Technology continues to reshape talent acquisition and management, significantly broadening access to qualified candidates and fueling a growing desire for more autonomy among job applicants. As tens of millions of working Americans set up makeshift home offices, employers adapted to the new normal with both speed and efficiency.
“We are operating in a business landscape that’s becoming more and more disrupted by digital technology and a digital mindset is critical to success in today’s marketplace,” says Rod Adams, the U.S. and Mexico talent acquisition and onboarding leader at PwC.
He notes that PwC actually transitioned to video interviews with candidates in 2019 to fill nearly 10,000 internships and entry level positions each year “well before the onset of COVID.”
The move enabled PwC, which has been recruiting virtually across all schools in 2020, to condense the window between applications and employment offers.
Indeed, the pandemic has significantly accelerated the adoption of video for hiring and engaging employees with many organizations “wondering why they didn’t embrace this solution before,” according to Josh Tolan, founder and CEO of Spark Hire. He says employers are using a combination of one-way and live video interviews to not only speed up hires, but also improve the candidate experience.
The technology enables HR leaders to field more applicants, while candidates “reap the benefits of a more flexible interview earlier in the hiring process and get the opportunity to share more of their story with not only a recruiter, but also the hiring manager,” Tolan says.
Moreover, the on-demand videos used to communicate with remote employees make for more engaging messaging when it comes to email updates, shout outs, promotion announcements and other matters, he says.
With the genie out of the bottle on work-from-home arrangements, one industry expert expects a massive impact on talent acquisition and management for years to come.
“People realize that they can actually work remotely, and that really impacts on the way companies hire because now they are not limited to the skills or talent they have available within four blocks around the headquarters,” says Silvina Moschini, president of TransparentBusiness and CEO of SheWorks.
As a result, this trend opens up employers to a global pool of talent and allows hiring managers to access the right skills, regardless of geography, she says. Moschini envisions the creation of talent marketplaces whose algorithms instantly match companies with qualified candidates based on talent and skills.
“You can have people on a virtual bench and hire from all over the world to deliver services to your clients seamlessly,” she says.
WFH also brings along with it another value proposition — diversity. For example, Moschini notes that more than 60% of all working mothers abandon their careers because it’s hard to balance work and life.
“But if you can work from home and with a flexible schedule, they won’t have to choose either/or,” she says.
Another area that’s ripe for growth from WFH strides is the gig economy. Millennials — who will make up 75% of the workforce in the next five years — prefer to work wherever they want as independent contractors, rather than in an office setting as an employee she says. The use of cloud technology and other applications enable them to enjoy this freedom.
“They don’t want to have a boss,” she says. “They want to have clients.”
Bruce Shutan is a freelance writer based in Portland, Oregon.
