05 Feb Recruitment Professional Jenny Oliva’s take on the effects of Covid-19 on Recruitment.

Throughout the Coronavirus lockdown, many businesses have had to find new ways to adapt. Recruitment is no exception. With the introduction of government guidelines such as social distancing and employees instructed to work from home, professionals must now resolve to conducting many of their responsibilities remotely or with alternative methods. It has been a new experience that has presented many challenges both logistically and technologically. 

Recruitment professional Jenny Oliva offers her perspective into the recruitment space, sharing insights into how the recruitment industry has been affected and what the future holds.

Recruitment within the construction sector has been heavily impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The lockdown and isolation policies mean many businesses have been forced to shut or run with a reduced workforce to enable them to comply with government safety guidelines.

As a result, many organisations have put recruitment on hold until the crisis ends. This is resulting in a halt on hiring for a lot of businesses and in a worst case scenario, some resulting in layoffs of members, particularly across the retail and hospitality industries.

For those who have had the ability to remain open, many recruitment agencies have adapted their hiring process to now be conducted using online video platforms, rather than face-to-face interaction. Hiring and onboarding new employees is a crucial process for candidate success. This too has not been made any easier with a global pandemic, thus resulting in added pressure on many professionals and potential candidates.   

Despite having fewer candidates, due to the reduction in sectors not actively recruiting, we have seen a significant rise in the number of temporary requirements during the most recent lockdown. Alongside this, we have had to urgently reassign many of our temporary workers from those areas that have closed down and reassign them to areas that became a priority sector. 

Many companies and clients want to recruit, however, they just simply cannot due to the nationwide lockdown. In order to prepare for the future, some businesses have taken the lockdown as an opportunity to start the recruitment process early with the idea to recruit now, but have a delayed start date on any new candidates. This made permanent hiring more difficult due to the uncertainty of how long the effects of the pandemic may last.

Post-COVID-19, I believe we will slowly but surely see the emergence of a new normal. Despite the impact of the pandemic on the economy, some businesses are still hiring. Some industries who are still looking to recruit are tech, business restructuring, delivery and logistics and manufacturing. Many candidates are also still willing to seek opportunities within new and existing careers, in response to being furloughed or losing their job due to the pandemic. 

What changed can we expect to see within the Recruitment industry?

Some changes we can definitely expect to see are a greater utilisation of recruitment technology, as well as an increase in flexibility and remote working options. We will also see a more long-term focus on recruitment strategy and budget in order to continue the recovery of the sector.

I have worked in the ever-changing recruitment industry for 23 years. This year is very different to the recession of 2008, where companies were not able to recruit due to the lack of funds. Businesses are desperate to recruit, however, the nationwide lockdown prohibits this. Recruitment is a strong and resilient industry and there are many opportunities still available, promising a positive movement towards the recovery of the recruitment industry within the forthcoming year.

Kiwi Recruitment are always on hand to provide any advice or guidance needed as well as sourcing the best available talent for your organisation.  

 For further information and assistance please contact Jenny on [email protected] 

Tel: +44 (0) 1243 782763 / Mob: +44 (0) 7714982220

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