Tips from the HR Trenches: Retaining and Recruiting During a Pandemic

Choices, chances, changes. Famous motivational speaker, Zig Ziglar, called these the three C’s of life. These words ring especially true now, as companies focus on retaining current employees and recruiting new talent, amidst a pandemic.

As the pandemic continues to reset major work trends HR leaders need to rethink employee planning, management, performance, and experience strategies, according to Gartner. One trend is that employers are playing an expanded role in their employees’ financial, physical, and mental well-being. It is important that employers continue to have a positive appr oach to communication — through listening and rewarding their employees.

“As employers think not only about addressing the pandemic, but recovering from it in the months to come, a comprehensive approach to benefits and communications can be critical to both the company and its employees,” according to MetLife.

Tips from the HR Trenches

Retaining employees and hiring during a pandemic are always top priorities for HR professionals. It’s important that companies outline a roadmap for “prioritizing human resources with a special focus on protecting employee culture and branding in the unfortunate case of an economic downturn or recession,” according to Glassdoor’s Job & Hiring Trends for 2020.

Here are six tips for companies who are hiring during a pandemic:

1. Refresh hiring playbooks to “weather the storm.” If you’re hiring during the pandemic, you will have to up your recruitment game, according to Medical Economics Journal. HR expert, Kelly Barcelos, suggests embracing technology with screening tools to help with interviews and remote onboarding technology to make new employees feel like part of the team.
2. Focus on employer branding. “Even if hiring slows in a downturn, the need to differentiate from the competition will not. Companies who’ve maintained a strong employer brand will enjoy a clear strategic advantage,” advocates Glassdoor.
3. Focus on the employee experience. Consider flexible hiring, with a mix of a full-time, part-time, and contract-based workforce, as well as onsite and remote workers.
4. Reevaluate compensation and benefits packages. Paychex encourages offering sought-after voluntary benefits — group health insurance, retirement services, and financial wellness resources — to help fuel your recruiting and maintain a quality workforce.
5. Focus on the emotional well-being of employees. By safeguarding your employees’ personal privacy data from all types of identity and privacy risks by incorporating IDX Employee Benefits, you can help protect your employees and help your company stand out. Not to mention, you can greatly reduce the emotional and financial stress identity theft can put on an individual.
6. New recruiting tools. NBC News reinforces that the hiring process has gone virtual, with software applications becoming popular for applicants who can record and submit their answers online so that HR managers can screen

Have you considered offering your employees — and prospective employees — identity and privacy protection? “The task for HR departments is to give a feeling of protection and appreciation,” states Human Resources Today. Protecting individuals’ identity and privacy has become increasingly important as cyber risks continue to threaten financial stability. The number of cyberattacks has tripled over the last decade and as a society, we have become more and more reliant on digital banking and payments, according to Insights & Analysis on Economics & Finance.

Now is a good time to evaluate and rethink your compensation and benefits programs, especially as prospects rate these as the top two factors for accepting an offer from a prospective employer, according to Glassdoor. If you can alleviate some of the stress your employees face by offering them financial wellness services — such as IDX Employee Benefits solutions — imagine how receptive they will be, knowing their identity and privacy are being protected.

“Happy employees are more likely to be engaged employees. In other words, keeping your employees happy leads to more productivity,” states Human Resources Today. For more information, read 6 Tips to Improve Your Financial Wellness Program in 2021 and download the free: Financial Wellness + Identity & Privacy Protection: A Winning Formula