Gartner HR Survey Finds 86% of Organisations Are Conducting Virtual Interviews to Hire Candidates During Coronavirus Pandemic
Announcement posted by Gartner 01 May 2020
Recruiting Leaders Are Employing New Hiring Strategies During the COVID-19 Pandemic
A Gartner, Inc. poll of 334 HR leaders on April 13 found that 86% of organisations are incorporating new virtual technology to interview candidates due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In response to the uncertainty created by the pandemic, 82% of organisations anticipate a decline in external hiring across the next three months.
“Recruiting leaders are caught between the sourcing and hiring plans that were initiated before the COVID-19 outbreak and the rise in uncertainty and social and economic instability,” said Lauren Smith, vice president in the Gartner HR practice. “As external hiring slows for many organisations, and business priorities change, leaders must evaluate different methods of recruiting and hiring.”
To acquire talent amid the changing economic climate, HR leaders should consider the following measures:
Create Effective Virtual Hiring Processes
The current coronavirus crisis has pushed businesses to implement more large-scale virtual recruiting and interviewing efforts. HR should partner with recruiting leaders to ensure they can successfully use recruiting technology to create a positive candidate experience. The Gartner poll found that 85% of organisations are utilising new technology to onboard employees.
“While most organisations are currently conducting interviews remotely due to the COVID-19 pandemic, virtual interviewing may become the new standard for recruiting leaders and candidates long after social distancing guidelines are lifted,” said Ms. Smith. “The most successful organisations provide candidates with the same level of information and feeling of connection with the organisation as they would have with an in-person interview or onboarding experience.”
Realign Hiring Plans
As economic uncertainty and budget constraints impact many organisations, senior leaders are reassessing their hiring plans. Fifty-four percent of organisations have delayed candidates’ start dates and 31% have cancelled internship programs, according to Gartner research. In addition, 63% of recruiting leaders report that more than half of their job openings are currently frozen.
During these changes, recruiters and hiring managers need to effectively manage candidate emotions in order to avoid both reputational damage and difficult recruiting efforts in the future. To enhance the candidate experience, leaders should provide clear and transparent communications to candidates if the position they applied for is placed on hold. For candidates that have accepted a job offer, leaders must be as transparent as possible when communicating a delay in their start date and providing timely updates.
Encourage Internal Talent Mobility
Fifty-four percent of respondents to the Gartner poll reported that all hiring efforts, except for critical positions, will freeze in the coming months. As business needs change for many organisations, HR and senior leaders can acquire the people they need by sourcing talent internally. Gartner research shows that though they are not actively searching, 39% of employees would be open to switching to a new role within their organisation. Recruiting leaders can promote internal vacancies through online job fairs and should work with employees to locate openings.
“As organisations continue to embrace remote work policies during these circumstances, recruiting leaders should fill talent gaps through alternate employment models that present a lower risk to the organisation’s growth,” added Ms. Smith.
Additional information is available in the Gartner roadmap, “Building a Recruiting Technology Roadmap.” The roadmap can be used by HR leaders to make informed decisions on integrating technology into their recruitment efforts.
Learn more about how to lead organisations through the disruption of coronavirus in the Gartner coronavirus resource centre, a collection of complimentary Gartner research and webinars to help organisations respond, manage and prepare for the rapid spread and global impact of COVID-19.
About the Gartner HR Practice
The Gartner HR practice brings together the best relevant content approaches across Gartner to offer individual decision makers strategic business advice on the mission-critical priorities that cut across the HR function. Additional information is available at http://www.gartner.com/en/human-resources/human-resources-leaders. Follow news and updates from the Gartner HR practice on Twitter and LinkedIn using #GartnerHR.
About Gartner
Gartner, Inc. (NYSE: IT) is the world’s leading research and advisory company and a member of the S&P 500. We equip business leaders with indispensable insights, advice and tools to achieve their mission-critical priorities and build the successful organisations of tomorrow.
Our unmatched combination of expert-led, practitioner-sourced and data-driven research steers clients toward the right decisions on the issues that matter most. We are a trusted advisor and objective resource for more than 15,000 enterprises in more than 100 countries — across all major functions, in every industry and enterprise size.
To learn more about how we help decision makers fuel the future of business, visit www.gartner.com.
“Recruiting leaders are caught between the sourcing and hiring plans that were initiated before the COVID-19 outbreak and the rise in uncertainty and social and economic instability,” said Lauren Smith, vice president in the Gartner HR practice. “As external hiring slows for many organisations, and business priorities change, leaders must evaluate different methods of recruiting and hiring.”
To acquire talent amid the changing economic climate, HR leaders should consider the following measures:
Create Effective Virtual Hiring Processes
The current coronavirus crisis has pushed businesses to implement more large-scale virtual recruiting and interviewing efforts. HR should partner with recruiting leaders to ensure they can successfully use recruiting technology to create a positive candidate experience. The Gartner poll found that 85% of organisations are utilising new technology to onboard employees.
“While most organisations are currently conducting interviews remotely due to the COVID-19 pandemic, virtual interviewing may become the new standard for recruiting leaders and candidates long after social distancing guidelines are lifted,” said Ms. Smith. “The most successful organisations provide candidates with the same level of information and feeling of connection with the organisation as they would have with an in-person interview or onboarding experience.”
Realign Hiring Plans
As economic uncertainty and budget constraints impact many organisations, senior leaders are reassessing their hiring plans. Fifty-four percent of organisations have delayed candidates’ start dates and 31% have cancelled internship programs, according to Gartner research. In addition, 63% of recruiting leaders report that more than half of their job openings are currently frozen.
During these changes, recruiters and hiring managers need to effectively manage candidate emotions in order to avoid both reputational damage and difficult recruiting efforts in the future. To enhance the candidate experience, leaders should provide clear and transparent communications to candidates if the position they applied for is placed on hold. For candidates that have accepted a job offer, leaders must be as transparent as possible when communicating a delay in their start date and providing timely updates.
Encourage Internal Talent Mobility
Fifty-four percent of respondents to the Gartner poll reported that all hiring efforts, except for critical positions, will freeze in the coming months. As business needs change for many organisations, HR and senior leaders can acquire the people they need by sourcing talent internally. Gartner research shows that though they are not actively searching, 39% of employees would be open to switching to a new role within their organisation. Recruiting leaders can promote internal vacancies through online job fairs and should work with employees to locate openings.
“As organisations continue to embrace remote work policies during these circumstances, recruiting leaders should fill talent gaps through alternate employment models that present a lower risk to the organisation’s growth,” added Ms. Smith.
Additional information is available in the Gartner roadmap, “Building a Recruiting Technology Roadmap.” The roadmap can be used by HR leaders to make informed decisions on integrating technology into their recruitment efforts.
Learn more about how to lead organisations through the disruption of coronavirus in the Gartner coronavirus resource centre, a collection of complimentary Gartner research and webinars to help organisations respond, manage and prepare for the rapid spread and global impact of COVID-19.
About the Gartner HR Practice
The Gartner HR practice brings together the best relevant content approaches across Gartner to offer individual decision makers strategic business advice on the mission-critical priorities that cut across the HR function. Additional information is available at http://www.gartner.com/en/human-resources/human-resources-leaders. Follow news and updates from the Gartner HR practice on Twitter and LinkedIn using #GartnerHR.
About Gartner
Gartner, Inc. (NYSE: IT) is the world’s leading research and advisory company and a member of the S&P 500. We equip business leaders with indispensable insights, advice and tools to achieve their mission-critical priorities and build the successful organisations of tomorrow.
Our unmatched combination of expert-led, practitioner-sourced and data-driven research steers clients toward the right decisions on the issues that matter most. We are a trusted advisor and objective resource for more than 15,000 enterprises in more than 100 countries — across all major functions, in every industry and enterprise size.
To learn more about how we help decision makers fuel the future of business, visit www.gartner.com.
