How Has the Pandemic Affected the Hiring Process? With Dominique Chainee Bell

Zoom calls, remote working, social distancing... the pandemic has dramatically impacted the ways in which we work. We spoke with Dominique Chainee Bell, Paid Social Manager at Fluid Commerce, about how the hiring process for her company has been affected, how working with The Candidate has helped, and advice for any other companies in a similar position.

Have the types of candidates you’re attracting changed since the Pandemic began? If so, why do you think this is?

The candidates we’re now attracting are much more expectant of remote and flexible working conditions. This was something we already offered, with roughly a third of our staff being located in Ukraine, but the pandemic has led us to open this up more fully to all of our staff.

If someone wants to work remotely full time, they can - including our existing members of staff. In June, we made our first UK-based hire who will be based full time from home in Dundee - some five hours drive away from our head office in Manchester’s Northern Quarter.

The other noticeable change is in the attitude of our most recent recruits. While people have become accustomed to working from home, there is a definite hunger to connect with the team in whatever way is available. Everyone is making a big effort to attend team meetings, to come into the office on our ‘Glue Days’ and for online social events. After the initial shock of the pandemic, the candidates we’ve interviewed in the last six months are much more ready to get stuck in with the work and with joining in with the company culture, making the most of the social opportunities we’ve been able to provide.

Has the hiring process changed in any other notable way?

Our most significant change was the decision to review our current employee benefits package to bring it up to date with candidates’ expectations and requirements.

The lifting of geographical constraints has been beneficial in that we can now attract talent from around the UK, but it also means that candidates are also searching for jobs across the UK. The talent pool is broader but competition, particularly from agencies in London, is fiercer. We knew we had to reassess our benefits package to ensure we remained competitive in attracting the best talent to us.

The key elements of the new benefits package, which we rolled out in March 2021, included an increased amount of annual leave and the introduction of an Employee Assistance Programme that provides mental health, financial, and legal counselling and advice. We also signed up to Perkbox, which offers rewards and discounts on a wide range of things including gym membership, supermarkets and cinemas.

Have you found working with a recruitment agency helps negate any problems that have arisen due to the pandemic?

As we are now no longer as restricted geographically, our search parameters are much wider and, at times, we've found ourselves overwhelmed with the number of candidates applying. Working with a recruitment agency helps narrow the much broader talent pool.

Do you think the pandemic will have a lasting impact on the hiring process for your business?

While nothing beats meeting people in person, being able to offer candidates virtual interviews for at least one stage of the hiring process will be here to stay. Candidates are much more flexible with their time if they don’t have to commute to and from the office to attend the first interview. This means we can see more people more quickly, can move on quickly, or can get them in for a second round more quickly. It’s less risky and more time effective for the candidate and for ourselves.

Any advice to other businesses hiring during this time?

2021 is here, and with it a whole new era in hiring. Now is the perfect time for businesses to re-evaluate their recruitment processes. Virtually recruiting remote workers is the new norm for many, and offering upskilling and development plans are crucial if you want to attract the right people. Embracing the new workplace flexibility is what has helped us through the past year and a half, and we would recommend everyone incorporates  this into their company culture in order to remain an attractive place to work.

Thank you so much for your insights Dominique!

Has the pandemic changed the way your business recruits new talent? Let us know!

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