TITLE: THE CHANGES OF RECRUITMENT PROCESS DURING PANDEMIC

INTRODUCTION (Definition: recruitment and recruitment process)

“Recruitment is the process of searching the candidates for employment and

stimulating them to apply for jobs in the organization” [ CITATION Mrs141 \l 1033 ] . The
recruitment process is a process of finding and hiring the best competent person (from within
or external of an organization) for an available position in a timeously and cost-effectively.
Examining job specifications, attracting workers for that job, screening and selecting
applicants, hiring, and integrating the new employee into the organization are all steps in the
recruitment process. The procedure starts with the hiring of new employees and completes
with the submission of their applications. As a result, a group of applicants is formed from
which new employees are selected. The purpose of recruitment process is to fulfil workforce
timing requirements and implementing efficient measures to enhance that workforce in
sufficient quantities to enable for effective selection of an effective manpower [ CITATION
Mrs141 \l 1033 ].

COVID-19 is a worldwide medical problem that has sparked widespread concern. It

has had far-reaching consequences for economic systems, communities, laborers, and
industries. The pandemic started in December 2019 in the Chinese city of Wuhan with the
discovery of a severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection.
The disease quickly spread, urging the World Health Organization (WHO) to declare it a
global pandemic on March 11, 2020. From 3 January 2020 to 29 October 2021, there were
245,373,039 cases reported worldwide, with at least 4,979,421 lives lost and 2,454,749
confirmed cases, with 28,769 deaths of COVID-19 in Malaysia. [CITATION WHO212 \l 1033 ].

The coronavirus pandemic has caused the significant inconvenience in people's lives
and businesses, and HR is essential to assisting businesses and initiating change in the
workplace. Companies must revise, reconsidering, and redefine how they encourage talent,
offer services, and enhance their organizations by implementing a forward-thinking HR
strategy that focuses on delivering the most convincing job experience [ CITATION Tra21 \l 1033
]. Besides that, the business world is changing in response to the global COVID-19 pandemic.
HR managers are continuously updating creative, innovative, and productive method to hire
new employees in an efficient manner throughout this tough period. As a result of COVID-
19, HR practitioners have had to adapt their talent acquisition strategies, resources, and
techniques. Most of these adjustments have increased the standard of candidate experience
and recruitment. As a result, the overall aim of this study is to look into the changes in the
recruitment process during COVID-19, to address significant issues, to assess the impact of
COVID-19 on the workplace and Human Resource Management, and to offer suggestions for
future recruitment process steps in HRM.

‌ISSUE AND PURPOSE STATEMENT

1) Identify problems 

Today’s organizations need to stay ready and adaptable to unexpected events, like
internal crises, which make uncertainty among their labour force and posture quick dangers to
the company' performance and skill, especially in recruitment and selection process. Rather
of panicking or dismissing job applications as worthless, businesses should consider how to
secure their workplaces and future employees from the COVID-19 threat. Therefore,
organizations abruptly need to explore the remarkable and accordingly discover a brand-new
idea as new solutions for overcoming obstacles in recruitment and selection process that arise
across numerous spaces of their activities. Virtual contacts are increasingly taking the place
of in-person job interviews as employers continue to compel staff to work from home in
order to limit the coronavirus pandemic's spread.

As a result of the infection, demand for these products has skyrocketed. Corporate
recruiters are resorting to innovative technology to attract and attract potential employees
within this time of social alienation. In today's climate, job seekers must adapt their
approaches in order to identify open openings, ace interviews, and stand out to potential
employers (Adamczyk, A., 2020). Recruiters utilise a variety of strategies and tactics to
engage with potential candidates. As a result of the current economic climate, many
businesses have been forced to boost their use of new technologies. Many of the platforms
used to facilitate have been around for a while, but their popularity has exploded recently
(Adamczyk, A., 2020).

Just because of that, many of these employees had little prior remote working
experience prior to COVID-19, and neither they nor their organisations were willing to
support this practise. The extraordinary COVID-19 epidemic in 2020 has unwittingly pushed
individuals all across the world to become remote workers, culminating in a global remote
working experiment. Almost immediately, remote working became the "new normal."(Wang,
Liu, Qian, Parker, 2020). There may be significant differences in individual outcomes
between people who perform remote work on a regular basis and those who do it just
infrequently, which will likely have an impact on the practice's outcomes
(Wang,Liu,Qian,Parker, 2020). Because of the out-of-office subject matter, the remote
lifestyle is highly technological. Baby boomer generation and Generation X, on the other
hand, are thought to become the most cost-effective. It is plausible to think that even though
they have previous experience in the area, they do not need as much attention or training. If
they get into remote work, they may require additional training than Millennials due to
technological advances (Nowakowski, 2019). Furthermore, some early research on remote
working suffered from selection bias due to the primarily voluntary nature of past remote
working, in which people opt to work remotely at their own discretion. Although Generation
X and Baby Boomers have shortcomings, this does not stop them from being fit for remote
employment (Wang, Liu, Qian, Parker, 2020).

2) Effect of the problem 

Effect to workplace 

As a result, according to Euro found data (2020), European employees have seen a
considerable rise in work from home opportunities (WFH). As a result of the pandemic,
approximately 37% of Europe's employed population switched to WFH, with another 24%
doing for the first time. Prior to the pandemic, employees saw remote work as a benefit when
it met their needs. The COVID-19 lockdown, on the other hand, altered this by requiring a
large number of employees to participate in forced WFH. Employees who had no prior WFH
experience faced a variety of challenges, such as reorganising their workspace, establishing
new channels of communication with co-workers, trying to cope with work isolation, and
maintaining balance between work and life. If the employer does not provide assistance or
resources to help employees overcome these obstacles, mandatory WFH becomes a hardship
that adversely affects employees' well-being and, as a result, their performance (Tusl,
Brauchli, Kersieck, Bauer, 2021).

Effect to Gen Z and Millennials

The coronavirus epidemic has thrown people's lives into disarray all over the world in
just a few months. In the last six weeks, more than 30 million people have filed for jobless
benefits. (Yvonne Taunton, 2020).
 About one out of every five young millennials and Gen Z have been laid off since the
pandemic began, either by themselves or by their spouses or partners. When compared to
working-age baby boomers, they're also more concerned about being able to work as many
hours as they want next month. Although some working-age baby boomers may not be
concerned about future work hours since they are retired, younger folks may be more
concerned because they rely largely on the gig economy and temp jobs, which pay less
predictably and are the first to be slashed in economic downturns. This can have long-term
consequences for young adults' careers; research shows that persons who go through early
career recessions have lower employment and earnings than their counterparts who started
their professions in good times, even after the recession has passed (Martinchek, 2020). Older
millennials may already have a job, but younger millennials are only starting out. Many
people may have recently become parents, purchased a home, or are now looking to move up
the property ladder.

Millennials were either fresh out of college and looking for work, had found work but
lost it, or had a job but were unlikely to earn raises or bargain for better wages due to their
lack of leverage. Millennials, particularly younger millennials, have been more likely than
previous generations to lose their jobs, professions, and face financial troubles as a result of
the current crisis (Yvonne Taunton, 2020).

Effect to Human Resource Management

Human Resource Management (HRM) predicts a rise in remote working in the future,
but our responses to date do not back this up. Organizations are assessing the
accomplishment of remote working on a regular basis, as one might expect, but few have
made long-term commitments. Organizations have seemed to be oblivious to the effects of
remote working on efficiency as well as results, which is reasonable considering that the
majority are experimenting with it for the first time (Fox, Coffey, Dayaram, Fitzgerald,
Gupta, McKenna, Tian, 2020). Remote working also necessitates the implementation of new
systems, policies, and processes. HRM should take actions to combat COVID-19 using the
appropriate Standard Operating Procedure (SOP). For instance, the number of employees is
50 employees, and they require to produce 5000 products at a time but when COVID-19
occurs, management needs to lay off or reduce the workforce that is in the area of operation
to prevent the C0VID-19 virus from spreading to other employees which may affect the
company’s goals and productivity. 

Purpose Statement

This article explains more about the changes of the recruitment process during COVID-19 in
order to adapt to the current situation which is COVID-19.

CONTENT AND BODY ARTICLE (sources/references?)

Online interviews were new norms (3 supporting ideas)

Various low-paid, usually uninformed workers were overly valuable through the
primary stages of the COVID-19 issue, according to the findings of an online interview.
Several enterprises, such as retail and leisure, that were forced to liquidate owing to the most
stringent legislative measures to prevent social mixing, employed huge numbers of
individuals with minimal educational levels.

Meanwhile, a large number of low-skilled workers were employed in businesses like

as agriculture, food processing, and other important operations that continued to function
physically, exposing them to the virus.

Low-skilled employees are less likely to work in occupations that allow for remote
work, and when they do, they are less likely to have the requisite digital skills to take benefit
of such situations. (Dingel and Neiman, 2020[17]; Fana et al., 2020[19]; Sostero et al.,
2020[20]).

During the COVID-19 problem, low-wage, frequently illiterate workers were

disproportionately affected. Many of the businesses forced to collapse as a result of the
strictest legislative efforts to prevent social mixing, such as retail and entertainment,
employed a high number of people with poor educational degrees.

Recruitment processes adapt to social distancing

 Almost half of employers are increasing the number of job postings they make on
social media sites like LinkedIn, Facebook, and even Instagram to engage with potential
candidates, and nearly half are increasing the number of postings they make on these
platforms to market vacant positions.

Recruiters are also using videoconferencing solutions to screen and interview

candidates since the epidemic, with as many as 8 out of 10 now using it as part of their
employment process. Digital communication techniques like artificially intelligent job
outreach programs and text messaging are increasingly being used to interact with candidates,
and some recruiters are still relying on phone calls to find new hires. With each passing day,
more companies are looking to use analytics tools which is can analyze resumes and data
you've entered to automatically expose crucial insights and facts at a glance.

In addition, Smart texting solutions skilled of directing recruitment outreach and

facilitating conversations throughout the employment process and talent acquisition platforms
(which automate the application process by scanning candidates' resumes for specific skills
and expertise) are also on the increase. Almost half of employers are increasing the number
of job postings they make on social media since the recent recession.

Remote work

Several research, such as Dingel and Neiman (2020[17]) and Espinoza and Reznikova
(2020[18]), have attempted to estimate the percentage of occupations that can be done
directly from home, indicating that around 30% of employees in the OECD can undertake
job-related tasks remotely (Espinoza and Reznikova, 2020[18]). Workers with poorer
numerical and reading skills, from the other hand, had a lower possibility of working
remotely, suggesting differences in the tasks performed and workers' familiarity with
communication and information technology (Espinoza and Reznikova, 2020[18]).

Previous study on 'working from home' arrangements suggested the extent to which
big occupational categories may be accomplished in an indirect manner remotely (Dingel and
Neiman, 2020[17]). The research examines the evolution of online job advertisements in
which working from home is necessary and explicitly stated - rather than the increase or
decrease in the number of positions that allow remote work.
Discussion

Reinstate summary line

Job searchers must keep active on social media and digital platforms in order to stay
informed about the newest job openings. The epidemic has shown that working from home is
doable. Furthermore, working from home might assist people in achieving their full potential.

Companies who have persevered and continue to plan for the future might credit
advances in technology, such as feature-rich recruiting software or video conferencing
capabilities, for their success during the pandemic.

Furthermore, companies have begun to transfer their learning and development

(L&D) programs online to give more eLearning materials and training than previously, and
onboarding is now done via video conferencing. Despite the fact that business continuity was
prioritized throughout the rise of stay-at-home orders, adjustments are currently being made
to ensure that digital recruiting is a long-term possibility.

Fortunately, the opportunity to address these issues while working remotely has not
gone unnoticed by corporate executives. Existing recruitment tools have aided businesses in
addressing and quickly implementing employment strategies. They've also been able to carry
their efforts digitally in a more structured and strategic way thanks to automation in
recruitment. HR teams and hiring managers are still focused on improving and growing
efforts such as applicant experience, workforce statistics, and recruiter productivity.

Suggest future undertaking/research:

The pandemic's impact is reflected in the requirement for new skills. Many organizations
have had to go digital, which has necessitated the creation of new sorts of positions that
previously did not exist in their company and demand a new skill set. As a result, the ideal
candidate from earlier may no longer be suitable for the company's requirements. It's critical
to identify the new jobs that the firm needs to fill, as well as the skills necessary to succeed in
those roles and the ideal applicant profile, taking into account any potential changes in the
corporate culture. Companies and policymakers can aid workforce transformation by
expanding and improving digital infrastructure to enable employees develop their skills and
knowledge base. The mix of jobs may vary, with low-wage occupations seeing modest
increase throughout the eighth economies.

An audit of recruitment methods will aid in the modification and fine-tuning of recruiting
procedures, ensuring that they are fully aligned with the organization's new recruitment goals.
Examine everything from how simple it is to apply for a job at your firm to how candidates
are screened and evaluated. Examine whether new communication protocols or a better
selection procedure are needed to ensure that you obtain better prospects and recruit the right
people. The importance of recruitment marketing in attracting the appropriate personnel
cannot be overstated. Make sure you're utilizing a talent acquisition solution that enables your
company to simply build and conduct efficient job campaigns, allowing you to reach out to
and engage with the best prospects through your most successful sourcing channels.

The firms might have been more tactical and operate a new effective assortment method
through applying predictive pre-hire evaluations, which allow them to move away from
traditional experience-based assessments and emphasis on individuals with the good attitude
and ability. Soft skills are in great demand, and recruiters want AI-based evaluation
technology that use procedures to look forward to desired attributes and future performance,
allowing them to uncover individuals' actual potential and find the ideal match for a specific
post.

CONCLUSION

Closing Statement

They must learn new skills, develop new expertise, and disrupt certain existing procedures in
order to become more agile. They must quickly learn how to work remotely. This is
especially relevant when dealing with topics such as performance, benefit scenarios, and
mental health. They're also dealing with micromanagement and issues of managerial trust
with remote employees.

In conclusion, it is crystal clear that the pandemic has brought about a few significant shifts
in the patterns of recruitment as elaborated above. Some of the profound changes include
interviews that are now conducted online, vacancies being advertised via social media and
employees now are able to work from home. Therefore, both employees and employers
should prepare themselves to engage with this new norm of work environment.