When it comes to organisational strategy and performance objectives, what does ‘good’ even look like anymore?

This is the question plaguing many companies at the moment following a year in which they’ve been forced into reactive safeguarding, months of dormancy and losses, a potential – unstable – rebound, and further ‘spikes’ in unknown directions still to come.

Recruitment has certainly not been immune to this uncertainty, with the idea of a ‘good’ hire changing seemingly month to month, as organisations try to get a handle on what their new normal will look like.

However, what many businesses and decision makers seem to be forgetting, is that the notion of ‘good’ was already changing and that relying on manual processes to unearth optimum talent was already a dead art. ‘Good’ back in February, was already different to ‘good’ five years previously.

So, as the ecosystem springs back to life, and opportunities to invest wisely appear, it lends to a perfect time for introspection in regard to your hiring methods.

Despite the conditions, if you’re adverse to adapting now, it perhaps highlights a more concerning unwillingness to adapt at all.

Watching the year unfold

Of course, this year (and probably next year, too) has been challenging. COVID-19’s suddenness, fluctuations and ongoing unpredictability has impacted the very structure of strategic priorities, which initially revolved around protective financial measures, digital transitions, and client management and retention.

However, as the year has progressed, and businesses have begun to get a grip on those elements, those strategic priorities have changed, and hiring is back on the agenda.

At Match, we have watched this period unfold, and foresaw the challenge-opportunity balance that would be placed on boardrooms who already feel a little fragile after this year’s events.

“The cost of hiring the wrong person and missing out on good talent is now, more than ever, becoming less acceptable and it’s blindingly clear that the PPM world is changing,” Match Performance’s James Fowler said. “Our unique approach has been designed to challenge and significantly enhance the traditional methods of talent acquisition built on word matching and competency-based interviewing”.

“It’s a process which was already severely outdated, yet still used by the majority to define what good looks like. Now, during a recruitment rebound, it could be sending companies down the completely wrong path into a second spike or an unpredictable period of time where they’ll struggle to live with those decisions.”

The Goldilocks conundrum

‘Decisions’ is the key word.

The vastness of the unemployment pool means that many companies will be experiencing higher volumes of applications and CVs than ever before. This also muddies the waters in terms of filtering what the right level of candidates is. Some will be underqualified and desperate, while others will be overqualified, appealing at first, but flight risks should conditions smooth out in the future.

Meanwhile, your office dynamic may have completely changed, digital proficiency may have moved up the priority list for new hires, some roles may have been merged to need more tailored skills, and you also need to know that a new hire would be able to hit the ground running without a physical on boarding process.

Finding your Goldilocks moment in the crowd, while your own objectives and requirements are changing in tandem, represents a perfect storm.  To expect manual brains to keep up with that level of acceleration, volatility and fluctuations is unreasonable, and quite frankly foolish.

It could have massively negative repercussions on your company in the long-term as you potentially make the wrong hires, ruin the on boarding process, advertise for roles that don’t have a place in the current climate, or spend money on personnel investment that doesn’t align with wider changes to your strategic priorities.

Reimagination and transformation

This isn’t an injection of fear, though. It’s a rallying cry towards opportunity. But only if companies react now.

Conditions aren’t perfect at present, but organisations are at least no longer on the back foot. Many are realising that a hide and cower approach to navigating COVID-19 was reserved for March-June. Moving forward, there has to be elements of proactivity and strategic investment to ensure that their businesses is thinking ahead and building for whatever they perceive their new normal to be.

Recruitment falls into that proactivity drive prominently. Having the requisite skills on-board to navigate the new environment, adhere to new company strategy, and hopefully offset losses from earlier in the year, could prove to be a massive advantage.

James explained: “As organisations move to a phase of ‘reimagine’ and ‘transformation’, they realise they need different capabilities, and that their current change abilities aren’t going to suit their new trajectory.

“Recruitment is a must in order to bridge the gap between management’s fresh expectations, and the ultimate delivery of those expectations.

“That’s where we come in – to empirically guide them towards those people that will help to fulfil their new and very specific remits.”

It’s decision time

It’s not like COVID-19 is the only pressure point on HR activity, either. In the UK and across Europe, Brexit uncertainty contributes to a sector that was already trying to wrap its head around IR35 developments which saw the flexible working landscape change overnight back in April.

Many companies are caught between the urge to hire in one large swoop to account for their new philosophy and structure, or to take a more staggered approach in order to gauge success incrementally while keeping an eye on further COVID disruption.

The former approach may carry more market advantage as you are likely to beat competitors to key talent. However, should a second wave strike, and we see a repeat of spring, then such heavy investment could come at a serious price.

These are all boardroom decisions that will dictate what the eventual hiring strategy will look like. To put so much effort into navigating those challenges and formulating a plan, only to then hire the wrong person with outdated techniques, is unthinkable.

Filtering, validating and on boarding the RIGHT people is a constant requirement – not just a pandemic pressure. Putting that responsibility exclusively in the hands of a person or HR team at any moment would be to put your hiring process and its ultimate ROI in jeopardy. To do so now with your company’s future trajectory on the line, could be catastrophic.

Beginning this new journey on the right foot

Placing trust in digital hiring processes is the answer.

Hiring processes can adjust and adapt to changing environments when conducted digitally, with the help of machine learning, and via access to thousands of use cases and previous scenarios. Even though the climate isn’t familiar, our algorithms will still lock on to patterns and changes quicker than any human can, while its default approach to wading through and validating candidates still applies in any circumstance.

Despite everything we’ve been through this year, there are still opportunities for organisations to hire good people. Perhaps more opportunity, in fact. But only if you have the systems in place to identify that perfect person.

James concluded: “We at Match ensure that perfect person is found. We can help you significantly improve your hiring process according to your own change/delivery capabilities”.

“We have worked with countless organisations and use-cases, delivering high performing teams, individuals and permanent resources by identifying, attracting, filtering, assessing, benchmarking, and validating the best talent. 

“It’s a process that companies should have been optimising long before COVID. But by not embracing it now, they would be embarking on their new journeys with the worst possible start.”