BravoFilipino.com | Ways Filipino Employers Can Attract ( and Keep) Top Talent After the Pandemic | The COVID-19 pandemic has been devastating not only to ordinary Filipinos but to many small businesses as well. While some industries have managed to thrive in the pandemic, many others have had to retrench their workers or otherwise reduce their operations.
A global recession that happened in time with COVID-19 and was accelerated by it has also resulted in thousands of unprepared businesses closing shop. In the Philippines hiring and retention practices may have to significantly change in the post-pandemic world, despite the glut of qualified workers that are about to enter the job market.
Thousands of newly laid-off but talented potential employees are now looking towards the next stage of their careers. This makes it a great time for businesses that are seeking to continue growth or capitalize on new opportunities brought about by the pandemic. However, job applicants as a whole may no longer likely to hold the same views as they did before 2020.
If you’re interested in expanding your team after the pandemic, here are some things you may have to consider.
1.) Allow a work from home arrangement, if possible
The COVID-19 pandemic has shown that many types of jobs that were traditionally kept in the office could be done from the employee’s home, with little or no loss in productivity. In many types of jobs, such as creative work and marketing, there may even be a boost in productivity thanks to the absence of long, difficult commutes.
In a world after COVID-19, there will be fewer people willing to sacrifice the improvements in work-life balance brought by a work-from-home arrangement in favor of a “regular” job that forces them to lose hundreds of hours of sleep a year and makes them undergo hellish traffic for seemingly no good reason.
For many, the benefits of a WFH have proven so compelling that you might find that some prospective employees are willing to take slightly reduced pay for the benefit of being able to work from home. Allowing employees to work from home at least a few days of the week can be an extremely compelling proposition, especially given the health risks now associated with venturing out as well as the marked improvements in their overall quality of life.
2.) Arrange for a shuttle to pick up vital employees who cannot work from home
In the Philippines, only a very small minority of people can afford to outright buy a car on a single income without financing or incurring debt. As a result, most Filipinos have to take public transportation or shared ride services when they commute to and from work.
Given how difficult commuting can be in major Philippine cities, company shuttle services are now an extremely popular way of helping reduce employee stress while helping keep them safe when commuting to and from their homes. Shuttles are especially compelling for employees that work the night shift and may have a hard time finding public transport at odd hours.
Post-COVID, however, prospective employees might be extremely wary of catching an infectious disease by regularly taking public transport. Having a shuttle service can allay those fears by greatly minimizing the number of people they can come in contact with.
3.) Use digital recruitment and onboarding tools
Partly due to the pandemic coinciding with the peak 2020 job recruitment season, recruitment, hiring, and even onboarding in the Philippines mostly took place online. However, this surge of people finally turning to the internet rather than traditional channels to find jobs will not end with the pandemic.
With travel and commuting complications likely to remain in place for months if not years, the digital realm remains the place where you’re going to find the best applicants these days. Experienced applicants that know their worth will not probably bother to even look you up if you insist on face-to-face applications in the post-pandemic era.
4.) Compensate competent multitaskers better
Having an employee that can perform different tasks in a worksite can save your organization the money it would otherwise take to retain and develop another employee. Applicants with multiple competencies are especially prized in small startups — the very sector that’s seen to grow with the end of COVID-19.
It’s worth understanding that competent employees these days know their worth thanks to the free flow of information online. You simply cannot expect to get away with lowballing talented employees for too long, especially if they happen to be good multitaskers.
If an applicant has proven skills in multiple areas that could be useful for you, it may be worthwhile to offer compensation above the usual job market offers. This is because you’re paying someone to do the work of more than one person and you are also getting someone who can “close the gap” and understand the relationships between the different tasks they’re supposed to do.
5.) Keep connected with top talents — even if you don’t hire them immediately
Businesses all over the world are trying to cut back and spend only on things critical to their continued survival. You may not be able to afford a star prospect’s asking rates, but chances are you can in the future, once the pandemic’s aftermath starts to become less grim.
If you see a good prospect, make sure to keep in touch professionally. They just might become an essential part of your team in the future. Keep tabs on them on LinkedIn or stay in though through email.
Even with the major disruptions in daily life brought about by COVID-19, life manages to go on. On the other hand, the recruitment scene may become very different due to concerns about close physical contact as well as the necessities of doing business during a global recession. In any case, there is no reason that Filipino businesses and employees can not adapt or even thrive in the new normal.
