustain the benefits of these new ways of working and entice their colleagues back to the centre? I am not supporting the dissolution of business enterprise locations, although I am urging businesses to harness the benefits of remote working and greater flexibility. This is an ever-changing landscape, let’s grab the opportunities it offers with both hands.
Article published 14th April 2020 on Cityworks website, a London-based network for professionals seeking to create flexible, diverse and inclusive workplaces.
