5 Ways to Keep Candidates Informed When It Matters Most

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused an unprecedented demand for timely, accurate communication. With the talent landscape flipping on a dime, and economists estimating a current unemployment rate of 15%-20%, HR departments are feeling the squeeze as they’re tasked to keep both employees and candidates well informed with helpful, transparent content.

From response protocols and business continuity plans to philanthropic initiatives and virtual recruiting, many companies are relying heavily on their corporate and career websites to share relevant information when it matters most. And for good reason. Career sites are the first look job seekers get of your brand, culture—and now, response to crisis. Having on-the-fly control of your messaging and hiring initiatives is essential to getting critical roles filled quickly.

Take a look at how five companies are adjusting their strategies and incorporating the following tips to provide a seamless candidate experience in the face of extenuating circumstances.

Showcase Virtual Recruiting Efforts

With travel bans, social distancing, and shelter-in-place guidelines, virtual recruiting is essentially the only recruiting happening right now. Health insurer Florida Blue, a Guidewell Company, is using the events section of their career site to spotlight a series of virtual career fairs to hire 250 member care specialists.

Visitors can immediately put a face to the name of the event organizer, utilize a user-friendly countdown, and add the event to their calendar. Job seekers who don’t want to wait for the career fair to apply, can view and apply to the job via a link right on the page. The ability to quickly duplicate events to accommodate increased candidate demand is instrumental to virtual event efficiency.

Automate FAQs with a Chatbot

Frequently asked questions can be the bane of TA teams that don’t utilize a chatbot to help answer inquiries. Thermo Fisher Scientific, a provisioner of scientific instrumentation, reagents, consumables, software and services (and one of the companies leading COVID-19 testing) is leveraging their chatbot “Trudy” to provide on-demand FAQs to job seekers without the extra lift.

The chatbot features its own “Impact of COVID-19” category which swiftly directs users to more information about their strategy, current hiring process, test kits, and related podcast.

Spotlight Relevant Blog Content

Knowledge is power—and it’s no surprise candidates and employees feel better equipped to make decisions about their careers when they’re armed with information. Magellan Health, a managed health care company, is using the Life @ Magellan section of their career site to highlight timely articles that give candidates a look at the thoughtful blog content they’re producing in light of the pandemic. From HR-related issues to news features, Magellan’s job seekers can easily find a well-rounded assortment of useful information that helps show their commitment to an empathetic candidate-first approach.

Create a Resource Center & Link to Social Channels

Information is only valuable if people can access it. Cigna, a worldwide health services organization, created a resources page to help job seekers navigate current and upcoming changes to their hiring process including: which brands are still seeking candidates, virtual versus in-person interviews, drug testing advice, and work-from-home accommodations for new employees. The page also leads to a separate resource center that provides additional in-depth information.

Cigna is also showing their team’s efforts by spotlighting inspirational posts from their Instagram feed with clickable photographs that lead to their scrollable feed. From the feed, job seekers can choose to follow the company for an inside look at Cigna’s culture and employee perspectives.

Highlight Hiring Process & Policy Changes

Reassuring job seekers of their safety and well-being right now is critical, especially within the healthcare space. Mercy, a Catholic US health system, is utilizing a strategically placed banner at the top of all of their career site pages to assure candidates of their stalwart mission and show they’re actively recruiting and conducting most interviews virtually.

Their career site homepage also highlights the communication and safety measures they have in place to help and protect new hires and co-workers during the crisis. From virtual onboarding to helping coordinate care for employees’ dependents, providing a glimpse into current HR related issues can allay fears and prevent unnecessary questions that could delay application.

Raise Awareness of Hiring Opportunities

In the unfortunate event you need to lay off or furlough employees, giving visibility into new opportunities can go a long way—especially if you hope to rehire those same people at a later date. At the same time, companies experiencing an influx of hiring for essential work can benefit by listing their jobs in multiple locations to get them filled faster.

HelpOneBillion is a curated, growing network of 500,000 verified jobs from over 100 companies hiring now. It was designed to simplify the job search process and quickly connect people to potential opportunities. Instead of tasking candidates to sort through outdated job listings across different company career sites to see available positions, HelpOneBillion speeds up the traditional job hunt. By delivering relevant opportunities in seconds, it can save job seekers time and unnecessary stress.

To ensure people find the job they need, the HelpOneBillion network can also be utilized on branded company websites for private and public companies—as well as federal and state governments—to serve their former employees and engage their alumni communities.

As the economy and talent landscape continue to evolve, it will be more important than ever to keep job seekers and employees abreast of current opportunities and pertinent changes to your process. Your career site can be a powerful tool to ensure visitors leave feeling educated and empowered to take the next step.

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For more ideas on how to stay connected with candidates during crisis,
check out our COVID-19 Resource Hub