We should remember that in a recession it is a great sacrifice to change jobs, as the candidate prefer the security offered by the current employer. At the same time, it is possible to attract attractive and usually difficult-to-recruit skills that may not be able to keep their job. But we are not there yet! Remember that. The companies that succeed best in a crisis are the companies that see the opportunity to continue to grow and develop.

Beware of recruitment stops

A recruitment stop should preferable be avoided in such a situation. If you have key initiatives under development that will ensure the company’s future growth, it is important to continue as planned and work hard to show how important this competence is to the company. In addition, it can be an advantage to look for excellence in the times when your competitors may not dare to. Evaluate opportunities to recruit despite the uncertainty on the market.

Dare to be digital

The fact that recruitment becomes more challenging when we are in a completely digital society where social contacts are to be avoided is understandable, but not an excuse. There are articles in abundance on how to conduct the best digital meeting and good online interviews. Take part of them and dare to challenge the employer and hiring manager in continuing as planned, with the help of digital platforms. The candidate is probably not afraid to go digitally. Maybe you can take advantage of the fact that many of your competitors are pausing recruitment processes and that processes are delayed?

Think and act long term

We are not in a constant state. The situation changes from day to day, and thinking long-term for building relationships is always important, and not least in this situation. The screaming lack of skills available in the labor market, both hard and soft skills, is a fact. This state of the labor market has not changed despite a virus spread. The lack of competence will then also persist when the situation has turned. We need to see a long-term investment in Employer Branding and a clear collaboration between Communication / HR / EB in these times. Dare to initiate increased cooperation if no one else does!

Look internally

What top talent do you already have internally? Dare to change competences across departments. When one department may be struggling to retain a top talent, another department may be overloaded. Can you find temporary solutions to maintain the right valuable competence in the company in the long term? Top talent do not grow on trees. Here HR is great to ensure that top performers in the organization stay, regardless of the financial situation.

Care for your brand

Do not just turn towards your existing employees but continue to be visible to your most prioritized target groups externally, even if you are in a situation where you do not hire. They will not remember you more strongly after total silence, especially not when your competitors have kept their communication going during the critical times. The memory is short. Imagine as many who may not feel the commitment of their employer when the situation has turned up again. Take the opportunity and remind them that you are there even during a time like this. Otherwise, someone else will take the opportunity to do so. Make sure you have a long-term strategy for continuously communicating to your most important target groups. Why not use internal ambassadors in your external communication? Then you also engage your existing top talent.

The internal engagement is more important than ever

How fun is it to work for a company in crisis? Remember that many of your most valuable employees do not know what it is like, they were not here during a financial crisis 10 years ago. Here it can be quick for the younger generation to lose motivation because they have not experienced turbulence like this before. What happens in their behavior when the world suddenly changes again, and the economy turns? There, there is a great risk that you have lost half the core, since Millennials and Gen Z already represent a large part of the employees in the workplace today. Work with commitment and motivation internally to ensure that you have your internal ambassadors with you after the turbulent time.