Covid has significantly changed recruitment and has moved us to a non-traditional way of finding and attracting talent. It has shifted from a local market to a global market which means there is more competition. We are no longer sourcing skilled candidates that are close in proximity to our companies and offices. Instead, we are looking for candidates that are a good fit for the organization, wherever they are. We know that working from home is the new normal for many businesses, and we’re no exception to this. Our remote working environment has grown and adapted to our needs and the needs of our employees during the pandemic. 

Acceleration

One big shift that has been accelerated is the virtual recruitment process. With this shift, candidates have more options available with industries and organizations adapting to a virtual process. Specifically, the time and ability to swiftly move through the stages in the interview process has been condensed. There is no more travel time needed, as we can all take virtual calls from anywhere. This aligns well with the new model of remote working and helps to prepare our candidates for the reality of working at home during their career with us. 
The ability to accelerate the interview process by virtual interviews now requires us to ensure there is a core understanding of what we are truly looking for.  We also need to make sure that the interview process is founded on those requirements.  
Understanding our existing talent pool is important to determine what we need as an organization before we go to the market to recruit.

Onboarding

The shift to virtual recruitment and onboarding presents a different challenge for us and has forced us to put together a solid, specialized process and make sure that we have high touchpoints in our onboarding process, in the absence of the ability to bring someone into the office and have them organically learn the company culture and hear about the business and process in the presence of peers physically in the office. We know that working at home is going to be challenging for some, but as we’ve become more used to this model we’ve learned some great reasons to work from home, as well as the best practices to ensure that remote working doesn’t change who we are or what we offer our customers. 

To attract the candidates we need and want, we need a more humanized approach. We have given the opportunity to candidates to virtually shadow or speak with existing staff to provide social proof of what is being articulated during the virtual recruitment process. In turn, they can make an informed decision for themselves, not just on what our recruiters and hiring managers are stating of what the job entails or who we are as an organization. 

Our Commitment

At Surex we are striving to build our Employer Brand to become the Employer of Choice. We are looking to make sure we have competitive benefits and compensation, flexibility, a sense of belonging, trust, and a deliberate design of our methodology around home life. The Covid remote work model that many organizations are undertaking right now has presented challenges for all of us, but we believe this type of challenge has forced us to make sure we understand the core of what our company is. 

Work-life balance is at the forefront of the pandemic and how we help our employees manage through it is going to be what also sets us apart from the competition for attracting and retaining top talent post-pandemic. Working virtually is a new part of our organization, and we’re proud to say that we’re ready to bring in the next batch of talented employees and show them how our model of working at home can empower them to do their best work.