Best of the week: How to hire during a pandemic

March 12, 2021 10:00 AM

Organizations are picking up the pieces and rebuilding stronger, more resilient workplaces one year into the COVID-19 pandemic.

Employers have had to navigate a fluctuating workplace population as women and people of color have left the workforce at high rates. While many organizations made layoffs at the start of the pandemic, more than 80% plan to hire new employees or rehire previously laid off or furloughed workers, according to Monster.

Managers and HR professionals are adopting new tools and benefits to help them recruit and retain top talent. Prospective employees are also looking for workplaces that are committed to diversity and inclusion and have an engaging and positive workplace culture.

See more of how employers are navigating the remote recruiting landscape and attracting new talent in this week’s top stories:

Indeed tackles virtual recruiting with new hiring platform

Employers have mastered the transition to operating remotely during the pandemic. But building their workforce virtually is the next hurdle employers are facing as they make plans to rehire this year.

Forty-one percent of employers say virtual recruiting has been challenging, according to Monster. To simplify this process, job searching site Indeed launched Indeed Hiring Platform, which allows employers to screen candidates and interview them directly through the platform, eliminating administrative tasks like reading resumes and scheduling interviews.

Indeed’s platform has already connected more than 200,000 candidates with employers, says Maggie Hulce, senior vice president at Indeed. The goal is to shorten the time it takes to get candidates into jobs by making the platform a cohesive experience for both parties.

Read more:

Indeed tackles virtual recruiting with new hiring platform

These 10 HR and recruiting firms are hiring in 2021

The pandemic has disrupted the workforce, leading many employers to turn to the freelance market to fill employment gaps.

Thirty-six percent of the workforce freelanced full time in 2020, up from 28% in 2019, according to a survey by Upwork. Widespread layoffs and the acceleration of remote work opened up opportunities for both employees and employers to seek contract work.

Job searching platform Flexjobs culled their job database for the ten companies hiring the most freelance workers in 2021.

Read more:

These 10 HR and recruiting firms are hiring in 2021

Glassdoor rates the best companies for Black employees

Workplaces are making efforts to close the diversity gap, but simply hiring more Black Americans is not enough — companies need to retain them, too.

Job satisfaction among Black or African American employees is lower than any other demographic, according to a survey by Glassdoor. The leading factor behind this dissatisfaction is underrepresentation in professional and management roles — 24% of Black employees work in lower-paid service occupations compared to 16% for white employees, the survey found.

A good first step to close the diversity gap is to find a workplace that is already supporting its BIPOC employees. Glassdoor rounded up the most highly rated companies for Black Americans, based on a five-point scale and the personal experiences of employees.

Read more:

Glassdoor rates the best companies for Black employees

COVID-19 is hurting women's careers

As the pandemic continues to decimate the job market, the threat to women’s careers has never been greater.

The total number of women who have left the labor force since the start of the pandemic surpassed 2.3 million last month, making women’s labor force participation the lowest it’s been since 1988, according to the most recent Bureau of Labor Statistics monthly job report. To compare, nearly 1.8 million men have left the labor force since February 2020, the report found.

Mothers of color in particular have fallen off the career path during COVID. Of the women who have left the workforce, 22% were Black mothers, 20% were Asian mothers and 19% were Hispanic mothers, according to a study by WerkLabs and The Mom Project, a digital career community.

Read more:

COVID-19 is hurting womens’ careers

4 ways to increase employee engagement in a WFH world

Employees are more disengaged than ever before. This leads to issues such as lower productivity, less collaboration and dissatisfied workers who may leave the company. Employees working remotely have a multitude of distractions from work. Constant communication is key, and emails don’t work.

Companies have a responsibility to help employees navigate this new virtual world. The shift to remote work may cause your employees to feel out of sync. Are they overwhelmed? Is there something you can provide to help with productivity and ease stress levels? An easy way to check-in is through surveys asking how the company can help. Be sure to follow-up with suggestions received so employees know their voices are heard and ideas considered. Throw an incentive in for taking the surveys, such as winning gift cards, to encourage responses. Tie the survey in with your mobile communications to allow employees to fill it out directly from their phones and inform them of the ideas being implemented.

Read more:

4 ways to increase employee engagement in a WFH world