When your company has positions to fill, you would not want to waste time and resources due to ineffective recruiting processes. With virtual recruiting, following industry best practices can certainly improve results and help connect with the best talent. After the pandemic, more and more organizations are adopting remote work. As the markets begin to recover and companies begin recruiting remotely, HR is bound to face many challenges that come with virtual recruitment and onboarding. This blog talks about the eight most common mistakes you can make in virtual recruitment, how you can avoid these lapses and boost your results right away.
Eight Common Lapses in Virtual Recruitment
1. Absence of a plan
A solid recruitment plan in place greatly increases the chances of virtual recruitment success. Immaculate planning is essential, especially while planning events like virtual career fairs or virtual interviews. You must decide the number of recruiters who will be participating, prepare interview questions and responses to frequently asked questions. A plan for following up with the candidate post the event must also be created. Understanding the activities to be done before and after the virtual recruitment helps in attaining the best results from it.
2. Not having enough staffers
A single recruiter can handle a greater number of candidates in virtual recruitment than at in-person events. But to ensure that the candidates are not waiting too long, it is better to have extra recruiters. Employers often underestimate the staff requirement for virtual events, leading to a poor candidate experience for the job seekers. Plan your staffing requirement depending upon the number of candidates who sign up. The general rule of thumb is to have one staffer for every 10 candidates. Enough recruiters ensure that the virtual recruitment event moves smoothly without any hassles.
3. Weak promotion
You can get the best candidates to participate in virtual recruitment only if you have effectively advertised and promoted the event. Promoting a virtual event is much more than just sending out an email or a tweet. It begins with building relationships, interest, and awareness among prospective candidates over a period of time. There are various ways to promote virtual events, you must create the best promotional strategy that reflects your brand image and the preferences of the job-seeking community.
4. Using the wrong tools
Your virtual recruiting strategy must encompass all the essential tools to make the recruitment event a success. Some companies utilize tools that are not ideal for the task such as instant messaging and video conferencing tools. The virtual recruitment tools must be cohesive and able to address the unique needs of the virtual recruitment process. The virtual recruitment platform must be tailor-made to support the process with built-in features to deliver an optimal experience for the candidates and provide actionable insights to boost the company ROI.
5. Not following up
Virtual recruitment strategy does not end with a single meeting or interview. Candidates must be kept engaged after the interview as well to increase their chances of acquiring the best talent. Use automated tools to ask candidates for feedback and communicate via emails to inform them about the next steps. Always let the candidates know the result if selected or otherwise. Companies that constantly correspond with the candidates throughout the virtual recruitment process are held in high regard by job seekers.
6. Unprofessional and Scaled back Interview
Another common virtual recruitment mistake made by employers is to be unprofessional during interviews by acting disinterested or multi-tasking. Interviewers must be as engaged in the interview as the candidates. You must maintain eye contact, keep the phone on silent mode, and show 100% focus on the candidate. If the interviewer is distracted even for a few minutes, the interview flow gets affected leading to awkwardness and a bad impression.
There is also a tendency to scale back the interview of remote candidates as it is not carried out on a one-to-one basis. Be it through video conferencing or via phone, the same amount of attention and time must be given to place the ideal candidate.
7. Unclear Communication
Many recruiters get disconnected from remote candidates after virtual recruitment. Both before and after the virtual interview, you must communicate your expectations to the candidate. You must clearly outline job requirements to the prospective candidates and detail the responsibilities to the new hires. Since there is no facility for face-face interaction, effective communication becomes even more crucial in virtual recruitment. You must schedule weekly meetings to brainstorm new ideas, give and receive feedback.
8. Focus only on technical skills
Another common lapse made by recruiters in both physical and virtual recruitment mode is to pay too much attention to only the candidate’s technical abilities. You must also assess the soft skills of the candidate and his ability to communicate effectively within the given time. He must also be a self-learner, eager to grow along with the organization rather than just a “box of technical skills”.
Final thoughts
Create a full-proof virtual recruitment plan to avoid the above mistakes. Combined with recruitment best practices, an optimal strategy will improve your virtual interactions, attract good quality candidates, pave way for better hires and quickly fill more positions.
