The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the employment marketplace has been a progression, much like the spread of the virus throughout the world population at large.

As such, it was only a matter of time before employers took steps to deal with the virus. This is especially the case in regards to face-to-face interviews. In order to shed some light on what employers have been doing, we posed a poll question to Top Echelon Network members.

That question was as follows:

Are clients doing anything differently with face-to-face interviews in light of COVID-19?

The choice of answers that we provided is listed below, along with the percentage of split network recruiters that selected each one:

• No, they’re doing nothing differently. — 19.2%
• Yes, they’re taking more health precautions with interviews. — 12.8%
• Yes, they’re postponing interviews and delaying hires. — 41.0%
• Yes, they’re doing more video interviews. — 21.8%
• Yes, they’re doing other things not mentioned here. — 5.1%

Summary:

Over four out of 10 recruiters (41.0%) indicated that their clients are “postponing interviews and delaying hires.” The second-most popular answer was that clients are “doing more video interviews” (21.8%).

Smaller percentages of Network members stated that their clients are “doing nothing differently” (19.2%) and “taking more health precautions with interviews” (12.8%). However, all of these numbers come with a caveat, which I will explain below . . .

Analysis and Conclusion:

The caveat with these results centers on the fact that the answers changed dramatically during the time that the poll question was live in the Top Echelon Members’ Area. At first, “No, they’re doing nothing differently” and “Yes, they’re taking more health precautions with interviews” dominated the answers that recruiters provided.

However, as time wore on, other answers became more common, specifically “Yes, they’re postponing interviews and delaying hires” and “Yes, they’re doing more video interviews.” It was obvious that clients have been taking progressively more drastic action as the virus spread.

Which, of course, means that as the virus continues to spread throughout the United States and the rest of the world, employers will continue to take additional steps. The real question is how many of them will institute a hiring freeze and stop interviewing candidates completely.

Is that a bit premature? Maybe and maybe not. Only time will tell.

If you have questions about your Top Echelon recruiting network membership, please contact Director of Network Operations Drea Codispoti, CPC/CERS.

You can do so by calling 330.455.1433, x156 or by sending an email to drea@topechelon.com.

At Top Echelon, we’re continually and constantly updating and upgrading our software, and that includes the software for our split network.

Just last week, I conducted a Network Training Tuesday webinar session about our new feature release, Activity Detail Sharing. The title of that webinar was “Drea’s St. Paddy’s Day/Birthday Activity Detail Sharing Feature Release Party!” So . . . happy belated birthday to ME.

Anyway, if you missed the Training Tuesday webinar session or weren’t able to attend, we have both a short video and a Help Center article that explain more. Below is the Help Center description for this new feature:

When logging or scheduling Activities to a Network Candidate or Job, the corresponding date and time are automatically shared to the Network Activity card in the associated recruiter’s database. This is logged alongside a generic “Activity Logged” or “Activity Scheduled” type, so your trading partner is aware that you’re documenting Activities related to their Candidate or Job.

If you prefer to share additional details with your trading partner (which is usually recommended), you’re also provided with the option to share the specific Activity Type, Subject, or Details as well. Your trading partner would then have access to review those shared pieces of information along with the corresponding Activity.

Click the link below to watch a short video about the new Activity Detail Sharing feature and to also see screenshot instructions about how to utilize it.

Watch the Help Center video!

Remember, if you have questions about your Top Echelon Network membership or about how you can enjoy more success in the Network, I encourage you to contact me.

You can do so by calling 330.455.1433, x156 or by sending an email to drea@topechelon.com.