Employee-Centric Recruiting in a Post-Pandemic Workplace

If you work in Human Resources, you know the industry is experiencing unprecedented disruption. The COVID-19 pandemic significantly altered the employment landscape, and  not just because of the many safety, logistical and physical challenges workplaces faced in the past two years. Every human being on the planet has experienced some degree of trauma since March 2020, and every facet of our lives are affected. Work—the thing Americans  do for roughly 8 hours a day—is having a major shakeup, as everyone from part-time teenage employees to multinational CEOs question what they want out of their post-pandemic workplaces.   

Consider this: 

• In 2021, 43 million Americans voluntarily quit their jobs. 
• Job openings soared throughout 2021 and held steady at 11.3 million open positions by the end of January 2022. 
• In February 2022, unemployment was down  to 3.8 percent—just a hair above pre-pandemic levels. 
• A new University of Michigan study found that college-educated workers who experienced job instability during the pandemic counter-intuitively rated passion as their current top job priority (46 percent) over both salary (20 percent) and security (13 percent). 

With employees in-demand and their priorities in-flux, there are several key shifts happening when it comes to recruitment and retainment, said Jade Johnson-Masuen, Employers Council HR Consultant, and Amber Cuz, Employers Council HR Services Manager. Here are some trends to watch out for when seeking to attract the best talent in a post-pandemic era. 

• In-office perks → Flexible hybrids 

Gone are the days of impressing potential recruits with beer pong tables. Today’s employees are less interested in perks designed to keep them in the office and more concerned about the position’s impact on their outside life. Will the job help or hurt their ability to be a good partner, friend and/or parent?  How much control will they have over their schedule, work locations and time off? Flexibility will be a priority going forward.

• Show us your portfolio → We’ll show you ours

As competition for top talent gets even more fierce, organizations need to make sure their web and social game is strong. Where are potential employees likely to encounter you before they interview? Is your web presence robust? Are you offering innovative insights into what work is really like—we’re talking on-the-job videos, not stock photos? What can you do to increase your organization’s reputation as a great place to work? 

• Requirement-based recruiting → Skills-based recruiting

We’ve all seen job postings where the requirements seem unrelated to the job’s actual needs. (If you’re asking for five year’s experience for an entry level position…it’s not entry level!) Savvy recruiters are moving from check-the-box requirements to skills-based matching. What skills are needed for the position? Are there positions or industries you may not have thought of with cross-over aptitudes? Are there any out-dated requirements that are keeping talented candidates out of the race?

These shifts in post-pandemic recruitment are just a few of the changes Employers Council we discussed at our first Exceptional Workplace Series webinar, “Creating an Employee-Centric Culture for a Post-Pandemic Workplace.” On May 5, we covered how you can set your organization up for success by putting employees first. We’ll cover employee-centric tactics for:

Attracting talent
Offering whole-person and flexible benefits
Integrating employee-accessible systems/technology
Nurturing a welcoming and inclusive environment &
Boosting employee engagement

The webinar is now available for on-demand playback, free for members and $59 for non-members.